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Soldiers, Sutlers, And Settlers: Garrison Life On The Texas Frontier
Texas’ frontiers in the 1840s were buffeted by disputes with Mexico and attacks by Indian tribes who refused to give up their life-styles to make way for new settlers. To ensure some measure of peace in the far reaches of Texas, the U.S. Army established a series of military forts in the state. These outposts varied in size and amenities, but the typical installation was staffed with officers, enlisted men, medical personnel, and civilian laundresses. Many soldiers brought their families to the frontier stations. While faced with the hardships of post life, wives and children helped create a more congenial environment for all concerned.
In this, the second volume in the Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series, historian Robert Wooster covers life at the forts from reveille to taps, detailing the soldiers’ uniforms, weapons, and duties, along with the activities of the local civilian inhabitants.
As the numerous anecdotes of post residents show, military life on the Texas frontier was not one long battle against Indians or invaders. Many of the daily battles waged were against roaches, cholera, inappropriate government-issue items, harsh weather, and personalities. The presence of women in the forts was considered a healthy and civilizing influence by some; others doubted the morals of the fort’s laundresses among lonely enlisted men. Despite the popularity of gambling and drinking, family environments did flourish at many school was taught, dramatic entertainments were performed, religious services were held, and dances were organized to celebrate almost any occasion.
A variety of troops manned the army’s Texas posts. Blacks and whites, immigrants and Easterners, West Pointers and illiterates all contributed to garrison life. Their presence in Texas until the building of the railroads and defeat of the Indians prompted the closing of the forts affected the state dramatically, often in more subtle ways than fighting. As Sgt. H. H. McConnell explained in the 1880s, “if we didn’t actually kill many Indians, who shall say…[the army] was not a potent factor in ‘settling up the country.’”
In this, the second volume in the Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series, historian Robert Wooster covers life at the forts from reveille to taps, detailing the soldiers’ uniforms, weapons, and duties, along with the activities of the local civilian inhabitants.
As the numerous anecdotes of post residents show, military life on the Texas frontier was not one long battle against Indians or invaders. Many of the daily battles waged were against roaches, cholera, inappropriate government-issue items, harsh weather, and personalities. The presence of women in the forts was considered a healthy and civilizing influence by some; others doubted the morals of the fort’s laundresses among lonely enlisted men. Despite the popularity of gambling and drinking, family environments did flourish at many school was taught, dramatic entertainments were performed, religious services were held, and dances were organized to celebrate almost any occasion.
A variety of troops manned the army’s Texas posts. Blacks and whites, immigrants and Easterners, West Pointers and illiterates all contributed to garrison life. Their presence in Texas until the building of the railroads and defeat of the Indians prompted the closing of the forts affected the state dramatically, often in more subtle ways than fighting. As Sgt. H. H. McConnell explained in the 1880s, “if we didn’t actually kill many Indians, who shall say…[the army] was not a potent factor in ‘settling up the country.’”
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 26, 2016
Robert Wooster provides a thoroughly readable account of the day to day lives of soldiers living on the frontier in Texas as well as those who depended on them for protection and trade from roughly the late1840s to 1890. Writing in a narrative style designed to appeal to the general reader, Wooster avoids any significant controversy to distract from an otherwise informative read of frontier life.
Wooster begins his study explaining the monumental task that fell upon the first United States troops to establish a protective barrier throughout Texas. Primarily as a check against violence between settlers, Apache, Comanche, and Mexicans. Texans had demanded from the federal government greater protection, and the thin resources provided by the United States Army, often fell well short of antebellum Texan’s expectations. Responding to this need, the United States Government funded an “extensive construction program in 1849.” The defensive line consisted of outer posts occupied by infantry while the inner posts held cavalry units. Over the next decade forts such as Fort Bliss (built in 1849 and reactivated in 1854), Fort Lancaster (1855), Camp Cooper (1856), and numerous others were built throughout the 1850s. Fort locations were a particular challenge for the United States military and often lacked a key measure needed to sustain the fort. Among the most important components was access to clean water. This was particularly challenging along the western and southern frontier, though less so in northern Texas. Other requirements for the establishment of a self-sustaining fort included building materials such as timber or stone as well as arable soil for farming, thus supplementing sporadic or insufficient supply deliveries. Nevertheless, occasionally strategic location trumped supplemental needs, and a fort was built regardless of access to abundant water or adequate local building materials.
In addition to the challenges in locating and construction forts across Texas, Wooster explains the unique challenges life on the frontier meant for the soldiers as well as the men and women who often supported the soldiers. Housing was a particular problem affecting officers as well as the general enlisted who constantly dealt poor or inadequate shelter. Some forts offered better living conditions than others, and craftsmen could sometimes be found among the ranks, though this was inconsistent. Soldiers living in often unfinished or inferior housing suffered from drafty, leaky, and pest infested living spaces. For some officers, who brought their wives, the conditions were particularly difficult and child brought with it numerous challenges along the frontier.
Sanitary conditions were a unique challenge in the forts, and numerous problems occurred. No soldier wanted the necessary latrine duty, and soldiers grumbled at the work. However, open pits of raw sewage created unsanitary and unsafe condition that could spread disease. In some cases poorly planned or managed waste systems overflowed into the camp’s water supply making the water undrinkable and forcing soldiers to travel some distance for their water.
Wooster explains that soldiers often had to live off the land to supplement their rations. Texas’s abundant wildlife could sometimes provide fresh meat, which was often better than the contaminated packaged meat sent for the soldier’s consumption. In addition, soldiers were encouraged, and sometimes mandated, to grow crops though “fresh vegetables were a rare treat.” Access to water, quality soil and the skillfulness of the soldiers planting and tending the crops effected the quality of this enterprise. Still, no amount of bountiful harvest seemed to help soldiers if the cook was unskilled.
The population along the frontier was diverse. Soldiers along the frontier included European immigrants, African Americans, Native American scouts and camp followers of various races and backgrounds, which provided soldiers with needed goods with which the military did not provide. These sutlers traded with the soldiers, sometimes fairly and other times not. Still, the need for outside suppliers was great and the soldiers were likely receptive to their wares. Other camp followers provided laundry services, though increasingly military leadership thought this was problematic and eventually ended the outside laundry services in the 1880s.
Wooster contends that forts often provided for a frontier economy. Military posts “exerted a tremendous influence on the financial conditions of the surrounding region, for the presence or withdrawal of the army could make or break local businessmen.” Despite poor pay, the soldier's spending power did help to influence the local economy. In some cases, officers supplemented their home construction with their own pay, sometimes employing local craftsmen for the job. In addition, soldiers sometimes went months without pay. When their pay finally came, many of these soldiers would carouse in local saloons or brothels, sometimes going through as much as six months’ pay in a short amount of time on gambling, liquor and the company of a prostitute. Still the money would work its way into the local economy.
Wooster’s study is approachable, and his sources are sound. Intending this book to be one read by both non-scholars and scholars alike, the book provides primary sources, though the presentation of those sources is not a distraction. The illustrations on the other hand, gave some reviewers pause who thought the illustrations were mostly unnecessary and “fall into the class of cartoon or caricature.” Another thought the work had “too many variables in geography, climate, and individual responses, as well as over the long period of time from 1848 to 1890, to make a really cohesive whole.”
Still, many found the history comprehensive and credited Wooster’s use of sources. Wooster’s sources include manuscripts, government records, newspapers, correspondence, and diaries. Wooster’s book provides an excellent foundation for various other studies. Future studies could look at the life on the Texas frontier and compare it with other frontier experiences outside of Texas. Furthermore, more could be done in analyzing the lives of women or minorities who supported the camp. In addition, perhaps more could be done in quantifying the economic impact the camps and bases made on the overall economy of Texas. Wooster’s book provides an excellent starting point for a number of studies.
Wooster begins his study explaining the monumental task that fell upon the first United States troops to establish a protective barrier throughout Texas. Primarily as a check against violence between settlers, Apache, Comanche, and Mexicans. Texans had demanded from the federal government greater protection, and the thin resources provided by the United States Army, often fell well short of antebellum Texan’s expectations. Responding to this need, the United States Government funded an “extensive construction program in 1849.” The defensive line consisted of outer posts occupied by infantry while the inner posts held cavalry units. Over the next decade forts such as Fort Bliss (built in 1849 and reactivated in 1854), Fort Lancaster (1855), Camp Cooper (1856), and numerous others were built throughout the 1850s. Fort locations were a particular challenge for the United States military and often lacked a key measure needed to sustain the fort. Among the most important components was access to clean water. This was particularly challenging along the western and southern frontier, though less so in northern Texas. Other requirements for the establishment of a self-sustaining fort included building materials such as timber or stone as well as arable soil for farming, thus supplementing sporadic or insufficient supply deliveries. Nevertheless, occasionally strategic location trumped supplemental needs, and a fort was built regardless of access to abundant water or adequate local building materials.
In addition to the challenges in locating and construction forts across Texas, Wooster explains the unique challenges life on the frontier meant for the soldiers as well as the men and women who often supported the soldiers. Housing was a particular problem affecting officers as well as the general enlisted who constantly dealt poor or inadequate shelter. Some forts offered better living conditions than others, and craftsmen could sometimes be found among the ranks, though this was inconsistent. Soldiers living in often unfinished or inferior housing suffered from drafty, leaky, and pest infested living spaces. For some officers, who brought their wives, the conditions were particularly difficult and child brought with it numerous challenges along the frontier.
Sanitary conditions were a unique challenge in the forts, and numerous problems occurred. No soldier wanted the necessary latrine duty, and soldiers grumbled at the work. However, open pits of raw sewage created unsanitary and unsafe condition that could spread disease. In some cases poorly planned or managed waste systems overflowed into the camp’s water supply making the water undrinkable and forcing soldiers to travel some distance for their water.
Wooster explains that soldiers often had to live off the land to supplement their rations. Texas’s abundant wildlife could sometimes provide fresh meat, which was often better than the contaminated packaged meat sent for the soldier’s consumption. In addition, soldiers were encouraged, and sometimes mandated, to grow crops though “fresh vegetables were a rare treat.” Access to water, quality soil and the skillfulness of the soldiers planting and tending the crops effected the quality of this enterprise. Still, no amount of bountiful harvest seemed to help soldiers if the cook was unskilled.
The population along the frontier was diverse. Soldiers along the frontier included European immigrants, African Americans, Native American scouts and camp followers of various races and backgrounds, which provided soldiers with needed goods with which the military did not provide. These sutlers traded with the soldiers, sometimes fairly and other times not. Still, the need for outside suppliers was great and the soldiers were likely receptive to their wares. Other camp followers provided laundry services, though increasingly military leadership thought this was problematic and eventually ended the outside laundry services in the 1880s.
Wooster contends that forts often provided for a frontier economy. Military posts “exerted a tremendous influence on the financial conditions of the surrounding region, for the presence or withdrawal of the army could make or break local businessmen.” Despite poor pay, the soldier's spending power did help to influence the local economy. In some cases, officers supplemented their home construction with their own pay, sometimes employing local craftsmen for the job. In addition, soldiers sometimes went months without pay. When their pay finally came, many of these soldiers would carouse in local saloons or brothels, sometimes going through as much as six months’ pay in a short amount of time on gambling, liquor and the company of a prostitute. Still the money would work its way into the local economy.
Wooster’s study is approachable, and his sources are sound. Intending this book to be one read by both non-scholars and scholars alike, the book provides primary sources, though the presentation of those sources is not a distraction. The illustrations on the other hand, gave some reviewers pause who thought the illustrations were mostly unnecessary and “fall into the class of cartoon or caricature.” Another thought the work had “too many variables in geography, climate, and individual responses, as well as over the long period of time from 1848 to 1890, to make a really cohesive whole.”
Still, many found the history comprehensive and credited Wooster’s use of sources. Wooster’s sources include manuscripts, government records, newspapers, correspondence, and diaries. Wooster’s book provides an excellent foundation for various other studies. Future studies could look at the life on the Texas frontier and compare it with other frontier experiences outside of Texas. Furthermore, more could be done in analyzing the lives of women or minorities who supported the camp. In addition, perhaps more could be done in quantifying the economic impact the camps and bases made on the overall economy of Texas. Wooster’s book provides an excellent starting point for a number of studies.
November 12, 2014
For the generation before the present one (or two), John Wayne in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and similar films epitomized the public’s image of the U.S. Army on the 19th-century American frontier. Such depictions made it clear that the military life had at least as much to do with social interaction and raising families and alleviating boredom as it did with actually suppressing the Indians.
Frontier garrison life has always intrigued me, perhaps because I grew up on army posts myself. And while there were a great many similarities among posts, whether they were located in Montana or Arizona, the Texas experience did have a number of unique features. For one thing, Texas was never federal land but an independent republic, with its own military -- on the Indian frontier, that meant the Rangers -- and when the U.S. Army did move in, after the conclusion of the War with Mexico, it had to contend with an already-existing Anglo settlement culture, even in west Texas, where the government found it useful to establish several rings of forts along the Rio Grande and Texas’s other major rivers to contain both the Indians and the pressure of settlement. This was a dynamic process, not a static defensive presence, with new forts being build and old ones abandoned as the settlement-line moved westward, so life among the soldiers, officers, dependents, and mercantile service people never really had the chance to settle down.
Wooster takes all this into account in a series of chapters on the Army’s move into Texas, the process of locating and constructing a fort, the soldiers who manned it, the officer corps who commanded them, the dependents and other civilians who accompanied the Army, the nature of routine duty (“routine” being the operative word), day-to-day economic concerns on a post, the details of evolution in uniforms and weapons, life in the field when the post’s raison d’être was put to work, cultural activities and entertainment, the nature of the Army’s social caste system on the frontier, and the eventual passing of the frontier itself -- a matter of less than fifty years.
The author combines academic rigor and lots of footnotes with an agreeable and entirely accessible style, and Jack Jackson’s detailed (and usually very accurate) line drawings enhance the experience. A sixteen-page bibliographical essay will lead the reader to all the most important primary sources (especially diaries and memoirs) from which the book was drawn. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the American military experience at home.
Frontier garrison life has always intrigued me, perhaps because I grew up on army posts myself. And while there were a great many similarities among posts, whether they were located in Montana or Arizona, the Texas experience did have a number of unique features. For one thing, Texas was never federal land but an independent republic, with its own military -- on the Indian frontier, that meant the Rangers -- and when the U.S. Army did move in, after the conclusion of the War with Mexico, it had to contend with an already-existing Anglo settlement culture, even in west Texas, where the government found it useful to establish several rings of forts along the Rio Grande and Texas’s other major rivers to contain both the Indians and the pressure of settlement. This was a dynamic process, not a static defensive presence, with new forts being build and old ones abandoned as the settlement-line moved westward, so life among the soldiers, officers, dependents, and mercantile service people never really had the chance to settle down.
Wooster takes all this into account in a series of chapters on the Army’s move into Texas, the process of locating and constructing a fort, the soldiers who manned it, the officer corps who commanded them, the dependents and other civilians who accompanied the Army, the nature of routine duty (“routine” being the operative word), day-to-day economic concerns on a post, the details of evolution in uniforms and weapons, life in the field when the post’s raison d’être was put to work, cultural activities and entertainment, the nature of the Army’s social caste system on the frontier, and the eventual passing of the frontier itself -- a matter of less than fifty years.
The author combines academic rigor and lots of footnotes with an agreeable and entirely accessible style, and Jack Jackson’s detailed (and usually very accurate) line drawings enhance the experience. A sixteen-page bibliographical essay will lead the reader to all the most important primary sources (especially diaries and memoirs) from which the book was drawn. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the American military experience at home.
April 24, 2011
I was fortunate enough to have had Dr. Wooster as a history professor. His knowledge of the old west is intensive especially in the area of military history While we agreed to disagree on Custer, he does through research and this book is easy to read.
July 19, 2011
Dr. Wooster gives an historical analysis of what life was like in frontier Texas and the role the military played in settling north and west Texas.
April 17, 2017
Exceptional book. It reads like a simple textbook and provides a plethora of information on fort life from daily routines to entertainment to weapons and uniforms. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews