The U.S. Army established Fort Sumner in 1862 as a supply and control point for the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. About 10,000 Navajo were forcibly relocated from the Four-Corners Region during the tragic march known as the Long Walk. About 500 Apaches from southern New Mexico were also brought here. Approximately 3,000 Navajos and Apaches died here. The ill-conceived reservation was closed in 1868, and the Navajos and Apaches returned to their homes. The fort was abandoned in 1869.