Fort Wingate was a military installation near

Gallup, New Mexico Zuni: ''Kalabwaki'' , settlement_type = City , nickname = "Indian Capital of the World" , motto = , image_skyline = Gallup, New Mexico.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption ...

. There were two other locations in New Mexico called Fort Wingate:

Seboyeta, New Mexico Seboyeta is a census-designated place in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 179 as of the 2010 census. Seboyeta had a post office from February 5, 1885, to January 7, 1995. In 1746, Padre Juan Menchero persuaded severa ...

(1849–1862) and San Rafael, New Mexico (1862–1868). The most recent Fort Wingate (1868–1993) was established at the former site of Fort Lyon, on

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...

territory, initially to control and "protect" the large

tribe to its north. The Fort at San Rafael was the staging point for the Navajo deportation known as the

Long Walk of the Navajo The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo ( nv, Hwéeldi), was the 1864 deportation and attempted ethnic cleansing of the Navajo people by the United States federal government. Navajos were forced to walk from t ...

. From 1870 onward the garrison near Gallup was concerned with

Apaches 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 ...

to the south, and through 1890 hundreds of

Navajo Scouts The Navajo Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts between 1873 and 1895. Generally, the scouts were signed up at Fort Wingate for six month enlistments. In the period 1873 to 1885, there were usually ten to twenty-five scouts at ...

were enlisted at the fort. Fort Wingate supplied 100 tons of

Composition B Composition B, colloquially Comp B, is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions. It was also use ...

high explosives to the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

for use in the first

Trinity test Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert abo ...

and became an

ammunition depot An ammunition dump, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition handling area (AHA) or ammunition depot is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives. The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. The ...

"Fort Wingate Depot Activity" from World War II until it was closed by the

1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense in 1993 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It recommended closing 33 major United States military bases. ...

. Environmental cleanup of UXO,

perchlorate A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. ...

, and lead as well as land transfer continue to the present day.

History

*Ojo del Oso, in Spanish (meaning "Eye of the Bear" or "Bear Spring"), was a Navajo place visited for good grazing and water.

19th century

*1849 A hay camp was set up near

and was called Fort Wingate.Fort Wingate
@NewMexicoHistory.org It was named for Major Benjamin Wingate, 5th U.S. Infantry, who died on 1 June 1862 from wounds he received during the Battle of Valverde. *1860 Fort Fauntleroy was established at Bear Springs (Ojo del Oso) as an outpost of Fort Defiance. General Thomas T. Fauntleroy named the fort for himself. **1861 Fort Fauntleroy was renamed Fort Lyon for Brig. Gen.

Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginning of the conflict, to forestall secret secessionist plans of th ...

, a Unionist, when Fauntleroy left New Mexico to join the

Provisional Army of Virginia The Provisional Army of Virginia, also known as the Provisional Army and the Volunteer Forces of Virginia and the Citizens Army of Virginia was a military force from April to September 1861, after the state of Virginia seceded from the United State ...

after the state seceded from the Union. Fort Lyon was closed on 10 September 1861 at the start of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. *1862 Fort Wingate was moved near a large spring at San Rafael, New Mexico, also known as "Bikyaya" or "El Gallo" (the rooster). It was designed to house four companies of troops. **1864

Edward Canby Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Department of New Mexico, defeating the Confederate Gen ...

ordered Colonel

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

to bring four companies of the ''First New Mexico Volunteers'' to the fort to "control" the Navajo. ** 1864-1866 It was the staging point for the Navajo deportation known as the

. **1865 The New Mexico Military District had 3,089 troops, 135 of them at Fort Wingate. *1868 Fort Wingate was moved back to the former site of Fort Lyon at Ojo del Oso. **1868 Navajo people returning from Bosque Redondo were temporarily settled at the Oso Del Ojo Fort Wingate before spreading out into the newly established Navajo Reservation. **1873-1886 The fort's troops participated in

Apache Wars The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexi ...

with troops and recruited

. **1878 Fort Wingate had 137 troops.

**1868-1895 Fort Wingate troops often settled disagreements between Navajo and "citizens" in New Mexico. **1891 Fort Wingate troops assisted Arizona units against angry

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United ...

20th century

*1907 Two troops of the 5th Cavalry went from Fort Wingate to the

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

area after some armed Navajo. This was the last armed expedition the US Government made against the Navajo. One Navajo was killed and the rest escaped. *1911 A Ft. Wingate company of cavalry went to

Chaco Canyon Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a concentration of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote c ...

and camped there several days to quell a possible uprising by Navajo. *1914 During the Mexican Civil War over 2,000 Mexican soldiers and their families took refuge at the fort. *1918 Fort Wingate focus turned from Navajo to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. *1940 Fort Wingate became an

from World War II until 1993. *1944 Fort Wingate supplied 100 tons of

high explosives to the

for use in the first

. *1950

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

was given part of the polluted land for an Indian boarding school. *1960–67 Redstone and

Pershing 1 The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage theater ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as ...

missiles were tested among others at Wingate. *1971 DoD Placed Fort Wingate on reserve and re-designated as "Fort Wingate Depot Activity" or FWDA. *In 1988, the

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end ...

round 1 decided to close the Fort. *Environmental restoration activities at FWDA began in 1989. *In January 1993, the

Base Realignment and Closure Act Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

(BRAC) closed the post.

21st century

*Though the fort's mission ended, the

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which w ...

(MDA) continues to use 6,465 acres for launching target rockets to

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

(WSMR).FY2016 Fort Wingate Depot Activity Base Realignment & Closure Installation Action Plan
29 November 2016, 41 pp *In December 2005, the

New Mexico Environment Department The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is a state government agency responsible for "protecting and restoring the environment of the state of New Mexico to foster a healthy and prosperous New Mexico for present and future generations," acco ...

(NMED) issued the Army a

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is the principal federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.United States. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. , , ''et seq., ...

(RCRA) Permit. *As of 2016, FWDA spread across 21,131 acres, occupied 15,280 acres of land and a BRAC acreage of 14,666. *Environmental cleanup and land transfer to the surrounding community continues to the present, through at least 2022. 5,854 acres have already been transferred to the Department of Interior. Explosives,

s and nitrates are the primary contaminant in the northern groundwater plumes which have not migrated off-post, all other sites consist of relatively minor soil or building contamination without groundwater issues but with explosives,

SVOCs Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a t ...

, and metals like lead.

Education

There are two

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant ...

(BIE)

boarding schools A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in the area: Wingate Elementary School, and Wingate High School. the Wingate Elementary dormitory is a former military barracks that also houses students at Wingate High. In 1968 the girls' dormitory had 125 girls; the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

stated that the dormitory lacked decoration and personal effects and was reflective of a campaign to de-personalize Native American students. At the time the school strongly discouraged students from speaking

and wanted them to only speak English. Circa 1977 it opened a 125-student $90,000 building which used a solar heating system. The non-BIE school district is

Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools Gallup-McKinley County Schools (GMCS) is a school district based in Gallup, New Mexico which serves students from Gallup and surrounding areas of McKinley County. History Prior to 1980, the district had of land. That year parts left to form the ...

. It is zoned to Indian Hills Elementary School, Kennedy Middle School, and

Hiroshi Miyamura High School Hiroshi Miyamura High School is a high school in Gallup, New Mexico, Gallup, New Mexico, United States. Formerly known as Gallup Junior High School, it was renamed Miyamura High School in 2007 as part of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools’ plan ...

Notable people

* Lt.

Charles B. Gatewood First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood (April 5, 1853 – May 20, 1896) was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He served in the United States Army in the 6th Cavalry after graduating from West Point. Upon assignment to the Ameri ...

(1853–1896) led many patrols out of Wingate and later convinced

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache b ...

to surrender *1881–85 General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

lived at the fort as an infant, with his father, a Captain in command of Company K, 13th US Infantry. *1889–90 General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing served as Lieutenant at the fort.

Gallery

Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society V - Fig. 3. Jake the Silversmith.jpg, A Navaho silversmith, known as Jake among the whites, but called by the Navahoes Náltsos Nigéhani, or Paper-carrier, because in his youth he was employed as a mail-carrier between Fort Wingate and Fort Defiance.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20160728222747/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/forngate.htm Includes chronology and launch log *http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fort-wingate.htm Includes comprehensive history on Fort Wingate *http://www.ftwingate.org/ Website dedicated to the cleanup
The History of Fort Wingate, by Harold James, 18th NM Genealogical Field Conference
* {{Authority control

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingates ...

Buildings and structures in McKinley County, New Mexico Closed installations of the United States Army Historic American Engineering Record in New Mexico History of McKinley County, New Mexico Ruins in the United States 1860 establishments in New Mexico Territory Military installations established in 1862 1993 disestablishments in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in McKinley County, New Mexico

Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico