Current Projects

The Fort Jesup Archaeological Project (FJAP): 2000-Present

 Historical Background

Cantonment Jesup (later Fort Jesup) was established in 1822 by order of the Secretary of War. The post was named for Brigadier General Thomas Jesup, the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army at the time of the post’s founding. Situated on a ridge between the Red and Sabine Rivers, Cantonment Jesup was first occupied by troops of the U.S. Army under the command of Lt. Col. Zachary Taylor. Mexico had thrown off the yoke of Spanish rule in 1821, and the U.S. Government wished to place troops on or near the border in order to keep an eye on American interests in the area. Taylor was ordered to establish a U.S. military presence as near to the border with Mexico as practicable, so he chose the site of Cantonment Jesup both for its proximity to Mexican Texas and because of the perceived salubrity of the site. In short order, the troops constructed housing for themselves and for their officers, as well as various outbuildings, such as kitchens, magazines, storehouses, latrines, and a hospital.

While an active U.S. Army post, Fort Jesup was home to several notable Army regiments, including elements of the 3rd Infantry, the 7th Infantry, and the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons. When the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846, the post served as a collection point and staging area for troops under General Zachary Taylor.

Following the Mexican War, the border between Mexico and the United States shifted southward to the Rio Grande, rendering Fort Jesup obsolete as a frontier post. Consequently, the War Department abandoned the fort and all public property was removed. In March of 1864, the old fort was used as a campsite by troops under the command of Confederate General Richard Taylor during the ill-fated Red River Campaign.

In the 1850s, the fort was subdivided and sold as farms. A small village grew up around the remains of the old fort, and by the 1880s it boasted a store, a hotel, a Masonic Lodge, and around 200 residents. In 1890, the Fort Jesup Masonic Institute was established on the site and several of the fort’s buildings were used as classrooms and dormitories. The Institute was closed in 1896, and the buildings were transferred to the Sabine Parish School Board. The parish operated a high school on the grounds until 1907, when the main building burned down. By the late 1920s, the only original post building remaining, a kitchen, was being used as a private residence. In 1929 the kitchen, along with several acres of surrounding land, was acquired by Sabine Parish and turned into a park.

FJAP

Through various work projects and research the CRO has located the perimeter of Fort Jesup and previously covered building foundations. The CRO assisted Florence Brown in using Global Positioning System (GPS) to map outlying buildings through the use of historic maps and documents. She also added the entire outlying grounds of Fort Jesup to the National Register of Historical Places.

The CRO has hosted various archaeological field schools at Ft. Jesup to provide training in field methods and techniques. During these times students have uncovered building foundations, mapped surface features, and conducted a variety of remote sensing surveys to locate subsurface features of the fort.

The Historic Kitchen Building at Fort Jesup, Sabine Parish, LA. Photograph by W. Ryan Smith.

Military Site Survey and Driving Tour of the Cane River National Heritage Area: Phase 1, Natchitoches, LA. (September 2009-August 2010)

 

In August 2009 Northwestern State University’s (NSU) Cultural Resource Office (CRO) began conducting a multi-deliverable research initiative designed to investigate and promote the diverse military heritage of the Cane River National Heritage Area (CRNHA) for public benefit. Phase One of this project began on August 31, 2009 with a completed draft technical report submitted to the CRNHA and the Louisiana Division of Archaeology on June 4, 2010. Final publication and delivery of the report is scheduled for August 13, 2010. Phase One was funded through the CRNHA 2009 competitive grants program.

The end deliverable for Phase One presents the CRNHA with an updated status of its military heritage resources from the perspective of a team of cultural resource managers and historical archaeologists. Specifically, the document was designed to better facilitate land use and preservation planning for a host of public agencies and private stakeholder groups. The report allowed for boundary identification and National Register of Historic Places significance assessment when applicable. The background research conducted during the individual site investigations will serve well as a foundation from which to construct more traditional historical narrative contexts.

Dean Barnes, Former NSU CRO Graduate Assistant, Behind a ca. 1864 U.S. Army Defensive Earthwork Near Grand Ecore, Louisiana. Photograph by W. Ryan Smith