The Forgotten Soldiers: Historical and Archaeological Investigations of the Apache Scouts at Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Summary

In the Spring of 1994, Statistical Research, Inc., conducted an archaeological study of the Apache scouts at Fort Huachuca. The project was completed under contract with Fort Huachuca and funded by a Legacy Resource Management Program grant awarded to Fort Huachuca by the Department of Defense. Most of the investigations focused on AZ EE:7:115 (ASM), a site comprising three distinct components: (1) a small, Formative- period prehistoric component; (2) a turn-of-the-century trash dump; and (3) the remnants of a 1930s–1940s adobe “village” housing the scouts and their families in the final era of Apache attachment to the fort. Although little remained of the structures, analysis of artifacts and other materials have contributed to a better understanding of Apache lifeways on a military reservation in times of increasing acculturation.

The study further included a search for earlier wickiup and tepee encampments of the scouts dating from the 1880s to the early 1930s. Although no actual camp remains were found during the survey, two sites (AZ EE:7:65 [ASM] and AZ EE:7:260 [ASM]) were identified as locations of such camps based on documentary sources. (AZ EE:7:65 was not tested, and will not be evaluated for NRHP eligibility here.) Investigations at two other sites (AZ EE:7:64 [ASM] and AZ EE:7:67 [ASM]) originally thought to represent scout camps, yielded no conclusive evidence of Apache occupation.

Fieldwork was followed by historical investigations, consisting of extensive archival research and interviews with members of the scouts’ families. The project successfully documented the rich and colorful heritage of the Apache scouts and their families at Fort Huachuca.

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contributor(s): Karen R. Adams; Kellie M. Cairns; Keith B. Knoblock; Matthew A. Sterner

Sponsor(s): Department of Defense; Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Prepared By(s): Statistical Research, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Department of the Army, Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Record Identifiers

Delivery Order No.(s): 1

Contract No.(s): DABT63-93-D-0011

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