Frontier felons fight over private fort

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t. William Whiting and his saddlesore cavalrymen were warmly welcomed to Fort Leaton on March 24, 1849 by the proprietor, who hoped to talk the army into making his private hideaway on the Rio Grande an official border outpost.

The shavetail’s mission was to find the shortest and safest route from San Antonio to the western tip of Texas along with the site for a fort to protect the passage. Swayed by his host’s hospitality, Whiting suggested Fort Leaton, a rash recommendation that was rejected by his superiors.