Fort Bliss Houses
Fort Bliss Houses
Since 1848 the military is present at El Paso, with short interruptions. First, most of the soldiers were stationed in the downtown area. In 1854, the official name of the post became Fort Bliss, in memory of Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, Gen. Zachary Taylor's chief of staff during the Mexican War. Fort Bliss moved to its sixth and final home in late 1893, at that time five miles east of town. After the Mexican Revolution started in 1910, the army gradually increased its troop strength at Fort Bliss. Also, it changed from an infantry station to the largest cavalry post in the United States. The image dates from 1915 and shows some of the houses on Fort Bliss. The Franklin Mountains can be seen in the background. In the 1940s Fort Bliss became the United States Army Anti-aircraft Artillery and Guided Missile Center and later the United States Army Air Defense Center.