U.S. Military Posts on the Mexican Border - Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area

U.S. Military Posts on the Mexico Border

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Soon after the region was acquired from Mexico, the first U.S. Army post was established in 1856 primarily to protect ranches and mines from Apache attacks.

For a few months in 1862, the Confederate flag flew over the region until Union troops arrived from California and recaptured it, following the westernmost skirmishes of the Civil War. In 1865, American soldiers were moved closer to the border to defend it against French troops that had invaded Mexico and occupied Sonora. Between 1866 and 1886, several new posts were established, and this region was the frontline of major campaigns to pacify the Apaches.

Image shows aircraft lined up in the desert with mountains in the background.

Aircraft at Pima Air & Space Museum. Photo: Robery Glynn, courtesy of Visit Tucson.

In 1910, when the Mexican Revolution threatened to spill across the U.S. border, Camp Little was established in Nogales. In 1916, this region was a staging area for the Punitive Expedition that crossed into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa after he attacked a town in southern New Mexico.

Until the beginning of the United States’ involvement in the First World War, the military presence was increased by National Guard units mobilized from western states to protect the border. From 1918 to 1933, the border was guarded by African American cavalry and infantry regiments known as “Buffalo Soldiers.”

During the Second World War, airfields established in the region were important training bases. Because of the area’s dry climate, thousands of decommissioned aircraft have been stored here since 1945. Bomber groups and intercontinental missiles deployed here were critical parts of the national defense during the Cold War. Today, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base continues to play an important part in supporting and training U.S. forces and participating in the local economy.