Editing Fort Bliss (section)

====Post opposite El Paso del Norte (1849–1854)====
[[File:Fort Bliss ca. 1885.jpg|thumb|Fort Bliss in 1885. Photo courtesy of [[Southern Methodist University|SMU]].]]
[[File:Fort Bliss 1948 Issue-3c.jpg|thumb|180px|{{center|Fort Bliss [[U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps|100th Anniversary Issue]] of 1948}}]]

In 1846, [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Alexander Doniphan]] led [[Mexican American War campaigns#Monterrey, 21 September 1846|1st Regiment of Missouri mounted volunteers]] through [[El Paso del Norte]], with victories at the [[Battle of El Brazito]] and the [[Battle of the Sacramento]]. On 7 November 1848, War Department General Order no. 58 ordered the establishment of a post<ref name=Metz>{{cite book |last=Metz |first=Leon Claire |author2=Tom Lea |author3=Jose Cisneros |year=1988 |title=Desert Army: Fort Bliss on the Texas Border |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASfJAAAACAAJ&q=Desert+Army:+Fort+Bliss+on+the+Texas+Border |edition=1st paperback |publisher=Mangan Books |location=El Paso, Texas |isbn=0-930208-36-6 |access-date=9 October 2008}} NOTE: At the time of its creation, the first post occupied territory that was considered to be part of [[New Mexico]], and the post remained the strongest military encampment in New Mexico until the [[32nd parallel north]] was designated the official boundary between New Mexico and Texas in 1850.</ref> across from [[Ciudad Juárez|El Paso del Norte, now Ciudad Juárez]].<ref name=LavenHistory>{{cite web |url=http://www.lavenpublishing.com/history1.html |title=History of Fort Bliss |access-date=14 December 2008 |work=Post Guide and Telephone Directory |publisher=Laven Publishing Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505161100/http://www.lavenpublishing.com/history1.html |archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref> On 8 September 1849, the garrison party of several companies of the [[3rd United States Infantry Regiment (TOG)|3rd U.S. Infantry]], 'The Old Guard', currently the oldest active duty regiment in the US Army, commanded by [[Jefferson Van Horne|Major Jefferson Van Horne]], found only four small and scattered settlements on the north side of the [[Rio Grande]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|21}}

The ''Post Opposite El Paso del Norte'' was first established at the site of Coon's Ranch, often erroneously referred to as Smith's Ranch, now downtown [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]]<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|21}} It, along with [[Fort Selden]] and other Southwestern outposts, protected recently won territory from harassing [[Apache]]s and [[Comanche]]s, provided local law and order, and escorted the [[California Gold Rush#Forty-niners|forty-niners]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|17}} [[Jefferson Van Horne|Van Horne]] also had nominal command of the [[San Elizario, Texas|Post at San Elizario]], the former ''Presidio of San Elizario'', seventeen miles downstream from El Paso del Norte.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|9,17}} With constant Indian raids, garrisons had to be moved frequently to meet the shifting threats. In September 1851, the Post Opposite El Paso and the Post at San Elizario were closed, and the soldiers were moved {{convert|40|mi|km}} north to [[Fort Fillmore]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|20–21}}