Civilian Life

Civilian Life. . Life at Fort Craig during its heyday, between 1854 and 1884, was isolated and rustic for soldiers and civilians alike. Loneliness, tension, and tedium were all forces to be reckoned with. So was social stratification; officers and their families never mingled with enlisted men or with hired civilian workers., Life at isolated frontier forts like Fort Craig for the civilian wives of officers was difficult. They were far from family and friends and all things familiar, and did not receive the free rations, clothing, medical care, and reassignment transportation that their husbands did. Servants provided most household services, so the women spent their time visiting with other officers' wives, reading, writing letters, sewing, entertaining official military and other visitors, teaching at the post school, riding horseback, fishing, hunting, or studying desert plants and animals. Most of the soldiers' children spent their days attending school (if an officer's wife or the chaplain could serve as teacher), reading, riding horseback, swimming, fishing, hunting, playing games like "Soldiers and Indians," and sharing in the daily round and special events at the fort. The children of laundresses, servants, the sutler, and other civilian workers were put to work gathering firewood, helping with laundry, taking care of animals, and performing other household chores., Because of its isolation, Fort Craig had to be almost as self-sufficient as a small town. Most labor usually fell to enlisted men. When they were not available to provide needed services, civilian workers had to be hired from outside, sometimes living at the fort, but most often "commuting" from San Marcial, Paraje, or other nearby villages. Laundresses were a vital part of life at all frontier forts. The wives of enlisted men sometimes worked as laundresses to earn extra money. Teamsters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, and wagonmasters were hired to take care of the livestock and haul supplies. Stonemasons, painters, and carpenters might be hired for post maintenance. A cook, butcher, or baker might be brought into the post for kitchen work. The all-important civilian sutler sold clothing, food, hardware, and other items, and sometimes also served as postmaster. His store was a gathering place for gossip, illicit gambling, playing pool, bowling and drinking.