Drawings of Fort Davis and Fort LancasterPope, John, 1822-1892circa 1860.engTwo drawings by John Pope of United States Army forts in West Texas. The drawing of Fort Davis is ink and wash over graphite and measures 20 x 32 cm.; it is inscribed on the lower right "Ft Davis Head Quarters 8th Infantry on road from Horsehead X of Pecos to El Paso." The drawing of Fort Lancaster is wash over graphite and measures 13 x 32 cm.; it is inscribed on the upper right "32 P C Capt John Pope U S A," and along the lower edge "Ft Lancaster 4 mi from Rio Pecos."John Pope was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 16, 1822, the son of Nathaniel and Lucretia Backers Pope. He attended West Point from 1838 to 1842, and was brevetted second lieutenant in the topographical engineers. Pope served with the United States Army for fifty years, from his first assignment as a surveyor under Zachary Taylor in Mexico through his role as brigadier general commanding the Third Military District in post-Civil War Reconstruction. In 1853 he commanded the party that surveyed railroad routes through Texas, and in 1855 he returned to the state to search for water in far West Texas. Major General John Pope died at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Sandusky, Ohio, on September 23, 1892.Fort Davis was established in 1854 and Fort Lancaster in 1855; they were two in a line of United States Army forts reaching from San Antonio to El Paso. The posts played a major role in the protection of the primary southern route to California after the discovery of gold, as well as in the defense and development of West Texas.Captions in English.Title devised by cataloger.