Fort Worth: A Frontier Triumph

14. The Lone Fort on the Prairie

CHAPTER 14 The Lone Fort on the Prairie RIFLE SHOTS clapped with ear-piercing sharpness cutting through the heavy silence on June 6, 1849, to climax the raising of the United States flag of thirty stars at the forks of the Trinity. A military ceremony in good form for the records of the War Department in Washington had taken place. The Second Dragoons, Company F, United States Cavalry under the command of Major Ripley Allen Arnold had formally begun the establishment of the military post called Camp Worth. Tired but happy soldiers, amazed by the beauty of the country, were pleased with the location for their new camp. In the coolness of a live oak grove northeast of the present courthouse square and near what is known as Pioneer Rest Cemetery, the dragoons found that nature had met man's every need. Three-quarters of a mile away cold water gushed from the south bank of the Trinity, which never lost its coolness under the thick shade of great oaks and giant pecan trees. They called it Cold Springs. Throughout all seasons the supply of cold water never failed even when the streams of the Clear and West Forks were reduced to stagnant pools during the hot, slow summers. This spring was to provide the source of drinking water later when settlers moved in, and until they could dig wells. Later still, it served as a recreation resort for picnics and Fourth of July celebrations up through CHAPTER 14 69 the turn of the twentieth century. By 1949, a hundred years from their discovery by the dragoons, only a faint bubbly trickle remained due to the south bank being denuded of trees. A road and a bridge leading to this location still bear the name Cold Springs. Weary, worn soldiers, on that evening of historic June 6, made their beds almost as early as the thousands of wild chickens that came to roost in the nearby trees. Dragoons would sleep away their exhaustion. From June 4 to 6 they had been on the road from Fort Graham, over fifty miles away. Many creeks had been a problem to cross with mule-drawn vehicles loaded with twelve-pound brass field guns, six-pound brass field guns, Springfield smooth-bore muskets, Harper's Ferry sharpshooter rifles, army smooth-bore percussion pistols, one six-pound howitzer, a small mill, carpenter and blacksmith tools, camp equipment, food rations, and medical supplies. It did not require a bugle to awaken the dragoons at sunrise on June 7. The squawking of a thousand wild chickens as they left their roost in the trees at the break of day, brought the dragoons from their sleep to begin months of unremitting labor. Major Arnold, the only officer with the company that June, had to bear over much. There was the duty of operating efficiently a military post with the problem of keeping the soldiers well; for this camp, though in a beautiful location, was not in a healthful one. Situated in the lowlands and heavily timbered, mosquitoes swarmed, causing illness. This in turn contributed to meager manpower to construct the necessary buildings. Nine days after camp had been made, Major Arnold revealed his discontent . The post was not taking form rapidly enough in his eager vision. He needed help. From the archives of the War Department, we learn that he wrote to Major General Roger Jones, the adjutant general of the United States, on June 15, in a testy mood and underlined words for emphasis. General I have the honor to ask you to look over the enclosed Roll of my Company and to request that if there are any Drilled Recruits at the Cavalry Depot that my Company may be filled up-(those assigned me from Detachment brought out by Lt. Smith in November last with one exception had not been drilled at the Carbine Manual or Saber Exercises--or at least knew nothing of either). I am building a new Post at this Place (the extreme Northern Frontier yet occupied) and my Company is so small that I cannot keep up my Scouting Parties. I have represented this matter to the Col. of the Regiment, and have asked that I might at least have a subaltern officer-I require a Bugler the Boy I have is sickly and his time will expire in November next. 70 BOOK II The muster roll that accompanied the...