Brief History of Fort Jesup

The history of Fort Jesup begins with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. When President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, the western boundary of the purchased was not defined in the Treaty, Spain claimed that the boundary was near Natchitoches while the United States claimed everything to the Rio Grande. In 1806, open war almost broke out between Spain and the U.S. over the boundary as the two armies assembled at the Sabine River. The American commander, General James Wilkinson, suggested an agreement to create a Neutral Strip between the Sabine River and the Arryo Hondo near Natchitoches. Wilkinson’s motives for creating the Neutral Strip may not have been simple patriotism, because Wilkinson was not only a Spanish Spy, but he was also involved in Arron Burr’s plot to create an empire of the Ohio Vally, the Louisiana Purchase, and Mexico. Whatever his motives, Wilkinson had left the United States a 40-mile-wide strip of land that neither country controlled. Since neither government were allowed to station troops or law enforcement officials in the region, this “No Man’s Land” had become a haven for outlaws who either preyed on travelers passing through the region or committed crimes in the United States or Spanish Texas then fled to the Neutral Ground to hide.

Once the boundary was officially set at the Sabine River, the Governor of Louisiana requested that the War Department build a fort close to the Sabine River. Fort Jesup was founded by Lieutenant Colonel and future President Zachary Taylor in 1822 and was located halfway between the Red and Sabine Rivers in northwest Louisiana. Built a day’s march from the international boundary with Mexico at the Sabine River (since Texas was still part of Mexico at this time), the post’s missions were to guard and protect the international boundary, protect settlers moving into the region, and to bring law and order to the former Neutral Ground. Soldiers from the fort built a series of roads connecting military posts in Arkansas and Oklahoma, which were also used by settlers moving west. During the 1836 Texas Revolution, Fort Jesup was made the headquarters of the Western Department of the Army with the arrival of Major General Edmund P. Gaines and his staff, and the 6^th US Infantry was sent to reinforce the 3^rd US Infantry already stationed there. During the conflict, the United States was officially neutral, but many soldiers deserted to join the Texas cause. At least three Fort Jesup soldiers died at the Alamo, a dozen or more were killed in the massacre at Goliad, and a large number fought at the Battle of San Jacinto which won Texas it’s independence.  Fort Jesup soldiers served among many Texas Army units, including in the Texas Regular Army Infantry and Artillery. General Sam Houston gave both units credit for the Texas victory, even though the Texas Army was outnumbered. After the war, many of the soldiers returned to the United States Army and were reinstated to their former ranks and companies. Those who stayed in Texas were required to return their US Army issued muskets.

By 1845, Fort Jesup was one of the largest posts west of the Mississippi River and covered an area of 16,902 acres, roughly three miles in every direction from the flag staff. By the time the fort closed, there were over one hundred buildings at the fort (in an era when most forts only had twenty or thirty buildings). Because of the size of the post, there were no walls around the perimeter. The fort was laid out as a large rectangle with officer’s quarters on the north side of the Parade Ground, enlisted soldier’s barracks on the south and east side and the administrative buildings on the west side. The post hospital was to the south of the enlisted barracks. Fort Jesup was one of the most comfortable southern posts, with temperatures averaged lows of 76 and highs of 96 during the summer with “cool and pleasant” evenings due to the “refreshing breezes which come in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico.” In fact, the fort was considered as one of the healthiest on the western frontier, not only by medical officers but by the Inspector General as well.