AAR - Fort Bowie National Historic Site, AZ- July 14, 2007
Martin and I made the trip down to help mark the 145th Anniversary of the Battle of Apache Pass at the Fort Bowie National Historic Site by providing 1st person interpretation depicting members of the 1st California Infantry, Co. E.
We left Phoenix at 4:15am Saturday morning and arrived at the site about 8:15am following a fairly uneventful trip. As we were kitting up in the parking lot at the trail head a family of 6 stopped to ask if they could get to Chiricahua National Monument and there was anything at Fort Bowie worth seeing. We told them a little about the site, its history, and the significance of this date and they enthusiastically decided to check out the park themselves. Their enthusiasm for history was quite obvious when their nine year old came over strait away and ask "is that a Springfield?" in reference to our model 1855 Springfield Rifle Muskets. They were from Cincinnati and had flown out the day before to take a road trip exploring the far west.
We finished kitting up and began the mile and a half hike into the site and got about a quarter mile into the site when I realized I'd left some items back in the car. I made the trek back to fetch them while Martin found a spot of shade to wait. After returning from the car, we leapfrogged the family on the way into the park sharing bits of the site history as we went. As we trudged along it was quickly apparent to me that I have not been getting out enough this summer and the full pack was quite a burden in the heat in just the first mile. Once we reached the spring we took a leisurely break to fill canteens and soak neckerchiefs. The family we had been leapfrogging caught up to us, and we provided a detailed talk on the significance of the spring and the battle to gain access to it.
Following our refreshing respite, we continued on to the visitor's center where we met with the volunteer rangers. They had been waiting for our arrival to have the flag raised over the post which we marched out and did promptly. We then set up a blanket display and settled in for a day of interpreting. We had several small groups throughout the day who were quite interested in what we had to share. In between groups we chatted with the rangers, wrote letters, or cleaned and repaired gear.
At the end of the day we took the upper route back to the stage stop. After a long and tiring hike, we reached our destination. For extra overnight security and ease of leaving the next day I determined to hike out of the site and moved my car to the maintenance yard near the visitor center. I left my pack but took the canteens to fill and hiked out to the trailhead drove around to the handicapped access for the park and then hiked back to the stage stop by way of the spring to arrive shortly before dark.
The weather all around us was turning rather ominous and we took a little time deciding the best disposition of our camp. We hung up our uniforms up to dry out the sweat and humidity they had absorbed throughout the day's activities. After a cold dinner of hardtack, salt beef, and essence of coffee we settled in for the evening and spent a number of hours watching the weather whirl all around us as we chatted about the vagaries of life. The weather was a welcome reminder of the storm that the troops endured during their 40 mile forced march 145 years previous and contributed to the privilege of being onsite for this anniversary. Despite several moments where were certain the storms all about us were going to converge on our small camp, we did not get rained on and the night passed quite comfortably.
I awoke early and enjoyed watching the sunrise as I reflected on the significance of the site, the events that occurred there, and the people who's footsteps we were following. I indulged in my surreal ponderings for a short while and then took care of eating breakfast and packing up my gear. We marched to the spring where we washed up, filled canteens, and relaxed a bit before heading up to the visitor's center.
We again raised the flag and then settled in for a day of interpretation, visiting with the rangers and just enjoying being on the site. We had several visitors and the day passed rather uneventfully until late afternoon when we had another storm come in rather rapidly and, this time, rained rather heavily upon us but blew over quite quickly. We finished out the day at 4:30pm by lowering the flag and headed out. We stopped for dinner in Tucson and returned to Phoenix about 9:30pm without incident.
All in all it was a successful event. The site was as unique and special as ever and the time of year and anniversary were reminiscent of historic events. The park staff was friendly and welcoming. We had some very enthusiastic and interested visitors. While not first person, the conversation was enjoyable and interesting. The weather was more than cooperative. And our rations of hardtack, salt beef, and essence of coffee were quite palatable. The trip was well worth it and I'm quite glad I was able to make the trip.
- Troy Groves