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{{Short description|19th-century US Army outpost in Arizona}}
{{about|the U.S. Army outpost in Arizona|the film|Fort Bowie (film)}}
{{distinguish|Camp Bowie}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Fort Bowie
|partof=
|location=[[Apache Pass]], Arizona, US
|image=Fort Bowie in 1893.jpg
|caption=Fort Bowie in 1893
|type=[[Army]] fortification
|built=1864
|materials=
|height=
|used=1862–1894
|demolished=
|condition=[[tourist attraction]]
|ownership=
|controlledby=Arizona
|commanders=
|occupants=[[United States Army]]
|battles=
|events=
}}

'''Fort Bowie''' was a 19th-century outpost of the [[United States Army]] located in southeastern [[Arizona]] near the present day town of [[Willcox, Arizona]].  The remaining buildings and site are now protected as '''Fort Bowie National Historic Site'''.

Fort Bowie was established by the California Volunteers in 1862, after a series of engagements between the [[California Column]] and the [[Chiricahua]] [[Apache]]s. The most violent of these conflicts was the [[Battle of Apache Pass]] in July 1862. The fort was named in honor of [[Colonel]] [[George Washington Bowie]] commander of the [[5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry]] who first established the fort.  The first Fort Bowie resembled a temporary camp rather than a permanent army post. In 1868, a second, more substantial Fort Bowie was built which included adobe barracks, houses, corrals, a trading post, and a hospital. The second Fort Bowie was built on a plateau about {{Convert|500|yd}} to the east of the first site. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and [[Apache Pass]] were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of [[Geronimo]] in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to [[Florida]] and [[Alabama]]. The fort was abandoned in 1894.

==History==

There were two engagements between the [[United States Army]] and the Chiricahua that led to the construction of Fort Bowie in 1862. The first engagement, known as the [[Bascom Affair]], took place in January 1861 when a band of Apaches raided the ranch of John Ward. Ward mistakenly believed that [[Cochise]] and the Chiricahua [[Apache]]s were responsible for the raid and demanded that the military take action against Cochise to recover property stolen during the raid. The next month, the army responded to Ward's request by sending [[Lieutenant]] [[George Nicholas Bascom]] and fifty-four men to Apache Pass to confront Cochise. Bascom managed to capture Cochise and threatened to hold him hostage until Ward's property was returned but the Apache leader managed to escape. Sporadic fighting between Cochise's warriors and Army troops would continue for years to come.
[[File:Apache prisoners at Fort Bowie, Arizona, 1884 - NARA - 530907.jpg|thumb|right|Apache prisoners at Fort Bowie, 1884]]
The second major engagement was the [[Battle of Apache Pass]], fought from July 15 to July 16, 1862. A [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] regiment under [[Brigadier General]] [[James Henry Carleton]] was ambushed by a band of Apaches while en route from [[California]] to [[New Mexico]] where they were to confront [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] troops. This battle led to the eventual establishment of Fort Bowie in order to protect Apache Pass and an important source of water, Apache Spring. Construction on the first Fort Bowie began in 1862 but this resembled a temporary camp rather than a permanent military fort. In 1868, a second, more substantial Fort Bowie was built on a plateau about {{convert|500|yd}} to the east. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of [[Geronimo]] in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to [[Florida]] and [[Alabama]]. The fort was abandoned in 1894.

=== Commanders ===
* Major [[Theodore H. Coult]] July 1862 – September 1862
* Captain [[Hugh L. Hinds]] September 1862 – May 1863

=== Garrisons of Fort Bowie ===
* Company G, 5th California Infantry. July 1862 – January 1863
* Company E, 5th California Infantry. January 1863 – May 1863
* Company K, 5th California Infantry. May 1864 – September 1864
* ?
* Company L, 1st California Cavalry. June 1865 – January 1866
* ?
* Company L, 1st California Cavalry. March 1866 – April 1866

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1870= 400
|1880= 184
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>
}}

Fort Bowie first reported on the 1870 U.S. Census as "Apache Pass." It featured 400 residents, all White.<ref>{{cite web |title=Population of Civil Divisions less than counties |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1870a-05.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |page=83 |date=1870}}</ref> It tied with [[Adamsville, Arizona|Adamsville]] for the distinction of the 4th largest community in the Arizona Territory. At the time, it was located in Pima County. In 1880, it reported as "Camp Bowie" with 184 residents (the racial demographics were not reported).<ref>{{cite web |title=Population of Civil Divisions less than counties, in the aggregate, at the Censuses of 1880 and 1870 |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v1-09.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |page=99 |date=1880}}</ref> In 1881, Fort Bowie was drawn into the newly created county of Cochise. Although Fort Bowie was still in existence as an active U.S. Army facility, it did not report a population for 1890. It would be formally closed down 4 years later. It has not reported on the census to date.

==Fort Bowie today==
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Fort Bowie National Historic Site
| iucn_category = III
| photo =
| photo_caption =
| map = Arizona#USA
| relief = 1
| map_caption =
| location = [[Cochise County, Arizona]], [[United States]]
| nearest_city = [[Bowie, Arizona]]
| coordinates = {{coord|32|08|46|N|109|26|08|W|region:US-AZ|display=inline, title}}
| area = 999.45 acres (4.04 km<sup>2</sup>)
| established = July 29, 1972
| visitation_num = 8,401
| visitation_year = 2018
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
| website = [https://www.nps.gov/fobo/index.htm Fort Bowie National Historic Site]
| embedded1 =
{{Infobox NRHP|embed=yes
 | name = Fort Bowie and Apache Pass
 | nrhp_type =nhl
 | image =
 | caption =
 | nearest_city=
 | locmapin =
 | area =
 | built =1862
 | designated_nrhp_type= December 19, 1960<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1207&ResourceType=District|title=Fort Bowie and Apache Pass|access-date=2007-09-27|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070728053533/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1207&ResourceType=District|archive-date=2007-07-28|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | added = July 29, 1972<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
 | refnum=72000194<ref>{{cite web |url={{NHLS url|id=72000194}} |title=Fort Bowie and Apache Pass |publisher=National Survey Of Historic Sites And Buildings. National Park Service}}</ref>
}}}}

The Fort Bowie and Apache Pass site was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1960.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv">{{cite web |url={{NHLS url|id=72000194}} |title=Camp Bowie; Fort Bowie| author= John M. Treeful |work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination |date=December 1975 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="nrhpphotos">{{cite web |url={{NHLS url|id=72000194|photos=y}} |title=Camp Bowie; Fort Bowie – Accompanying 1 photo, undated. |work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination |date=December 1975 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>

The remains of Fort Bowie are carefully preserved, as are the adobe walls of various post buildings and the ruins of a [[Butterfield Overland Mail|Butterfield Stage Station]]. The site is located on the unpaved Apache Pass Road which can be accessed from [[Interstate 10]] near [[Bowie, Arizona]] or from Arizona Highway 186 just north of the entrance to [[Chiricahua National Monument]]. Access to the ruins of Fort Bowie and the visitor center is via a {{Convert|1.5|mi|km|adj=on}} foot trail which begins at a parking area along Apache Pass Road.  This trail to the old fort passes other historic sites such as Apache Spring, Siphon Canyon, the ruins of the Butterfield Stage Stop and Bascom's Camp.

US Army soldier [[Orizoba Spence]], who received the [[Medal of Honor]] during the Indian Wars, is buried in the post cemetery

In 1958 a Western entitled ''Fort Bowie'' was made, starring [[Ben Johnson (actor)|Ben Johnson]]. The film charted one of the disputes between the US Cavalry based at the fort and the Apaches.

==Gallery==
{|
|<gallery mode=packed>
Image:Fort_Bowie_1880.jpg|Fort Bowie, circa 1880.
File:Apache prisoners at Fort Bowie, Arizona, 1884 - NARA - 530907.jpg|Apache prisoners at Fort Bowie, 1884
File:Fort Bowie in 1893.jpg|Fort Bowie in 1893.
File:Fort-bowie-nhs.jpg|Present day ruins of Fort Bowie.
File:FortBowieSiteAZ2009.jpg|Fort Bowie site today.
File:Fort Bowie SW01.jpg|Fort Bowie Ranger Station and museum
</gallery>
|}

==See also==
*[[Bear Spring House, Guardhouse, and Spring]]

==References==
<references />
* Douglas C. McChristian, ''Fort Bowie, Arizona: Combat Post of the Southwest, 1858–1894'', University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-3781-0}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fort Bowie}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070625090928/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/amsw/ American Southwest, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]
* [https://www.nps.gov/fobo/planyourvisit/maps.htm Park Map of Fort Bowie National Historitc Site]
* [https://www.nps.gov/fobo/index.htm National Park Service: Fort Bowie National Historitc Site]
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63 |id=az0007 |title=Fort Bowie (Ruins), Boiwe vicinity, Cochise County, AZ}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-A |id=az0016 |title=Fort Bowie, Cavalry Barracks |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-B |id=az0014 |title=Fort Bowie, Corrals |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-C |id=az0011 |title=Fort Bowie, Infantry Barracks |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-D |id=az0015 |title=Fort Bowie, Commanding Officer's Quarters |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-E |id=az0013 |title=Fort Bowie, Guardhouse |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-F |id=az0009 |title=Fort Bowie, Schoolhouse |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-G |id=az0012 |title=Fort Bowie, New Hospital |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-H |id=az0008 |title=Fort Bowie, Sutler's Store |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-I |id=az0010 |title=Fort Bowie, Magazine |link=no}}
* {{HABS |survey=AZ-63-J |id=az0421 |title=Fort Bowie, Stage Station (Ruins) |link=no}}
* [https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AJ6cWVWguqVdf9s&id=5ED884959ED58C8F%211703&cid=5ED884959ED58C8F Photos of the Fort Bowie, Stage Station (Ruins)] from [http://fcsiems.blogspot.com/2015/03/fort-bowie-and-apache-pass.html Our Oasis, Fort Bowie and Apache Pass].  Note differences between these photos and the old B/W photo purported to be the stage station.  That old photo looks like some ruins of the Old Fort Bowie on the hill between the cemetery and the second site of Fort Bowie.
* {{GNIS | 4746 | Camp Bowie (historical) }}
* {{GNIS | 22053 | First Fort Bowie ruins }}
* {{GNIS | 1888916 |Fort Bowie Historic Site }}

{{Registered Historic Places}}
{{Protected areas of Arizona}}
{{Portal bar|Arizona|History}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Arizona]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Arizona]]
[[Category:National Historic Sites in Arizona]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Cochise County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Native American history of Arizona]]
[[Category:Museums in Cochise County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Arizona]]
[[Category:American Civil War forts|Bowie]]
[[Category:Arizona Territory]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Cochise County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Forts in Arizona|Bowie]]
[[Category:Ruins on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:History of Cochise County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Arizona]]
[[Category:Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona|Bowie]]
[[Category:1864 establishments in Arizona Territory]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cochise County, Arizona]]