Fort Union

Anyone been to Fort Union National Monument?

Is it worth seeing?

Is it hard to find?

Thanks!

Fort Union

I%26#39;ve been there many times. I find it interesting, out in the middle of nowhere and you can see ruts from the Santa Fe Trail. Very easy to find, north of Las Vegas to Watrous on I25. There is a sign indicating which exit and where to go from there. Visit www.nps.gov/foun/

Fort Union

Fort Union served as the largest supply base in the New Mexico Territory, distributing goods shipped down the Santa Fe Trail to many smaller forts, and camps.

There were actually three different Fort Union%26#39;s, two of which can be visited daily. The entry road from the northern exit at Watrous, to Fort Union, is approximately eight miles, and within the first mile or two miles from I-25, you can see some of the the finest remaining SFT ruts coming over a hill on the right. ';Isolated'; is too small a word for this remote post, and desertion was high at times. It was from here however, that U.S. Army regulars, and volunteers from Colorado, and New Mexico, turned back the Confederates who had marched westward from San Antonio, and captured El Paso, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. At the battles of Glorieta Pass, and Apache Canyon, east of Santa Fe, the South%26#39;s hopes for taking the gold mines of Colorado were destroyed forever, as were their plans to continue on to California.

With the exception of the jail, only adobe walls remain, mere shells you might say, but visitor%26#39;s are struck by the sheer size of this once strategic post. The two, split ';routes'; of the Santa Fe Trail came together once again at the Mora River, just NW of Watrous.

Along with the website already provided you, I would strongly recommend Marc Simmons book, ';Following the Santa Fe Trail'; if you are interested in ';details'; about the SFT%26#39;s various remaining historical sites. Knowing their history, brings them alive somehow. Fort Union has special celebrations where re-enactors camp, parade, and perform weapon demonstrations on occasion.

Thank you so much! Oh good I am excited to see it now! I couldn%26#39;t tell from the website if there was anything left to see. That is really cool about the ruts!