"Located in McKinley County, sitting among the red rocks along Interstate 40, this is the second site of Fort Wingate. The first fort (1862-68) was located at El Gallo, 65 miles to the southeast. it was founded by Colonel Kit Carson, along with Fort Canby, Arizona (1863-64), for his 1863-64 campaign against the Navajo. General James Carleton, commander of the Department of New Mexico (a regional designation predating statehood), believed that confining the Indians to reservations was the best solution to the conflict between encroaching white settlers and the Native Americans. Joined by Ute allies, Carleton led forces against the Navajo, destroying sheep and homes and finally removing thousands of them, to the Bosque Redondo Reservation in a 400-mile trek called The Long Walk.
After the Navajo were confined to the Bosque Redondo Reservation, troops from Fort Wingate patrolled for stragglers and raiders. In a commanding position on the Albuquerque-Fort Defiance Road, it also protected miners en route to the Arizona goldfields, and in 1864 took part in the Apache campaign along the Gila and San Carlos Rivers.
The Bosque Redondo Reservation, situated near Fort Sumner, New Mexico, operated for four years. Poor growing conditions and lack of water on the reservation resulted in malnutrition and disease among the Navajo. In 1868, the Navajo and U.S. government representatives signed a treaty in the allowing the Navajo to return to their homes. The treaty also provided replacement livestock in return for the Navajo's pledge to confine themselves to a finite area and cease raiding activities…"
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