Chaplains and chaplain assistants from the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, pose for a photo in front of the Fort Bayard Commanding Officer's Quarters, used as a museum by the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society.
Photo and article by Mary Alice Murphy
On Thursday afternoon, March 23, 2017, 26 chaplains and chaplain assistants from the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, in El Paso, visited Fort Bayard.
Chaplain Maj. Todd Morrison, in the middle of the photo above, with a red collar visible under his jacket, requested a visit to the museum and said he would talk to those gathered about Chaplain Allen Allensworth, who began his service at Fort Bayard in 1886.
Morrison said he, his wife and daughter had visited Fort Bayard during a trip to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. He learned of Allensworth and his significance to the chaplains' corps, as an African-American, and began to research him.
"Allen Allensworth was born as a slave in Kentucky," Morrison said. "His owners taught him to read and write. Some masters taught their slaves and let them continue their education. Others didn't.