George Nicholas Bascom (1837 – February 21, 1862) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer in the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

and in the early months of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Biography

George N. Bascom was born in Owingsville in

Bath County, Kentucky Bath County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,750. The county seat is Owingsville. The county was formed in 1811. Bath County is included in the Mount Sterling, KY Micropolitan ...

. His ancestors were of French Huguenot and French Basque. Bascom was appointed to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

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, and graduated 26th in a class of 27 in 1858. Following his graduation he was first stationed at

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Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

and then in

at Fort Buchanan as a 2nd Lieutenant of the U.S. 7th Infantry Regiment. In January 1861 he was involved in what became known as the Bascom Affair at

Apache Pass Apache Pass, also known by its earlier Spanish name Puerto del Dado ("Pass of the Die"), is a historic mountain pass in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of . It is approximately ...

, that is considered to be the key event in triggering the 1861–1872 Apache War. After the

began, Bascom, was promoted to captain, of the U.S. 16th Infantry Regiment. However, before he could return to join his new regiment, the three companies of the 7th Infantry that had moved to

Fort Craig Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico. The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet nor ...

were involved in the Battle of Val Verde in

. Bascom was killed in action by Confederate forces on February 21, 1862, during the battle. Subsequently, Fort Bascom,

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, was named in his honor. Captain Bascom was originally buried at nearby

, in the post cemetery. When the Fort Craig was closed in 1885, all the bodies were reburied at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Bascom's burial was one of that was not identifiable and is believed to be one of the unknown markers. The actor Dick Simmons portrayed Bascom in the 1966 episode, "The Hero of Apache Pass", on the

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, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

''.

References

External links

Tripod.com

Militaryhistoryonline.com

(reference only)
THE BASCOM AFFAIR, APACHE PASS, February 4, 1861
*
History lecture on Captain Bascom and Fort Bascom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bascom, George Nicholas 1837 births 1862 deaths People from New Mexico Territory United States Military Academy alumni People of Kentucky in the American Civil War People from Owingsville, Kentucky American people of the Indian Wars United States Army officers Apache Wars Union army officers Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery

Biography

See also

References

External links