Fort Bowie

We made our annual trip to the Fort Bowie National Historic Site last Saturday. We go once per year to commemorate the surrender of Geronimo and to honor the soldiers who were once buried there. It is kind of a big deal for us because we memorialize the unit that was credited with capturing Geronimo. We ride a portion of the old Butterfield Stage route through Apache Pass and stop at the cemetery in Siphon Canyon. The soldiers buried there were removed to the National Cemetery at San Francisco when the fort closed down in the 1890s. However, some civilians including some who were former soldiers are still buried there. We give a little presentation on the history of Fort Bowie and then read aloud the names of all the soldiers who were buried there. At the conclusion of the reading, we fire a salute to them. Afterwards, we ride on up the canyon to the old fort ruins and have a picnic. Apache Pass is a beautiful place and it is always a treat to ride through on horseback. We had a fairly large crowd by Fort Bowie standards this year. At least 20 people braved the mile and a half hike to the fort to see us. We answered lots of questions about the cavalry and posed for lots of photos. The visitors seemed to really enjoy our being there and we look forward to our next visit.