The Presidio de Calabasas, also known as Fort Calabasas or Camp Calabasas, was a stone
fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
built by
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in 1837 south of
Tumacacori,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. It was built on the land of the Grant of
Manuel María Gándara
The Presidio de Calabasas, also known as Fort Calabasas or Camp Calabasas, was a stone fortress built by Mexico in 1837 south of Tumacacori, Arizona. It was built on the land of the Grant of Manuel María Gándara, by Gándara to protect his lan ...
, by Gándara to protect his lands near the
Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas from the
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
. Civilians established a small farming settlement called
Calabasas, in the area nearby the protection of the Presidio.
Following the
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase ( es, region=MX, la Venta de La Mesilla "The Sale of La Mesilla") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effe ...
, the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
stationed
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Enoch Steen and four companies of the
1st U.S. Dragoons
The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons ...
, now the 1st U. S. Cavalry, at old Camp Calabasas on November 27, 1856. Major Steen renamed it Camp Moore. The site was abandoned in March 1857 for the new
Fort Buchanan. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Calabasas was briefly occupied by the
Confederates in March 1862 before the arrival of the
California Column in April. The Californians transferred their garrison at
Tubac, Arizona
Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which tr ...
to the site in September 1865 and renamed it
Fort Mason, Arizona Territory
Following the Gadsden Purchase, the United States Army sent Major Enoch Steen and four companies of the 1st U. S. Dragoons (now the 1st U. S. Cavalry) to occupy the former site of the Mexican Presidio de Calabasas. Major Steen arrived on Novemb ...
. The
1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers
The 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers was a cavalry battalion in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruits were largely drawn from the Californio population (colloquially known as "Native Californians"), though it ...
and
7th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry occupied the post until relieved by troops of the Regular Army in May 1866. The Regulars abandoned Fort Mason due to persistent
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
in the fall of 1866 and established
Camp Cameron Camp Cameron was an American Civil War training camp that existed in 1861-1862 in North Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was used for the initial organization of elements of the 38th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. It was probably named for Simon Came ...
. All these posts were located south of the confluence of Potrero Creek and the
Santa Cruz River. Camp Cameron was established about 16 miles northeast of Calabasas and existed from October 1, 1866 to March 7, 1867.
Robert Frazer, Robert W. Frazer, Forts of the West: Military Forts and Presidios and Posts Commonly Called Forts West of the Mississippi River to 1898, University of Oklahoma Press, 1975, p.7
/ref>
See also
* Larcena Pennington Page
Larcena Pennington Page (January 10, 1837 – March 31, 1913), born Larcena Ann Pennington, was an American pioneer known for surviving a kidnapping by Apache as a young married woman of 23 years old in present-day Arizona. Left for dead and u ...
* Tumacácori National Historical Park
References
{{authority control
Calabasas
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Archaeological sites in Arizona
Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Colonial Mexico
History of Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Mexican-American culture in Arizona
American frontier
1837 establishments in Mexico