The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-06-18
FORT AT PHANTOM HILL,

The Headquarters of Robert T..
Lee When He was in u. S.
Army.
Gen. Robert T.. Lee, when comman-
der of the Department of Texas, United
States army Chen a Colonel0 spent
most of his time at the old post, Fort
| Phantom Hill. The fort is now a dis
NAL and solitary set of ruins, situated
in Northwest Texas, on the Clear Fork
of the Brazos. Within a few hours
drive north from Abilene, a beautiful
and prosperous town, may be seen on
a lonely hill several tall, spectre-like
chimneys, standing amid tu~mble-down
rock walls, and a single stone building.
All around these RUNS are innumerable
little heaps of earth, where the multi
tudinous prairie dog has burrowed his
queer hole for n habitatiOn. The scene
around the place has been undisturbed
80 long that there now remains about
the RUNS no terror for this curious lit
tie animal, and in quiet communion he
shares impartiallY his house with the
poisonous rattlesnake, the uncOmely
owl and the timid little %cottontail.
From the slight emlnence upon which
the post was situated may be seen n
sea of rich grasses, their waves losing
themselves IN the azure of the distant
horizon. Here and there the sameness
of the landscape 10 relieved by sclaggy
mesquite or q clump of catcl NV bushes.
Forming almost a semi-cirtl about the
ruins, the Clear Fork of the Brazos, an
ideal clearwater stream, wends its way
northerly toward the main channel of
the Brazos. Twenty-Five or thirty soil
tary and sentinel-like chimneys remain
standing about the deserted square
formerly used as the parade grounds.
The old magazine is the only building
that has withstood the attacks of time,
the other stone structures having long
ago tumbl:d into decay. The ruins
cover alb )ut four acres of ground. The
scene now has a desnl tie and desc, ted
appearance. The coyotes echo their
m urnful midnight howls aero $ the
phantom hills, while the foll ,rn owl
adds his molancholy hoot to the sur
rounding gloom.
Fort Phantom Hill has a brief but
interesting history. Its existence was
so short that the historian seems TO
have forgotten it while chrOnicling the
many other interesting events in our
early Texas history. Phantom Hill was
established in 1856 by Robert E.. Lee,
then a young engineer and Lieutenant
Colonel under Albert Sidney Johnston.
When Lee joined his regiment at Fort
Mason, he vas Immediately sent North
with the First and Fifth squadrons as
far as the Clear Fork of the Brazos.
This section was then in the heart of
the Comanche reserve, where the In
dams were %fiercest and most danger
GUS. Lees acute engineering skill
prompted him to select this hill as an
ideal place upon which to establish his
post.
1t is said that when the young COM
mander approached the spot he vas
struck with its position as a favorable
point of vantage in an Indian attack.
The hill appeared to be much more
elevated than the surrounding terri
tory, and therefore afforded a better
outlook. But when it was reached the
youthful engineer was surprised to find
the hill apparently no higher than the
adjacent lands. He remarked that it
must have been a phantom hill that he
had seen. From this remark and cir
cumstance the hill derived its name.
1t is a remarkable fact That Phantom
Hill, now, when viewed from certain
points presents the appearance of a
high %eminence, but, the hill, when it
is reached, seems to disappear almost
entirely.
Phantom Hill was abandoned as a
fort in January, 1861, consequently its
history lasted only four or five years,
| h,,t lr,sn. th;a I,;nr H.. ;to I.cn ruo.
filed with stirring and tempestuous
experiences, not uncommon in frontier
life on the Texas borders.
II is worthy of note that during this
stormy period there were stationed at
various times many of the South's and
Noith's most illustrious military lead
ers. In a private letter from Hon.
FitZhugh Lee, who was then q Second
Lieutenant in the Second cavalry,
United States army, [ nm given the
foil wing valuable information (: "At
that time the Colonel of the regiment
was Albert Sidney Johnston, the Lieu.
tenant Colonel, Robert j.. Lee, the two
Majors were William j. Hardee ano
George H.. Thomas, and among the
Captains of the regiment were Earl
Van Dorm, Inns Palmer, Il. Kirby
Smith, James Cakes, SLOVENIAN, Rich
ard Johnson, Whiting, Bracket, Brad
flute, and among the First Lientenants
were Charles w. Field and j. b.
Hood"
Many varied and interesting stories
ere told as TO the destruction of the old
fort, but all agree that it was burned
Immediately after the secession of the
Southern States. Some of the old set
tiers affirm that the torch was applied
by the soldiers who were encamped
there at the beginning of the war.
Others associate the name of Mrs. Lee
with the circumstances of its destruc.
ton. 1t is said that when the soldiers
were leaving the place to enter the
civil war, having proceeded five or sir