Fort Fillmore by Carl Schuchard, 1854.
Fort Fillmore, New Mexico, sat along the Rio Grande near the Mexican border, about six miles Southeast of Mesilla.
This tiny adobe fort was founded to control local Apache and protect the traders and settlers traveling to California. Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner established it in September 1851 and named it for President Millard Fillmore. During this time, the Federal Government established several forts to protect and encourage westward expansion. Fort Fillmore specifically protected several migration routes that converged between El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona.
By the end of the 1850s, the post had declined and fallen into severe disrepair. In 1861, spurred by rumors of a Confederate invasion of New Mexico, the Army reinforced it, placing Major Isaac Lynde in command.
On July 24, 1861, 250 troops of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles, led by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor, crossed the Rio Grande into Mesilla, which had already declared itself a Confederate city. A company of Arizona Confederates quickly joined the Texas soldiers.
Hearing of their arrival, Major Lynde planned an attack upon the city the next day, resulting in the First Battle of Mesilla, which resulted in a Confederate victory. After failing to take Mesilla, the Federal garrison abandoned the fort and marched toward Fort Stanton, New Mexico, but was captured East of Las Cruces. The Confederates then claimed Fort Fillmore, and the Union did not attempt to reoccupy it. The following summer, California Volunteers temporarily occupied the post before moving into Mesilla.
The Union officially closed the fort in October 1862, but the site remained a waypoint along several major routes throughout the period of westward expansion. Over the years, the small fort continued to deteriorate and fell into ruins. Decades later, the landowner attempted to sell, trade, or possibly donate the site to the State of New Mexico if the State would make it a park. However, the Parks Department was budget-strapped, and other projects had more visible ruins and higher historic profiles. In the end, they leveled the site and planted pecan trees. The fort is located on Fort Fillmore Road, about 1 ¼ miles East of New Mexico Highway 478. A State marker is located in the vicinity but not at the actual site.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated September 2026.
Also See:
New Mexico – Land of Enchantment
See Sources.