1858 Letter from the Fort Defiance Quartermaster’s Office Requesting Supplies of Corn for Fighting the Navajo

Fort Defiance, New Mexico (now Arizona), 1858. Single letter, two 8 x 10 inch pages. Fine.. A letter from Captain William K. Van Bokkelen (1822–1907) at Fort Defiance to Major James Lowry Donaldson (1814–1885). Van Bokkelen, calculating the amount of bushels of corn consumed each day by the Fort’s horses, writes:

“On my way to the Post I made all the enquiries relative to amount of Corn to be purchased, and find that it will not be sufficient for passing trains and escort, if the operations against Navajo Indians last until Spring.”

Fort Defiance was built in 1851 to establish a US military presence in Navajo territory, directly (truncated) on land that the Navajo had been using to graze their cattle. In early 1858, a dispute over grazing led to the two groups launching multiple small attacks on each other, culminating in a series of campaigns against the Navajo in September and October, to which Van Bokkelen is referring. (Inventory #: List2856)