FORT BOWIE
THE INSIDIOUSLY DEMORALIZING CONQUEST OF THE WILD WEST
ATOUSA BLAIR / 2023
EXPLORING THE CULTURAL MYTHOLOGY OF THE WILD WEST AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF MANIFEST DESTINY
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FORT BOWIE
Abandoned places have universal appeal. They remain fixed in time, offering a glimpse into the past as a poignant time capsule of history.
The abandoned ruins of Fort Bowie are populated with phantoms of the imagination. Like many frontier posts, Fort Bowie served its purpose and then was quietly forgotten. On September 2, 1886, the great Apache warrior Geronimo surrendered to the United States military after fighting for his tribe’s homeland for almost 30 years. Geronimo’s surrender symbolized the end of the American-Indian Wars in the southwest. He was the last Native American warrior to formally surrender to the United States. Following the surrender of Geronimo, Fort Bowie was abandoned and was left to the mercy of the elements of the southwest desert. Its legacy however, was exported to masses through the mythology of the wild west and the American Frontier. The vast landscape of the southwest, presenting a mythic vision of plains and deserts, was the canvas upon which America projected the exciting narrative of the frontier and manifest destiny. The myth of the frontier presented America as a wide-open land of opportunity for the strong to conquer. The west was perceived as a place of rugged individualism and independence, waiting to be conquered by America. The southwest landscape became a vehicle for cultural ideology embodying individualism, freedom, and self determination. This mythic vision of the west took deep roots in the American imagination and the idealized concept of the frontier became the foundation of American identity. The narrative of the American frontier and the mythology of the wild west was exported to the world through mass media, most notably being the Western genre of film. The conquest and settlement of Native American lands was framed as an exciting story of America’s victorious fight for freedom and honorable defense of their values.
The following collection of drawings depict the abandoned ruins of Fort Bowie as they stand today. A lonely American flag stands in the sand surrounded by unrestored ruins. The melancholic emptiness of the abandoned fort hardly invokes a sense of triumph. The following collection of drawings present a narrative which counters the dominating cultural narratives of victory as a means of facilitating reflection on how the west was won and the consequences of manifest destiny.
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APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF THE MAJOR ROAD AND TRAILS IN THE VICINITY OF FORT BOWIE, 1862-1894
HISTORIC BASE MAP, PREPARED 1979
SOURCE: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
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PLAN OF FORT BOWIE, 1871
SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
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6 1 2 3 4 2
THE DESERT MAGAZINE AUGUST, 1951
FILM POSTER FOR THE AMERICAN WESTERN FILM FORT BOWIE, 1958 DR. HOWARD W. KOCH
EARLY DAYS IN ARIZONA AS SEEN BY THOMAS THOMPSON HUNTER
SOURCE: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES ARIZONA, RECEIVED 1952
EXCERPT FROM THE DESERT MAGAZINE AUGUST, 1951
GERONIMO AND NATCHEZ
PICTURED AT FORT BOWIE IN 1886 FOLLOWING THE FINAL SURRENDER
PHOTOGRAPHER: A.F. RANDALL
SOURCE: ARIZONA HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
GENERAL GEORGE CROOK
CROOK FIRST CAPTURED GERONIMO IN MARCH 1886 AND FORCED HIM TO SURRENDER, GERONIMO QUICKLY ESCAPED
SOURCE: ARIZONA HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
GENERAL NELSON A. MILES
MILES TOOK OVER PERDUIT OF GERONIMO AFTER HIS ESCAPE EVENTUALLY FORCING HIM TO HIS FINAL SURRENDER IN SEPTEMBER 1886
SOURCE: ARIZONA HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
VIEW OF FORT BOWIE FROM OVERLOOK RIDGE, 1886
SOURCE: ARIZONA HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
PRESENT DAY VIEW OF FORT BOWIE FROM OVERLOOK RIDGE, 2022
SOURCE: FORT BOWIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 6 7 8 9
WILCOX,
HELENS DOME BOWIE MOUNTAIN N SITE OF FORT BOWIE RUINS
BOUNDARY OF FORT BOWIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, 1979 - PRESENT WILCOX,
BOWIE
ARIZONA
FORT BOWIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE MILITARYRESERVATIONBOUNDARY,1869
ARIZONA
MOUNTAIN
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FORT BOWIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE SITE OF FORT BOWIE RUINS
9 1 POST TRADERS-SUTLERS STORE 2 SCHOOLHOUSE 3 MAGAZINE 4 CAVALRY BARRACKS 5 COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS 6 NEW HOSPITAL 7 GUARDHOUSE 8 FLAGPOLE
1 5 4 6 7 3 2
FORT BOWIE SITE MAP
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FORT BOWIE SOUTH EAST AXONOMETRIC
VEGETATION OF FORT BOWIE
FIELD LAYER ( <0.5 M ) GRAMINOIDS BLACK GRAMA Bouteloua eriopoda SPIDERGRASS Aristida ternipes FIELD LAYER <0.5 M SUBCANOPY LAYER ( 0.5 2.0 ) SHRUBS BROOM SNAKEWEED Gutierrezia sarothrae FEATHER FINGERGRASS Chloris virgata CANE BLUESTEM Bothriochloa barbinodis MORMON TEA Ephedra viridis SUCCULENTS BANANA YUCCA Yucca baccata TULIP PRICKLY PEAR Opuntia phaeacantha PALMER’S CENTURY PLANT Agave palmeri GRAMINOIDS BLACK GRAMA Bouteloua eriopoda SPIDERGRASS Aristida ternipes FEATHER FINGERGRASS Chloris virgata MORMON TEA Ephedra viridis SUCCULENTS PALMER’S CENTURY PLANT Agave palmeri FIELD LAYER ( <0.5 M ) SUBCANOPY LAYER ( 0.5 - 2.0 ) CANOPY LAYER ( >2.0 M ) 0.5 M 1.0 M 1.5 M 2.0 M FIELD LAYER MEAN % COVER TERRESTRIAL VEGETATION OF FORT BOWIE, 2008 PERENNIAL GRASS STANDING DEAD TREE SHRUB SUCCULENT VINE SUBSHRUB FORB / HERB ANNUAL GRASS TOTAL 0 20 40 60 80 100 10
LOOKING SOUTH TO BOWIE MOUNTAIN, 1957
LOOKING SOUTH TO BOWIE MOUNTAIN, 2020
TURPENTINE BUSH Ericameria laricifolia TREES SACAHUISTA Nolina microcarpa HONEY MESQUITE Prosopis glandulosa EMORY OAK Quercus emoryi ONE SEED JUNIPER Juniperus monosperma 0.5 M 1.0 M 1.5 M 2.0 M CANOPY LAYER >2.0 M FIELD LAYER ( <0.5 M ) SUBCANOPY LAYER ( 0.5 - 2.0 ) FINGERGRASS CANE BLUESTEM Bothriochloa barbinodis BANANA YUCCA Yucca baccata TULIP PRICKLY PEAR Opuntia phaeacantha SHRUBS BROOM SNAKEWEED Gutierrezia sarothrae TURPENTINE BUSH Ericameria laricifolia SACAHUISTA Nolina microcarpa GRAMINOIDS BLACK GRAMA Bouteloua eriopoda SPIDERGRASS Aristida ternipes FEATHER FINGERGRASS Chloris virgata CANE BLUESTEM Bothriochloa barbinodis MORMON TEA Ephedra viridis SUCCULENTS BANANA YUCCA Yucca baccata TULIP PRICKLY PEAR Opuntia phaeacantha PALMER’S CENTURY PLANT Agave palmeri 11
PLAN FOR GUARDHOUSE AT FORT BOWIE
PROPOSED 1875, BUILT 1876
SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
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GUARDHOUSE FORT BOWIE 1 : 100 13
PLAN FOR THE MAGAZINE AT FORT BOWIE
CONSTRUCTED 1890
SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
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MAGAZINE FORT BOWIE 1 : 100 15
FLOOR PLAN OF THE NEW HOSPITAL AT FORT BOWIE CONSTRUCTED 1889
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SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
NEW HOSPITAL FORT BOWIE 1 : 200 17
PLAN FOR THE SCHOOLHOUSE AT FORT BOWIE
CONSTRUCTED 1889
SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
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SCHOOLHOUSE FORT BOWIE 1 : 100 19
FIRST FLOOR PLAN OF COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS
BUILT 1884-1885
THE FORTS MOST ELABORATE STRUCTURE, 13 ROOM VICTORIAN STYLE MANSION WITH TWO VERANDAS AND TWO WINGS COVERD WITH ORNAMENTED SHINGLES
SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
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FORT BOWIE 1 : 100 21
COMMANDING OFFICERS QUATERS
COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS
FRONT AND SIDE ELEVATION
BUILT 1884-1885
SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS SHORTLY AFTER COMPLETION, LATE 1884
SOURCE: UNITED STATES ARMY MILITARY INSTITUTE
DRAWING ROOM OF COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS C. 1885-86
SOURCE: FORT BOWIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
VIEW OF THE COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS PORCH, 1888
SOURCE: FORT BOWIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
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1958 AMERICAN WESTERN FILM DIRECTED BY HOWARD W. KOCH
That’s what’s so insidiously demoralizing major, to have to stand by and watch the slow and painful death of a culture that’s much more adapted to these barren wastelands than ours will ever be
Exactly my point sir, it would actually be far more humane to kill these people off as quickly as possible.
I dont shock easily major, but that kind of talk tests it.
I believe in pushing through to the truth and living my professional life without emotion.
You’ll no doubt go far. You’ll never make the mistakes of ordinary human frailty.
I never indulge in personal opinion sir. I try to be bright, clean, a mirror reflecting policy, nothing more.
Tell me major, your method of extermination, is that a reflection from Washington?
Certain congressmen would put it another way, they would simply say there is not enough room in Arizona territory for both Red man and White.
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CHIRICAHUA APACHE HELD AS PRISONERS-OF-WAR AT FORT BOWIE, BEFORE BEING TRANSPORTED TO FLORIDA. GERONIMO’S CHIRICAHUA APACHE BAND WAS THE LAST GROUP OF AMERICAN INDIANS TO ENGAGE IN MILITARY RESISTANCE AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. AFTER GERONIMO’S FINAL SURRENDER TO THE U.S. ARMY IN 1886, THEY WERE HELD AS PRISONERS-OF-WAR FOR 27 YEARS.
1884
IMAGE TITLE: APACHE PRISONERS AT FORT BOWIE, ARIZONA
SOURCE: U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
SERIES: PHOTOGRAPHS OF AMERICAN MILITARY ACTIVITIES
NATIONAL ARCHIVES IDENTIFIER: 530907
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GERONIMO AND HIS FINAL BAND PICTURED IN ARIZONA IN FRONT OF THE RAILWAY CAR TAKING THEM TO PRISON IN FLORIDA. GERONIMO IS IN THE FRONT ROW, THIRD FROM THE RIGHT, NAICHE IS IMMEDIATELY TO HIS LEFT.
SEPTEMBER 10, 1886
IMAGE TITLE: CHIRICHUA APACHE PRISONERS, INCLUDING GERONIMO
SOURCE: U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
SERIES: PHOTOGRAPHS OF AMERICAN MILITARY ACTIVITIES
NATIONAL ARCHIVES IDENTIFIER: 530707
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