Fort Gibson, established in 1824 at the confluence of the Arkansas, Grand, and Verdigris rivers in present-day Oklahoma, served as a pivotal military outpost on the American frontier. Initially built to maintain peace between warring Native American tribes, it later became instrumental in the enforcement of Indian removal policies, particularly the Trail of Tears. The fort gained significance during westward expansion as a strategic base for military operations and as a vital supply depot for settlers and soldiers alike.
Throughout the 19th century, Fort Gibson weathered numerous challenges, including disease outbreaks, harsh frontier conditions, and the tumult of the Civil War when it changed hands between Union and Confederate forces. After being decommissioned in 1890, the site experienced a renaissance when the Oklahoma Historical Society began restoration efforts in the 1930s. Today, Fort Gibson stands as a National Historic Landmark, preserving its stone barracks and other structures as testament to a complex period of American history that saw the collision of military strategy, westward expansion, and the forced relocation of Native peoples.
In 1843, the post was garrisoned by three troops of Dragoons and four companies of the Sixth Infantry under the command of Colonel William Davenport. Another well-known officer who was in command of the post in 1850 was General W. G. Belknap of the Fifth Infantry.
Belknap died in 1851. On August 6, 1872, William W. Belknap, then Secretary of War, gave instructions to have the remains of his father, General William Goldsmith Belknap, removed from Fort Washita, where they were interred in 1851, to the cemetery at Keokuk, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, where the Secretary’s home was located.
These two daguerreotypes—one of General Belknap, and the other of the view of Fort Gibson from across the river and with a figure standing on the bank in the foreground—were purchased together from the collection of Ray Phillips.
Little is known about daguerreian Mayhew, though he advertised his services from June 30th until August 28th, 1847 in The Replublic (Buffalo, New York), according to Pioneer American Photographers, 1839-1860 (Chris Steele).