Fort Marcy was a military reservation in New Mexico. In May 1846 the United States declared war on the Republic of Mexico after a dispute arose over the location of the southern border of the newly-annexed State of Texas. Led by General Stephen W. Kearney, his Army of the West, with approximately 1,700 troops, marched into the city of Santa Fe to claim the city and the entire New Mexico Territory on August 18, 1846. On the next day, Kearney ordered two of his chief engineers, William Emory and Jeremy Gilmer, who would go on to serve as a major general and chief engineer for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, to stake out a good site for a defensive fort. This was crucial in order to prevent an upheaval by the already conquered population. Lt. Emory found the perfect