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Near Watrous in Mora County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
 

Life Along Suds Row

— Fort Union National Monument —

 
 
Life Along Suds Row Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2015
1. Life Along Suds Row Marker
Inscription. There were few chances for family life for any enlisted man in the United States Army on the frontier. Regulations did not allow new recruits to have a wife or child. No soldier could marry without the permission of his commanding officer. That permission was seldom given — unless the future wife was willing to work for the Army as a laundress.

On this side of the street you see the remnants of eleven 18-by-20-foot apartments. Married sergeants, corporals, and privates lived in these one-room homes with their wives and children. A second set of enlisted quarters sat on the next block. Because these wives were carried on the roster as laundresses, their homes were known as “Suds Row.”

Laundresses are allowed for each company and… are entitled to the same quarters, fuel, and rations as a soldier, and the established pay for the washing they may do for soldiers and officers.
Customs of the Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers, 1865

Army laundresses came from all walks of life. Like the soldiers of the frontier Army, many came from outside the United States — Germany, Mexico, Ireland and England. Each laundress washed clothes for about 19 soldiers.
 
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
 
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historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and CastlesSettlements & SettlersWomen.
 
Location. 35° 54.4′ N, 105° 0.756′ W. Marker is near Watrous, New Mexico, in Mora County. Marker can be reached from New Mexico Route 161, 7˝ miles north of CanAm Highway (Interstate 25). Marker is located along the park trail at Fort Union National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3115 New Mexico Route 161, Watrous NM 87753, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Crime and Punishment on an Army Post (within shouting distance of this marker); Hard Work, Strict Discipline, and $13 a Month (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort Union and the Santa Fe Trail (about 400 feet away); Rank Has its Privileges (about 500 feet away); The Third Fort Union (about 500 feet away); Home for the Commandants (about 500 feet away); Privy (about 500 feet away); Fort Union: 1866 (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Watrous.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Fort Union National Monument
 
Marker detail: A Fort Union Married Enlisted Couple image. Click for full size.
2. Marker detail: A Fort Union Married Enlisted Couple
Bridget Molloy, like her husband, was a recent immigrant from Ireland. Patrick Cloonan had already served as a private in the cavalry for five years when he asked permission to marry her here at Fort Union in August 1873. Bridget served as a laundress for Company B, Eighth Cavalry until January 1876, when both Cloonans and Company B left Fort Union.
Life Along Suds Row Marker • <i>looking southeast</i> image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2015
3. Life Along Suds Row Marker • looking southeast
Life Along Suds Row Marker • <i>looking northeast</i> image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2015
4. Life Along Suds Row Marker • looking northeast
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on September 29, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 130 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 29, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Mar. 29, 2024