Apache Incarceration

On April 16, 1886, a train arrived in St. Augustine. People from all around St. Augustine gathered together to gawk at the train’s arrival and see if they could catch a glimpse of those that it had carried from such a great distance away. The new arrivals were a group of Apaches taken as prisoners in Arizona and transported for confinement in old Fort Marion, today the Castillo de San Marcos. When they walked off the train that early morning these people did not resemble the proud, fearless men and women who had evaded, fought, and struggled against the American Army. Onlookers undoubtedly had expected to see a spectacle of mighty warriors disembarking on that April day. What they saw instead, was a group of tired, weary, poorly clad people completely exhausted by their long years of fighting and hardship. Upon their arrival, a Florida Times-Union reporter described the scene as the Apache prisoners emerged from the train. “First came the men, each with shoulders and head wrapped in a blanket and all marching with expressionless faces and stately gait; then came the young bucks with less dignity and fewer blankets, as well as fewer clothes of any kind; then straggling along one by one, came the young women, girls, and children…” Their identities and reputations as Apache Indians, the last western tribe to ultimately surrender, had preceded them. But when they arrived in St. Augustine, they were forced to succumb to their new identity as prisoners of the US Army.

 

Imprisoned in St. Augustine

The prisoners that were brought to Fort Marion had fought with the great war chiefs Chihuahua, Naiche, and Geronimo. For years they had struggled against the efforts of the American Army, resisting plans to push them onto reservations. But after years of hardship and struggle, these people and their chiefs began to surrender one by one. The Unites States Government decided to imprison them in an eastern, remote location. General Sherman and President Grover Cleveland decided on the old Castillo in St. Augustine, Florida. Over 500 Apache would eventually see the inside of these walls.

 

Living Conditions at Fort Marion

Placed in charge of the fort and its prisoners was Colonel Langdon. He was responsible for their physical well-being.The size and layout of the fort gave room to house approximately 150 people, but the military placed all 502 Apaches within its walls as prisoners. This forced them to live in extremely crowded conditions in the rooms, but most lived in 130 cone-shaped Sibley tents on top of the fort.

Each day they received rations consisting of one pound of beef daily for adults and half that for children; fresh bread daily; rice, turnips, hominy, sugar, coffee, and beans. Once each week, they received small quantities of potatoes and onions. They would eat no fish or pork, and the rations they were given took a toll on their health. The Apache women cooked everything they ate except the bread, which was baked at St. Francis Barracks.

 

Life and Death at the Fort

The conditions at Fort Marion were crowded, and there was a constant concern about illness. Dr. DeWitt Webb, an Army physician, was tasked with overseeing the prison. He would visit the fort every morning, tend to the sick, assess the living conditions, and make recommendations to promote a healthy living environment. He did all he could do to cure them of any illness, and to prevent additional sicknesses, but he could not do enough. He reported the following deaths: 1 man, 7 women, and 16 children; 4 from dysentery (1 man & 3 children); 6 children from acute bronchitis; 3 women from marasmus (wasting disease); 2 women of old age; 1 child of epilepsy; 2 children from tetanus neonatorum; 2 women and 4 children from tuberculosis. All were buried somewhere on North Beach (modern Vilano). There were also twelve children born at Fort Marion, including the daughter of Ih-Tedda and Geronimo. The Army called her Marion, but she later changed her name to Lenna.

To alleviate some of the concerns about crowded conditions, the prisoners were able to leave the Castillo, move around the grounds of the fort, and go into town. But stuck in place, there was little for the prisoners to do besides tending to basic needs such as food preparation and caring for their children. To pass the time, they played card games such as monte, konkan, & alte; practiced archery; and rolled hoops. The men would play a game called masca in the moat. The women earned money by weaving willow baskets, making moccasins, and constructing toy models of their unique crafts. All were for sale to the tourists visiting St. Augustine. Colonel Langdon noted that there was much idleness amongst the prisoners at the fort. Therefore, he implemented a program aimed at assimilating the prisoners.

 

Education and Assimilation

Colonel Langdon recruited the assistance of some local women to teach some of the young men and teenagers: Miss Mather, Mrs. Horace Caruthers, and Miss Clark. They came to the fort every weekday and conducted classes inside the old coquina rooms. The classes focused on how to read, write, and speak the English language. They also offered instruction on arithmetic, science, and social studies. The younger children, those 12 and under, attended classes in the town at a local nunnery and were taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph, including Mother Alypius, Sister Jane Francis, and Sister Mary Albert. They gave instruction to the children in math, English, and the social aspects of American lifestyles. Inspired by the quick progress of the students, and desirous of decreasing the crowded conditions at Fort Marion, Colonel Langdon invited the Superintendent of the Carlisle School to visit St. Augustine, assess the students, and determine if they would make good pupils for his off-reservation boarding school.

 

Pratt visits Fort Marion

The Superintendent of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School was Captain Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt had been the jailor of the Plains Indians at Fort Marion ten years prior, and during his tenure, he too had attempted to assimilate the prisoners. After leaving Florida, he opened the Carlisle School to educate Native American youth in western ways. Pratt visited St. Augustine in 1886 to assess the Apache students at the fort, and he selected 103 children to attend his institution. Those children boarded trains and were taken to Pennsylvania, where they were outfitted in uniforms, given Christian names, and forced to integrate into mainstream, white society.

 

Florida to Oklahoma

The Apache prisoners were confined at the fort for just over one year. After a year, the group was moved to Alabama and then later to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. During their incarceration in Florida, one of the prisoners left a carving on the walls of the fort. Carefully etched into the coquina stone is a proud Apache Fire Dancer. That carving is still visible to the modern viewer, and today it remains as a physical reminder of twenty-seven years of confinement.

 

At left, a 1947 photograph of the Apache Fire Dancer on Castillo's wall. At right, an artist's sketch of what the carving may have looked like when fresh.