Outdoor group portrait albumen CDV. [New Mexico Territory]: N.p., circa 1869. Ink inscription to verso: "Apache Indian scouts in Camp behind Ft. Bayard Hospital."

A group of Apache scouts, armed and in uniform, posing for the unidentified photographer. Four caucasian men observe the subjects from a distance. Ft. Bayard Hospital can be seen far off in the background.  

Fort Bayard was established by the United States Army along the Apache Trail, with the intention of protecting miners and other settlers in the area. Fifteen square miles were set aside in a presidential order to provide security from Native American attacks. The hospital, which can be seen in the background of the photograph, was established in 1869. 

In 1866, under President Andrew Johnson, Congress authorized the enlistment of up to 1,000 Native Americans to serve as scouts to combat tribes who had taken up arms against the white Americans who were imposing on their lands. With army populations decimated by the Civil War, the Native scouts served as useful recruits, utilizing their knowledge of terrain and the fighting strategies of rival tribes to assist in U.S. interests. Scouts originated from the Pawnee, Apache, Crow, Shoshone, and Tonkawa tribes. 

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