Camp Crittenden

This grassland was Apache country, and the Army built here to take it. Camp Crittenden went up in 1867 near the ruins of abandoned Fort Buchanan, one more post in the long campaign to push the Chiricahua and their kin off the Sonoita and Babocomari valleys. It was hard, exposed duty. In 1871 a war party from Cochise's band killed Lieutenant Howard Cushing in a fight nearby. The Army gave the camp up in 1873. The Apache the fort was built against outlasted it by more than a decade.

What the plaque says

Established August 10, 1867. Named Camp Crittenden by Generals Orders No. 57 Department of California, September 30, 1867, in honor of Thomas S. Crittenden, Col. 32nd U.S. Infantry Major General U.S. Volunteers. Camp abandoned June 1, 1873. Established to protect settlements of Babocomari, Sonoita, and Santa Cruz Valleys against Indians. Leading a detachment of troops from Camp Crittenden, Lieut. H. B. Cushing was killed in a skirmish on May 5, 1871 by an Apache war leader from Cochise's band.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tumacácori National Historical Park — 21 mi
  Arizona's first mission, on O'odham ground along the Santa Cruz River.

More markers nearby

• Mowry Mine — 8.8 mi
• Patagonia Depot — 8.8 mi
• John Ward's Ranch — 12 mi
• Baca Float Number 3 — 21 mi