Fort Bayard

Fort Bayard Military Post was established at the base of the Santa Rita Mountains in southwestern New Mexico August 21, 1866 by the 125th U.S Colored Troops Company F, under Lt .James Kerr. That same year saw the beginnings of the great cattle drives northward from Texas to the railroads in Kansas and many of those cattle came from New Mexico’s grazing lands. The fort’s mission was to protect those lands as well as the Pinos Altos Mining District from Apache attacks. The fort was named after General George D. Bayard, who died after being wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg in the Civil War.