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Praetorium Honoris

Monday, August 5, 2019

Martin Scott

Last Saturday, Mrs J was suffering from a bout of "Cedar Fever" as hay is being cut all over.  Interestingly, all the modern anti-hay fever medicines don't work for her.  Children's Dimetapp, however, knocks her out like a light and she's much better when she awakens, typically about 3 hours later.

So,  I've got 3 hours to entertain myself, and like most good  husbands, I went and did "guy things".

In this particular cast, I visited another of the Texas Frontier Forts, specifically Fort Martin Scott.  Now, lest you think that I abandoned my dear wife and drove halfway across the state, this one happens to be in our town.  We've lived her 20+ years now, I've driven by the place many, many times, always saying that we should visit, but this was my first time I did.

Other than the docent on duty in the Visitor's Center, I was the only person there.  There was some kind of demonstration going on at the Texas Ranger Heritage Center next door.  There was quite a bit of gunfire going on and as I was talking to the Docent, a cannon was fired.  Both he and I started for the floor.  Then realized what it was.  Looking a bit embarrassed, he asked "Veteran?"

"Yep"

"Me too, Vietnam"

We laughed.

So, juvat, tell us about the fort.

Well, I learned several interesting things there.  I have written about other Texas Forts before and talked about how they were spaced (~50 miles apart AKA 2 days ride by horse), but I hadn't realized that they were actually arranged and built in 3 separate periods.
Source
Each period's forts were a concentric circle to the west of San Antonio and Austin.  The first circle was built between 1848 and 1850.  The second ring was built in the early 1850s and was about 100 miles further west, the final ring was built in the late 1850s and was a couple of hundred miles further west.

These rings provided protection for the people coming to settle Texas at the time.  The primary threat was from the Indians, primarily Comanche's  with some Apache and other tribes.  According to my docent friend, Fort Martin Scott was the only Fort that wasn't fortified.  Meaning it didn't have any kind of defensive wall around it.  He also said, that Fort Martin Scott was the only fort that was never attacked by the Indians.

The town was founded by German immigrants in 1846.  One of the first things the leader of the settlement, John O. Meusebach (rhymes with Noisy Bock) and several others sat down with the leaders of most of the Indian Tribes in the area and negotiated a peace treaty.  The treaty specifically allowed the Indian Tribes to visit the town and trade with the townspeople.  Local lore says that the treaty was never violated.
One of the two "Treaty Stones" carved to seal the deal.  The other one was given to the Indians and is on display at the site of the treaty near San Saba

The docent said that the Indians would set up camp on the other side of the creek from the fort and trade with the soldiers and townsfolk.  They became an integral part of the fort and town by providing meat, animal skins and Bear Grease.

1848 Ford F-150

Apparently, axles and other mechanical things required lubrication, even in the olden days.

Things weren't always hunky-dory though.  There is a story of some of the Soldiers going into town and getting a little liquored up.  Things were done/said and a fight started between the Soldiers and the owner of the pub.  The fight terminated when the owner of the pub stabbed and killed one of the Soldiers.  His friends then came back later that night and burned the place down.

Since the pub also served as the court house at the time, that fire would be the reason there are no records of the first 4 years of the settlement's existence.

 Actions have consequences.

The  Fort currently has only a few buildings relatively intact.  Two are officer's quarters which were similar to the quarters at Ft McKavett if a bit smaller.  The Visitor's Center was the enlisted barracks.  It's three rooms were said to have housed up to 300 soldiers.  That might explain the altercation above.


The other building is the Stockade.  I found this one very interesting.  When the Fort was deactivated just before the Civil War, it lay vacant for about 50 years before being bought by one of the townsfolk.  They used the stockade as their home as it was in the best repair, adding on to the front to make it more livable.

The Stockade has since been restored to it's former "glory".


The office for the Officer of the Day
The office for the Jailers.  I'm not sure what the purpose of the sloping table on the right was.  I don't think it was a bed as it slopes almost a foot from right to left.  I didn't think to ask the Docent.  Muzzle of the cannon is about 3 inches.
Cannon Accoutrements

Guard room

Cell Block
Jail Cell
Frontier justice was a bit harsh.


So, juvat, who was the Fort named after?

I thought you'd never ask.  That would be Lieutenant Colonel Martin Scott.  Col Scott was born in 1788 in Bennington Vermont (ever been there Sarge?). Fought in the War of 1812 as well as the Mexican-American war in 1846.  Said to be an excellent shot with a rifle, he was killed at the Battle of Molino Del Rey, a Pyrrhic  victory for the Americans in which 11 of 14 Officers leading the attack were killed.

I picked up another little bit of historical trivia on the visit. Much like the last Commander of Fort Mason, the last Commander of Fort Martin Scott was also well known, talented and fought on the Southern Side, James E. Longstreet.

I had an enjoyable afternoon, and when I returned home, Mrs J was still in the arms of Morpheus.  When she awoke, she was feeling much better, so....

A good day was had by all.




14 comments:

  1. Jail cells weren't built for fat people were they? Fort Bliss was waaay out there by itself for quite awhile and frontier life wasn't for the faint of heart. Good to see another installment of the Texas Travelogue juvat.

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    1. No, they were not. I suspect they were built to be unpleasant and discourage repeat visits. It was in the mid-90's Saturday and the cell block was stifling.

      In my Fort McKavett post, I talked about the Union Soldiers having to march from Bliss back to Matagordo Bay and make it there by a certain deadline. That was a very long way, they didn't make it in time and became POW's.

      Heck, it's even a long way to drive, the mile marker where I enter I-10 is 508. Which is the distance to the western border of the state. Yep. A long way.

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  2. Hey Juvat;

    Excellent post and thanks for the info. I do wonder if that sloped table was for maps of the frontier? Just a thought?

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    1. That's certainly a possibility. Maybe even a probability.

      Thanks

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  3. Why yes juvat, I have been to Bennington. Famous battle fought there during the Saratoga campaign of 1777.

    Always been a fan of General Longstreet.

    Nice post.

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    1. YOU were at the Battle of Bennington???? Dang, you ARE old AF Sarge! ;-)

      That had to have been a tough decision and I don't know which way I'd have gone had I been faced with it. It seems the South inherited a bunch of good Generals while the North had to raise them the hard way.

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  4. It took a couple of seconds for Milspeak Translator in my head to kick in and tell me that stockade equals brig.

    I wonder just how difficult it would have been to supply these forts. I can see getting some supplies locally, but for military equipment that is an awfully long logistics chain.

    You mentioned the Texas Rangers Heritage Center, and you didn't tell us you visited there. Maybe a future post?

    Good post, good photos and thanks for teaching me some Texas history.



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    1. Well the town is situated on US87 and US290 both of which started life as trails from San Antonio and Houston/Austin respectively. The town was established to function as a trade center, and the Nimitz Museum uses the Nimitz hotel as one of its buildings. But you are right, the logistics of supplying the western forts would have been significant.

      I haven't visited the Heritage Center....yet. Another case of familiarity breeds contempt. I will rectify that at some point, however. (Not wishing Mrs J to have another bout of Cedar Fever, doncha know)

      Thanks.

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  5. Ha. Until you brought up the Indian Treaty I was suspecting that the fort was actually in Wales.

    Here's why.

    How the Welsh attacked an English Castle back in the day.

    1. English find spot.
    2. Welsh watch English find spot.
    3. English start building Castle.
    4. Welsh watch English start building Castle.
    5. Year later, English still building Castle.
    6. Year later, Welsh still watching English still building Castle.
    7. Another year later, English...
    8. Another year later, Welsh...
    9. See 7.
    10. See 8.
    11. See 7, again.
    12. See 8, again (sigh).
    13. Another year later, English finally finish castle, stock it, move in troops and weapons.
    14. Another year later, Welsh finally figure out, (In Welsh, with too many consonants) "Dude, it's a Castle! Damned English. We must Attack!!!"
    15. English say (in English, but back then English) "Bugger off, you leek eating freaks!"
    16. Welsh lose, move 30-40 miles further into Wales.
    17. Start the whole process at #1 and repeat.

    Thus the English way of conquering Wales.

    But in this case, not so much so I just wasted time scribbling electronically. But I amused myself, so, well, something good happened. :) (And, no, OldAFS wasn't there. He's not that old...)

    Dimetapp is sugared syrup to me. Back in the day, as a teenager, I was taking, on doc's orders, 4 Sudafed every 4 hours plus some really good stuff that's now illegal because idiots were overdosing and dying. Me? It just dried me up. And there's a reason I was a shaky mess of a kid. Really surprised I survived to adulthood.

    Hope your wife is now better. Allergies are no joke.

    So when are you going to give us a guided tour of the Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War (Or whatever it's called?)

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  6. Hey...If a strategy works.....

    It's officially the National Museum of the Pacific War, but since it got its start in the Nimitz hotel(owned and operated by the Admiral's grandfather and located across the street from the Admiral's birthplace) everybody refers to it as the Nimitz Museum. I've posted about it a few times. Although I can't find them, both OldNFO and I had dueling posts from his visit here where we got a guided tour of the place.

    Or are you asking if I've signed up as a volunteer there? No, but I haven't ruled it out either. So far, I haven't run out of things to do, places to see etc.

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  7. Yep allergies suck! Hope she's better. Re the forts, Bliss was started in 1849 as the furthest west fort and anchor for the border with Mexico after a couple of battles. The old fort was originally at Coons Ranch (which is now downtown El Paso), and abandoned in 1851 when the Army moved to Fort Fillmore.

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    1. Did not know that. Or that the Franklin Mountains there had been named for the owner, Benjamin Franklin Coons.

      Thanks

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  8. The sloping table looking affair is indeed a bed for those on guard duty. Similar arrangements are found, usually in the guard house (hey, it's where the guards stay, after all) but sometimes in a more sophisticated fort it will be found adjacent to the sally port (main entrance with the drawbridge, etc.
    I have seen these at the 1660s Ft. Marion/Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine, British forts circa 1720 on the Niagara frontier, mid-18th century Fort Ticonderoga in New York, and sundry others up to and including the Civil War era. These were pretty much standard military policy for most European or American military forces 17th-19th century.

    There is a good discussion of these and the daily routine of the guards at Fort Scott in Kansas circa 1840s which would be similar to the Texas forts at https://www.nps.gov/fosc/learn/education/guardhistorical.htm

    Regular barracks sleeping arrangements were large two deck bunk beds with two soldiers for each level, until the late 19th century when individual bunks or bedsteads were provided.
    John Blackshoe

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  9. Cannon at the bedside for an alarm clock? That’d sure wake you up.

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