DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker at Lanoria Mesa is the source for this one, and friend, it's a story worth every mile of road between here and there. It starts in 1849. U.S. troops led by Major Jefferson Van Horne came into what is now downtown El Paso and planted a post in the earth — their mission, to secure territory gained in the U.S.-Mexico War, which had wrapped up between 1846 and 1848.
Now, a post like that, sitting on the edge of a hard frontier, doesn't stay put. This one moved. And moved again.
And then moved some more. First stop after downtown: Magoffinsville, in 1854. Then Camp Concordia, in 1868.
Back downtown in 1878, as if it had forgotten something. Out to Hart's Mill in the 1880s. And finally — finally — it settled on Lanoria Mesa in 1893, on land that the citizens of El Paso donated themselves.
Five locations in under fifty years. Some outfits never do find a home. This one kept looking until it did.
Along the way, in 1854, the post got a new name. It was renamed to honor Lieutenant Colonel William Wallace Smith Bliss, a veteran of that same U.S.-Mexico War. Fort Bliss.
The name stuck in a way the locations never quite had. Now hold that name in your mind, because what happens next is where the story really opens up. By 1911, revolution was churning across the border in Mexico, and the government took notice.
Infantry was reinforced with artillery and cavalry units. Then came 1916. Revolutionaries attacked Columbus, New Mexico, and the United States launched large-scale military operations into northern Mexico in response.
The Punitive Expedition, they called it — led by General John J. Pershing, in pursuit of Francisco "Pancho" Villa. And Fort Bliss?
Fort Bliss was headquarters for the whole operation. More than a hundred thousand U.S. troops moved through that effort. And here's the part that makes you sit with it a moment: the field training those soldiers and commanders picked up chasing Villa across northern Mexico — they were going to need it.
Because World War I was coming, and they would soon be involved in it. The post kept growing in stature. By 1941, Fort Bliss held the distinction of being the nation's largest cavalry post.
Then World War II arrived, and the government expanded the fort to more than a million acres — stretching across this part of Texas and deep into the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico. Eighty battalions of anti-aircraft artillerymen trained there as part of the war effort. Eighty battalions.
And when the war ended, the story didn't. German scientists were brought to Fort Bliss, and from their work there the U.S. Army's missile program was born.
Fort Bliss has sent troops to all parts of the world in defense of this country. It has trained both U.S. and allied forces. The climate out here, the sheer size of the place, and that long, layered history — they've combined to make Fort Bliss what the marker calls a key strategic asset for the nation.
Started as a frontier post in 1849. Wandered across the El Paso valley for decades. Landed on Lanoria Mesa in 1893.
And never did stop mattering. Some things just keep finding ways to be necessary. Fort Bliss is one of them.
What the marker says
In 1849, U.S. troops led by Maj. Jefferson Van Horne established a post in what is now downtown El Paso to secure territory gained in the U.S.-Mexico War, 1846-48. It moved several times: to Magoffinsville in 1854; to Camp Concordia in 1868; back downtown I n1878; to Hart’s Mill in the 1880s; and finally to Lanoria Mesa in 1893 on land donated by El Paso citizens. The post name changed in 1854 to honor Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, a veteran of the U.S.-Mexico War. In 1911, responding to revolution in Mexico, the government reinforced the infantry with artillery and cavalry units. In 1916, the U.S. began large-scale military operations into northern Mexico after revolutionaries attacked Columbus, New Mexico. The Punitive Expedition, led by Gen. John J. Pershing in pursuit of Francisco “Pancho” Villa, used Fort Bliss as headquarters. It utilized more than 100,000 U.S. troops, providing vital field training for soldiers and commanders who would soon be involved in what was World War I. In 1941, Fort Bliss was the nation’s largest cavalry post. With the onset of World War II, the government increased the size of the post to more than a million acres, spanning this part of Texas and a large portion of the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico. Eighty battalions of anti-aircraft artillerymen trained at Fort Bliss as part of the war effort. After the war, German scientists brought to the fort began the U.S. Army’s missile program. Fort Bliss has deployed troops to all parts of the world in defense of the U.S., and it has been a training center for both U.S. and allied troops. The fort’s climate, size and rich history have combined to make it a key strategic asset for the nation. (2006)