A NAME IN HISTORY
Alexander Hatch
Alexander Hatch was an Anglo settler from New York. He came from a family of strong people who have greatly changed the history of America. A few of the Hatch family are known for their influence in the American Revolution, Gold fields of California, the development of fruit industry in Northern California. They impacted the Indian wars in the southwest and the mercantile business that helped to feed manifest destiny.
Alexander followed the mood of the country and traveled west. He moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1845 but eventually settled on land near the Gallinas River in San Miguel County. He developed a ranch where he grew corn and raised cattle.
The Land
His right to the land was challenged when another settler known as Preston Beck laid claim to land that Alexander and over a hundred other settlers squatted on. Beck claimed that the territory known as the Hacienda de San Juan Bautista del Ojito del Rio de las Gallinas, was his land. He took his claim to the courts and tried to prove he had rights to the land bordered north by the landmarks of the sito of Don Antonio Ortiz and the Mesa of the Aguage de la Yegua and on the south by the river Pecos, the eastern border being the mesa of Pajarito and bordered on the west by the point of the mesa of the Chupaines. Becks lawyers tried to show that the land had originally been granted to Juan Estvan Pino. Becks claim declared that the governor and superior political chief of the province of New Mexico, Bartolm E. Baca had awarded the grant to Pino on December 23, 1823. His claim further stated that Pino lived on the land and made improvements but was forced off the land by Indians. Beck claimed that Pino had left the land to Pino’s two sons, Justo Pino and Manuel D. Pino. Beck’s claim to the land was that he had received the land as payment of a debt from the two sons and their wives. Preston Beck died before he could get control of the land and Alexander Hatch and his wife Lucy continued to live on the land for several years.
Was Fort Hatch Needed?
During 1856 Alexander Hatch and many other settlers in the area requested that the army make a strong presence in the area to protect against Indian raids. The area was frequented by several tribes of Indians that traveled the New Mexican territory. The several bands of Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, and Navajo were the most frequent tribes to conduct raids in the area. As the game in the area was run off by the Anglo hunters and settlers, the Indians had no choice but to raid the ranches and steal cattle, sheep for food. They also stole horses, and even human hostages.
After some negotiations, which included awarding Alexander the post sutler position, Alexander rented a portion of the land and some buildings to the army. This area was developed into a small satellite post that was call Fort Hatch, or Camp at Hatch’s Ranch.
The camp was a satellite post of Fort Union and meant to be a re-supply depot. The fort was located on the west bank of the Gallinas River about thirteen miles northeast of Anton Chico and thirty-five miles south of Las Vegas.
On November 2, 1856, Colonel Bonneville and William A. Thorton visited the post at Hatch’s Ranch to make an inspection. They started from Las Vegas early and when they were close to Hatch’s ranch the country became more open and prairie like bluffs and mountains rising like islands. Eagles Bluff was one of these landmarks. The men found a company of riflemen stationed at the post. These men were inspected by Bonneville and Thorton. The post was inspected and Bonneville felt that the area had good water, wood and that corn could be grown adequately to support the post but that the location was not practical as it would provide little protection to Anton Chico. Bonneville had the opinion that a better location for the post would be further south where the raiding Indians could be met as they returned from Texas and not allowed to proceed further into the country.
Although the post would not be made a permanent fort, it presence affected the area as the military in the Gallinas Valley made it a safer place for settlers to live and raise crops and livestock. Soon the area was flooded with new settlers, and small towns and villages sprung up.
In the end the fort was needed in the area and served the people of the Gallinas Valley and helped settle the area. It also served as a valuable re-supply depot for the US Army.
Fort Hatch and the Civil War
Troops from Fort Hatch were instrumental in many of the Civil war battles that took place in New Mexico. One of these troopers, Anastasio Duran was a scout. He came from the small village of Chaperito, located three miles north of the fort. He was station at Fort Union until he was transferred to the post at Hatch’s Ranch. The commanders considered Duran a “Comanchero”, by trade and knew he was very familiar with the terrain. He had hunted the area extensively and was a renowned as a skillful hunter. His knowledge of the terrain help him to lead the union troops in the battle of Glorieta Pass, where they were able to attack the confederates behind their lines and turn the tide of the battle that forced the Confederacy back into Texas.
Kit Carson visits Fort Hatch
One of history’s dramatic events was the Long Walk. In this expedition Colonel Kit Carson led the Navajo Indians from Arizona to the Bosque Redondo reservation in New Mexico. The expedition passed through Forth Hatch. As the Navajo were guided through the territory towards their new reservation, many of the Indians would hide out in the many ranches and villages that they passed through. The troops would have to retrieve them from their hiding places where some of the sympathetic town’s people and settlers tried to shelter them. The poor condition of the Navajo caused many to die from illness along the route.
One story is told of a family that owned a general store in one of the small towns that Carson took the Navajo through. The story was told that while the family’s father was away the wife and two daughters watched through the windows as the hundreds of Navajo passed through the town until a couple of Navajo women entered the store and approached a clothing display. The wife and her daughters became afraid and hid. They watched from their hiding place as the Indian women removed their own intricately worked leather garments with their beautiful bead work and dropped them on the floor boards, and put on the cloths form the display and then left the store and returned to the line and their journey. The family was excited now and wanted to gather up the leather garments, but the father, who had now returned saw the items and took them to the street and burned them. The wife and daughters were upset and protested, how he could burn such beautiful and valuable Indian garments! He then told them that the garments were not valuable in the condition they were in as they were infested with lice.
Lydia Lane Visits Fort Hatch
Life at the fort was a lonely one for Lucy Hatch as there were not many women of her background there to share conversations with. Whenever there were visitors or new troopers sent to the fort, Lucy would look forward to the possibility that there could be an army wife and children accompanying the visitor or troopers. One such visitor was Lydia Lane. Lane is known for the book she wrote about her travels as a military wife. (Lydia Lane’s book, “I Married a Soldier”, is a must read for anyone seriously interested in the way life was for a military wife in the 1800 southwest frontier.)
Lydia Lane and her husband Lieutenant William B. Lane were stationed at Fort Hatch and shared the adobe building with Alexander and Lucy.
The adobe house was a two room building with a long low roof. The building was surrounded by a rock wall.
Lucy was doubly blessed as Lydia had a sister who was also married to an army officer. His name was Captain Elliot. The captain was in command of the troops at Fort Hatch for their stay.
The fort was in a very desolate are and there was not much to do. The women would busy themselves with the everyday chores of running a home in the frontier. The troops were gone quite often on expeditions to locate Indians that were off the reservation and posing a threat to the settlements.
The Layout of the Fort
Alexander Hatch had made a lot of money from the government by selling them beef and supplies for the troops while they were stationed at the fort. He also benefited from the protection that was given to his ranch. This protection allowed him to grow corn that he sold for top dollar to the army to feed their live stock. Some say that many ranchers attempted to get the army to create post on their land for this very reason. This led to false reports of Indian depredations and increased the bad relations between the settlers and the Indians.
What became of Alexander Hatch?
In 1864 the fort was abandoned and the troops were reassigned to forts like Union and Fort Sumner. Indian problems and guerrillas created too many problems and Alexander left the ranch. He settled in Trinidad, Colorado where he lived out his days.
Fort Hatch Today
Today Fort Hatch still stands although the rock walls are all that is visible. The adobe buildings have melted into their surroundings and signs that the large post was ever there are barely visible. There are only the wall and the cattle pens there that are still used by the Park Spring Ranch.
The fort is one of hundreds of interesting sites throughout New Mexico that are located on private land. The land owners have become care takers of history and they protect the ruins from vandals and trophy seekers that mare and destroy our valuable heritage.
This is what the real Fort Hatch looks like today.
the Photo is courtesy of Denise Cleckler
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