Jones County Texas Archives - History of Fort Phantom Hill - 1927 *********************************************************** Submitted by: Dorman Holub Date: 19 January 2020 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/jones/jonestoc.htm *********************************************************** The Stamford LeaderNovember 25, 1927Fort Phantom Hillby Ray RectorSo many requests have come to me here of late for material on the history of Old FortPhantom Hill, that I am going to give briefly the facts as I have gathered them.About three years ago I gave to the Stamford Leader a two-page article dealing withRobert e. LeeÕs military career in Texas prior to the Civil War. That articlecontained some information of history of Phantom Hill. A copy is on file in theCarnegie Library.According to records on file in the War Department, Col. Abercrombie established theÒPost on the Clear Fork of the BrazosÓ known as ÒPhantom Hill,Ó on November 14, 1851.Here were stationed five companies of the 5th United States Infantry. Col.Abercrombie was relieved of his command April 27, 1852 by Lt. Col. C.A. Waite also ofthe 5th Infantry. These troops composed the garrison until August 24, 1853 when fourcompanies were withdrawn to Ringgold Barracks on the Rio Grande. On Sept. 24, 1853the remaining company was reinforced by a company of Dragoons who were commanded byBrevet-Major Henry Sibley. These troops remained at the post until April 6, 1854 whenthe post was abandoned as a military post.It has been erroneously reported that General (then Col.) Robert E. Lee was paymasterin the frontier army at about this time and frequently visited Phantom Hill. However,Albert Sydney Johnston was paymaster in the army in Texas during the period referredto. In a letter addressed to Col. F.B. Larned, paymaster-general, April 8, 1852, Col.Johnston says: ÒI have the honor to report that the district to which I have beenassigned has been paid to the 29th of February last. It is constituted as follows:Fort Graham, Brazos River, Fort Worth, Clear Fork of the Brazos, and the Post on theTrinity, Fort Belknap, Salt Fork of the Brazos, and the Post on the Clear Fork of theBrazos. In March 1854 his son, William Preston Johnston made the trip with him,acting as his clerk, and mentions all the above places including Phantom Hill. Col.Johnston mentions a great hailstorm while on one of these trips on June 9, 1854 andthe same year in October he tells of a flight of grasshoppers which were three dayspassing over a place. On Oct. 18, 1853 he mentions in a letter that his ambulancebecame a wreck at Phantom Hill.From immediately after the Mexican War until 1852 R.E. Lee was stationed at Baltimorewhere he was employed in constructing works of defense for the City of Baltimore andvicinity. IN 1852 he was made Supt. of the Military Academy at West Point andremained there until he assumed command as Lieut. Col. of the Second Cavalry April20, 1855. Albert Sydney Johnston being its Colonel. This regiment of Cavalry wasorganized and recruited in the summer of 1855 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. OnOct. 27, 1855 it began its long march to Western Texas. It numbered 750 men and 800horses. It came to Texas under the command of Col. Johnston, Lee having been detainedat Fort Riley, Kansas, on Court Martial duty. Lee arrived in Texas in March 1856where from San Antonio he writes his first letter home. Lee remained in Texas fouryears and writes many interesting letters while here, but he never mentions FortPhantom Hill. His family was living in Arlington, Virginia during his stay in Texas.Fort Phantom HillBy Bernice ThompsonStamford, TexasForewordI have attempted to give the accurate historical events that are connected with FortPhantom Hill. There has been much controversy in late years concerning the part thatFort Phantom Hill played in the Civil War. Therefore, I have had some difficulty inselecting material that is considered accurate. However, the material that I haveused is based upon sources that seem reliable.Dr. C.C. Rister of Simmons University, Abilene, Texas, has made a carefulinvestigation of this subject, therefore, I owe much to him for the greater part ofmy material. Then, Ray Rector, of Stamford, Texas, should be given credit forfurnishing a part of the historical data.The mention of the name ÒPhantom HillÓ has always made me thoughtful of the origin ofthe term. People who are interested in history cannot keep from feeling a kind ofreverence for the old place because it has about it something of the past which isworthy of our remembrance.I have read different accounts of the army officers stationed at this frontier postwhile it was occupied by the United States forces, of the manner in which it receivedits name, and of its importance as a link in the chain of defense against theIndians; but the various opinions are so conflicting that the truth is lost in a mazeof uncertainties. Therefore, I have based most of my account upon that which waswritten by Dr. C.C. Rister, secretary of the West Texas Historical Association.There are various opinions concerning who built Fort Phantom Hill. One authority saysthat the post was established by Gen. Sam Houston before Texas became one of theStates of the Union; another says that Gen. George Thomas established the post whilean officer in the Second United States Cavalry; and still another says that Gen.Robert E. Lee not only established the post, but that he was stationed there while hewas in Texas, and that one of his children is now buried on the hillside near the oldpost. However, after looking up the records on file in the old record section of theAdjutant GeneralÕs office at Washington, we find that all these men mentioned inconnection with this controversy were stationed at other points during the time thatPhantom Hill was occupied by United States forces. Therefore, the legends couplingtheir names with Phantom Hill should be discredited.Not Connected With HoustonIt is well to discredit in the beginning the story that Sam Houston established thepost and was quite a frequent visitor there. As a Federal garrison the post was in noway connected with Houston. It was not established until 1851 and at that time thosehaving to do with the building of the fort said that nothing was there but the lonelyhill when the Government forces arrived. Houston, as a member of the AmericanCongress, did often call the attention of the Nation to the barbarities beingperpetrated by the wild Indians on the frontier; but the assertion that Houston hadanything to do with the establishing of Phantom Hill can never be sustained fromreliable sources.One of the most controversial points having to do with the officers stationed withthe military service of Robert E. Lee. Lee was at no time stationed at Phantom Hill,according to records on file in the War Department. He was an engineering officerfrom the close of the Mexican War up to the time he was sent to Texas with the SecondCavalry, which command he held until just prior to the beginning of the Civil War.From November, 1851, to September, 1852, he was stationed at Baltimore, MD., and onthe latter date he was transferred to West Point, New York, where he remained untilApril, 1854. Since Phantom Hill was not established until Nov. 6, 1851, and wasabandoned on April 6, 1854, it was quite impossible for Lee to have been stationedthere. When the Second United States Cavalry was sent to Texas in 1856, Lee came withit as Lieutenant Colonel. He writes many interesting letters, some from RinggoldBarracks, Fort Mason, Fort Brown, Indianola and others, but in none of his lettersdoes he once mention Fort Phantom Hill. We find that Lee was stationed at Fort Brownfor a time after his arrival in Texas, from which place he wrote to his wife inDecember, 1856, saying that his only regret in frontier duty was that he was forcedto be absent from his family. At this time his wife and children were at Arlington,VA. Thus the story that one of his children was buried on the hillside near PhantomHill seems to be far-fetched.Some say that General Thomas had a part in the establishment of this post. ButGeneral Thomas did not come to Texas until 1856, two years after the abandonment ofthe post, as Major in the Second United States Cavalry. Thought this officer sawservice along our entire frontier, and undoubtedly visited the post while stationedat Camp Cooper, the official records of the War Department show that at no time washe stationed there.Its Name on the RecordsPhantom Hill in the official records of the War Department is also known as ÒThe Poston the Clear Fork on the Brazos.Ó The occasion for the establishment of a post on theClear Fork was incident to the carrying out of a policy of locating an interior lineof forts in advance of the white settlements, stretching from Eagle Pass on the RioGrande to Preston on the Red River. At the beginning of the movement the greater partof the United States infantry, under the command of Col. Loomis, was stationed atFort Belknap, on the Red Fork of the Brazos. This force was divided in the beginningof the winter of 1851, when five companies under the command of Brevet Lieut. Col.Abercrombie were sent to a point about 50 miles southwest from Fort Belknap, withinstructions to establish a post near the Clear Fork. Lieut. Col. Abercrombie arrivedat a point known locally as Fort Phantom Hill on Nov. 14, 1851, and established thepost. Records detailing the establishment of this post explain that at the time ofthe arrival of troops it was known ÒlocallyÓ as Phantom Hill, so the ghostlikechimneys now standing at the place had nothing to do with giving the place its name.Col. Abercrombie was relieved of his command on April 27, 1852, by Lieut. Col. C.A.Waite of the Fifth Infantry. Different troops were stationed here until April 6,1854, when the point was wholly abandoned as a military post.We find that the duties of these frontier soldiers were indeed arduous Scouts werekept out continuously hunting down the marauding Indians who constantly depredated onthe frontier, killing men, women and children, and driving away stolen stock. Escortswere furnished Government trains, and stage coaches when brought the mail to thesoldiers when brought the mail to the soldiers from Fort Belknap, 42 miles to thenortheast of Phantom Hill. In the winter time, during the prevalence of northers,from eight to 12 wagons were in constant use hauling firewood from a black jackthicket five miles away. One writer spoke of the fact that timber was so scarce thatlumber for building purposes was hauled for a distance of from eight to 40 miles.Even drinking water for the post had to be hauled for a distance of four miles.No Indians Near PostWe find from the report of Col. Freeman, that there were no Indians living in thevicinity of the post. They were, however, frequent visitors there for the purpose oftrading with the soldiers and settlers in the neighborhood. We also find from reportsthat Indians did not make any desperate attacks on the fort because of the fact thatthey were afraid of the two eight pounders, the only artillery of the post.Contrary to the usual conception, there were no strongly fortified redoubts ofearthworks at the ÒPost of the Clear Fork of the Brazos.Ó The post was merecantonment camp where the officers and enlisted men were sheltered. Col. Freemanreported that the buildings which were of a very inferior character, were put up bythe labors of the soldiers. Both the officers and the soldiers lived in pole hutsdaubed with mud of which the inspector wrote: ÒThey are now in a dilapidatedcondition. The company quarters will, in all probability, fall down during theprevalence of the severe ÔnorthersÕ of the coming winter.ÓBecause of the exposure to severe weather encountered both at the post and on escortduty, coupled with the poor food furnished the soldiers much sickness wasexperienced. There were 360 soldiers of the Fifth Infantry treated at the posthospital during the year of 1853. The sickness was thought to have been brought on bythe absence of vegetables from the soldiers diet. To correct this situation Dr.Taylor, the post physician, recommended that pickles be added to the ration of eachsoldier, and when the vegetables in the post garden failed because of drouths thiswas done.Scarcity of WaterWe also find it interesting to note that two of the reasons for the excavation ofPhantom Hill as a Government post and the inability of the officers of the fort tosupply the men with vegetables from the post garden. The officials thought that thesetwo deficiencies could be more easily supplied at other places where the sameprotection could be given the settlers therefore, Phantom Hill was excavated.In 1871 Gen. W.T. Sherman camped at Phantom Hill while on a tour of inspection of theTexas posts, and Inspector General Marcy, who accompanied him on this trip made thecomment that Òthis fort was destroyed by our troops in 1861,Ó and that all that thenremained were two stone buildings and a number of chimneys. However, it is notrevealed from official records why and by whom the buildings at the post were burned.After the abandonment of Phantom Hill as a station for Government troops it was thenused as a mail station and from time to time small bodies of troops were stationedthere to guard the mails or to use the place as a base from which to protectexpeditions into the Indian country to the west. From the outbreak of the Civil Warup to 1865, the post was often visited by Confederate troops patrolling the frontier,keeping back the hostile savages who sought to take advantage of the disorganizationbrought about by the excavation of West Texas by Federal troops. For a time after theclose of the Civil War no troops were stationed there and the entire region about thepost again passed under the control of the marauding Indians.Was a Frontier ProtectionPhantom Hill as other frontier posts at that time, served a useful purpose and shouldbe remembered as one of the links in the chain of frontier protection. These oldruins, standing as sentinels on the borderland of those days that are past and gone,are harbingers of the prosperous era now dawning in West Texas. Today these oldruins, are in a dilapidated state. The old powder magazine is now used for a cow pen,the commissary for a pigsty and the building where once violators of rules andregulations of the post were imprisoned, today is occupied by a farmer who tills thesoil nearby. It would be a fine thing indeed if the patriotic citizens of thisportion of the State could buy the site of this historic old post and erect a fittingmemorial to the frontier defense and preserve, as far as possible some of the tumbleddown walls of the various buildings.The poet-ranchman, Larry Chittenden, describes Fort Phantom Hill vividly in this poem.Old Phantom HillOn the breezy Texas border, on the prairies far way,Where the antelope is grazing, and the Spanish ponies play; Where the tawny cattle wander thru the golden incensed hours,And the sunlight woos a landscape clothed in royal robes of flowers,Where the Elm and Clear Fork mingle, as they journey to the sea,And the night wind sobs sad stories oÕer a wild and lonely lea;When of old the dusky savage and shaggy bison trod;And the reverent pains are sleeping midst drowsy dreams of God.Where the twilight loves to linger, oÕer nightÕs sable robes are castÔRound grim ruined, spectral chimneys telling stories of the past,There upon an alry mesa, close beside a whispering rill,There today youÕll find the ruins of ÒOld Fort Phantom Hill.ÓBibliographyÒFort Phantom Hill,Ó in Western Weekly, newspaper, Oct. 4, 1925, Abilene, Texas.Rector, Ray. Stamford, Texas.Rister, C.C., Abilene, Texas.View of the Chimneys at Fort Phantom Hill. There are 19 standing. There were 100originally. Some being torn down, but not one ever fell down. The reason they werenot torn down for the rock in them is they were built so well that it did not pay totear them down.The Old Powder Magazine at Fort Phantom Hill, still in good state of preservation.Built about 1851.