Built in 1846, this U. S. fort was the first in New Mexico Territory (and is the only fort left in the United States from the Mexican American War). Built for 280 men, this irregularly shaped star fort was never garrisoned. Located on a hill 50 yards higher in elevation than the Plaza, its 14 cannons could have confronted an approaching Mexican army or suppressed a local uprising.
Built in 1846, this U. S. fort was the first in New Mexico Territory (and is the only fort left in the United States from the Mexican American War). Built for 280 men, this irregularly shaped star fort was never garrisoned. Located on a hill 50 yards higher in elevation than the Plaza, its 14 cannons could have confronted an approaching Mexican army or suppressed a local uprising.
Lieutenant Jeremy F. Gilmer established the fort as the first army installation in the Southwest to protect soldiers from a possible local uprising.
Following a design, walls five feet thick and nine feet high were constructed using a mixture of earth, water, and fragments of ceramics and stone. The fort was star-shaped, with a semi-subterranean magazine for storing gunpowder and an adobe guardhouse. Each corner of the fort had a view of and was within firing range of the town of Santa Fe.
Fort Marcy was a symbolic reminder to residents that the troops of the United States of America were in New Mexico to stay, although its barracks were never occupied; as soon as it was built, the walls began to erode.
Today, these ruins are earthen mounds outlining the original foundations of the fort. Indentations surrounding the complex recall the eight-foot-deep ditch around the fort’s perimeter, from which one could fire in all directions. The elevated point retains the experience of a panoramic view of the city.
