Fort Martin Scott: Guardian of the Treaty by Joseph Luther (review)

In Fort Martin Scott: Guardian of the Treaty, historian and archaeologist Joseph Luther succeeds in conducting the first scholarly study devoted to the military fort established on the Texas frontier near Fredericksburg in the mid-nineteenth century.

The author begins by noting the establishment of Fredericksburg and Fort Martin Scott along the Pinta Trail, a migratory route dating to the Paleo-Indian era that extended 180 miles northwest from San Antonio through the Texas Hill Country. The frontier fort was established when the area served as the gateway to the Comanche heartland and represented, according to Luther, “the greatest threat to the advancement of Texas civilization at that time” (17). The Lipan Apaches were also present in the Texas Hill Country. The Texas Rangers played an important role in patrolling the area prior to the military fort. The political landscape of the Texas Hill Country changed when the Mainzer Adelsverein, later the German Emigration Company, was formed in 1842 to acquire land and promote colonization. One significant result, the author notes, was the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty of 1847. The agreement between John O. Meusebach, representing the Adelsverein, and the Penateka Comanches differed from most treaties signed in Texas because both parties “were given equal recognition and dignity. The agreement was as if between two allies rather than two formerly warring factions” (62–63). Luther continues his narrative by chronicling the various military units active in Fort Martin Scott, from the annexation of Texas as part of the United States of America in 1845 through the period of the Civil War in the 1860s. Eventually, Fort Martin Scott was purchased by the Braeutigam family in 1870 and used as a beer garden. The property was then sold to the city of Fredericksburg in 1959, and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Similar to his previous work, Camp Verde: Texas Frontier, the book is a reference guide that introduces a complex, contested period in Texas history in one simple narrative. There are twenty-one chapters, with the longest having no more than ten pages. Reflecting his background, Luther discusses archaeological investigations conducted at Fort Martin Scott and provides detailed geographic coordinates and photographs of landmarks to complement his narrative whenever possible. This book will prove to be valuable readers interested in the local history of the Texas frontier in the mid-nineteenth century.