The San Antonio–El Paso Road, also known as the Lower Emigrant Road or Military Road, was an economically important trade route between the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

cities of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

between 1849 and 1882. Mail, freight, and passengers traveled by horse and wagon along this road across the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

and dangerous

Trans-Pecos The Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, is the distinct portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with Far West Texas, a subdivision of West Texas. The Tran ...

region of

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

. The " Upper Emigrant Road" originated at

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

and skirted the north of the Edwards Plateau. It intersected the Lower Road near Comanche Springs west of Horsehead Crossing of the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...

. In 1848, businessmen in San Antonio hired

John Coffee Hays John Coffee Hays (January 28, 1817 – April 21, 1883) was an American military officer. A captain in the Texas Ranger Division, Texas Rangers and a military officer of the Republic of Texas, Hays served in several armed conflicts from 1836 to 1 ...

to find a route to El Paso. Hays and a squad of Texas Rangers spent three and a half months on their quest, but only made it as far as

Presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

due to lack of food and water. By 1849, gold seekers wishing to get to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to stake claims were arriving in Texas and looking for opportunities to travel west. Brevet Major General William J. Worth ordered

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

William H.C. Whiting and Lieutenant William Farrar Smith to find a suitable route to El Paso. They were to follow Hays' trail to Presidio and continue up the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

to El Paso. The team made it to El Paso, but believed the route was unsatisfactory. On the return trip, they traveled down the Rio Grande for 100 miles, then headed east for the

. They followed the Pecos to Devils River and the Devils back to the Rio Grande. From there, they headed east to San Antonio. Brevet Brigadier General William S. Harney, commanding the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in Texas after General Worth's death in the San Antonio

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic, ordered Lieutenant Smith to accompany Lieutenant Colonel

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from ...

on another survey expedition to El Paso. The survey party was escorted by a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of the First Infantry. Also, six companies of the Third Infantry and a group of California-bound

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s accompanied them. One of these Forty-niners, Robert Eccleston, wrote a journal describing incidents of the journey and the land they passed over, with the mileage, each day along the route. The trail they followed to El Paso differed only slightly from Whiting and Smith's return route. This trail became known as the Lower or Military Road, and then the San Antonio–El Paso Road. "In 1850, the largest supply train to use the road" left

Fort Inge Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. History Established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849, Fort Inge was garrisoned intermittently until March 19, 1869. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops ass ...

for El Paso with 340 wagons, 4000 animals, 450 civilians, and 175 soldiers. To protect people and supplies along the road from Indians and

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

s, the Army constructed a series of

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s: These included

(1849–1869), Fort Clark (1852–1944), Fort Lancaster (1855–1862, 1867–1874), Fort Stockton (1859–1862, 1867–1886), Fort Davis (1854–1862, 1867–1891), Fort Quitman (1858–1861, 1868–1877, 1880–1882), and

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

(1849–). The road was used for the San Antonio-El Paso Mail from 1851–1862 and 1866–1882, and as part of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line route in 1857–1858. The

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

began using the Lower Road from Fort Stockton to El Paso in 1859–1861.

1859 table of distances along the San Antonio-El Paso Road

These distances were measured from one station or watering place to another from starting point.''Table of distances from Texas Almanac, 1859''
Book, ca. 1859; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123765/ accessed November 12, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association, Denton, Texas *

Leon River The Leon River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It has three primary forks - the North, Middle, and South Leon Rivers, which meet near Eastland and then run for around until it meets with the Lampasas River and the Salado Creek to f ...

, 6.53 miles * Leon river to Castroville, on the

Medina River The Medina River is located in south central Texas, United States, in the Medina Valley. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres (Catfish river). Its source is in springs in the Edwards Plateau in northwest Band ...

, 18.0 miles * Castroville to D'Hanis Seco River, 25.28 miles * D'Hanis to Rancheros Creek, 8.38 miles * Ranchero Creek to Sabinal River, 3.94 miles * Sabinal Creek to Camanche Creek, 5.0 miles * Camanche Creek to Rio Frio, 8.46 miles * Rio Frio to head of Leona River, " Uvalde", Fort Inge 6.08 miles * Uvalde to

Nueces River The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...

, 9.04 miles * Nueces to Turkey Creek, 10.27 miles * Turkey Creek to Elm Creek, 15.23 miles * Elm Creek to Las Moras River, Fort Clarke, 7.13 miles / 123.34 miles --- * Fort Clarke to Piedra Pinto, 7.0 miles * Piedra Pinto to Maverick Creek, 8.86 miles * Maverick Creek to San Felipe Springs, 12.61 miles * San Felipe to first crossing of San Pedro or Devil's River, 10.22 miles * First Crossing to Painted Caves, 2.54 miles * Painted Caves to California Spring, 15.73 miles * California Spring to Willow Spring, 2 miles * Willow Spring to Fort Hudson, and second crossing Pedro or Devil's River, 16.39 miles / 75.35 miles --- * Fort Hudson to head of San Pedro or Devil's River, 19.50 miles * Head of river to Howard Springs, 44 miles * Howard Springs to Live Oak Creek, 30.44 miles * Live Oak creek to Fort Lancaster, 3 miles /96.94 miles --- * Fort Lancaster to Pecos Crossing, 4.29 miles * Pecos Crossing to Pecos Spring, 6 miles * Pecos Spring to Leaving of Pecos, 32.26 miles * Leaving of Pecos to Arroyo Escondido, 16.26 miles * Arroyo Escondido to Escondido Spring, 8.58 miles * Escondido Spring to Comanche Springs, 19.40 miles * Comanche Spring to Leon Hole, 8.88 miles * Leon Hole to Hackberry Pond, 11 miles * Hackberry pond to Limpia Creek, 32 miles * Limpia creek to Fort Davis, 18.86 miles /157.99 miles --- * Fort Davis to Point of Rocks, 10 miles * Point of Rocks to Barrel Springs, 8.42 miles * Barrel Springs to Deadman's Hole, 13.58 miles * Deadman's Hole to Van Horn's Wells, 32.83 miles * Van Horn's Wells to Eagle Springs, 19.74 miles * Eagle Springs to first camp on Rio Grande, 31.42 miles * First camp on Rio Grande to

Birchville Birchville is a suburb of Upper Hutt, New Zealand in the North Island. Its centre lies at the entrance to the Akatarawa Valley, in the north of the city, near confluence of the Akatarawa River with the Hutt River (New Zealand), Hutt River. It i ...

, 35 miles / 150.99 miles --- * Birchville to San Eleazario, 24.8 miles * San Eleazario to Socorro, 5.45 miles * Socorro to Isletta, 3.1 miles * Isletta to

, Fort Bliss 14.14 miles / 47.49 miles

References

* Francell, Lawrence John. ''Fort Lancaster''. Texas State Historical Association, 1999.
''Military Map of the Rio Grande Frontier,'' Prepared from Original Surveys, County Maps, Reports of Officers, & etc., by Capt. W. R. Livermore, 1883
Includes entire length of San-Antonio–El Paso Road, with landmarks.
H. Stever, "Stagecoach Lines," ''Handbook of Texas Online,'' accessed September 05, 2016

Wayne R. Austerman, "San Antonio-El Paso Mail, ''Handbook of Texas Online,'' accessed September 06, 2016

''Reports of the Secretary of War: With Reconnaissances of Routes from San Antonio to El Paso, United States.'' Army. Corps of Topographical Engineers, Printed at the Union office, Washington, 1850

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Antonio-El Paso Road Trails and roads in the American Old West Historic trails and roads in the United States Historic trails and roads in Texas History of Texas San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line Butterfield Overland Mail in Texas Stagecoach stops in the United States 1849 establishments in Texas