Fort Jesup and the Texas Border: America's Southwestern Frontier

From 1822 to 1846, Fort Jesup on the Sabine River was the southwestern-most U.S. military post — the last line of American authority before Mexican Texas. Zachary Taylor, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee all served here as young officers. When Texas declared independence in 1836, Fort Jesup became the staging ground for potential American intervention. When the Mexican-American War began in 1846, the garrison marched south and never returned. The fort was abandoned, but the reconstructed buildings and original kitchen survive as a National Historic Landmark.