Lonely outpost; the crumbling ruins of Fort Piute. Photograph by Scott Schwartz. All Rights Reserved. |
The old redoubt is kept in a state of arrested decay. Photograph by Scott Schwartz. All rights reserved. |
Whether establishing a “presence” there, in order to protect travelers from hostile Indians, or using its thousands of square miles for the training of its personnel, the U.S. military has been connected with the California desert for nearly two centuries. Even today, traces of these installations remain.
One such place isFort Piute . Located on the Mojave Rd. , roughly 40 miles north east
of Needles, CA, Fort
Piute dates back to the
year 1859. Well, sort of.
One such place is
According to military
historian Col. Herbert M. Hart, USMC (retired), the outpost at Piute Spring has
its origins in a skirmish between soldiers and Indians.
The year was 1859. During that year, a Colonel William Hoffman
and the 60 soldiers under his command stopped for water at Piute Spring. Apparently deciding to make a stand against
some hostile Indians, Hoffman had about half his men shoot at the Indians,
killing roughly 20 of them. The rest ran
off.
Several months went by before
Major James H. Carleton and his 1st Dragoons came through this area
and established an actual post, which he named Fort Beale . The name was in honor of a Navy officer who
had previously led an experimental camel caravan through the area.
Although called a “fort”, the
Piute Springs outpost was really just one of several desert “redoubts” – ie,
temporary fortifications that were established in order to protect travelers
along the Mojave Road
against the hostile Indians who frequently stole livestock from and murdered
them.
Not surprisingly, the troops
stationed at Fort
Beale were transferred
east at the start of the Civil War.
Clearly, and perhaps rightly, the Army’s priorities lay elsewhere. While the war raged on in the east, Fort Beale
and the other installations were manned by soldiers of the California
Volunteers. These were state militia men who had not been “Federalized”, and
who stayed in California to protect the roads. Despite the presence of the California
Volunteers, thefts of settler’s livestock continued.
When the Civil War ended,
however, the desert redoubts were abandoned.
Complaints from local settlers, and the fact that the Mojave Road was a
U.S. Mail route prompted the U.S. Army to re-occupy the posts in 1866. At this point, Fort
Beale was renamed Fort Piute .
Life here was tough for the
soldiers. Aside from the dangers of
combat, the men lived in tents full-time (the fort itself was intended to
provide cover and a place to retreat to during combat) and ate all of their
meals outside. Desertions were not
unheard of.
The remains of the stone
blockhouse that was once Fort
Piute are still standing
today. Plus, the fort is positioned
right near a relatively easy four wheel drive trail.