The "Hard Scrabble" Frontier Post, in the vicinity of a promontory known as Phantom Hill, was burned to the ground in 1854. Story circulated that it was the misdeed of the Comanches, Confederate sympathizers, or disgruntled troopers who were once stationed there. In 1858, it was rebuilt as a stage way- station on the Butterfield Line until it was abondoned during the Civil War. In the summer of 1871, the fort was reopened as a picket post of Fort Griffin, 45 miles tot he North. For these settlers in central Texas, this string of cavalry post was their only protection against the dreaded Comanches.

Step back in time----the year is 1872 and one's existance at Fort Phantom Hill remains grim and monotonous. One is advised to laugh in the face of adversity. Here from I Troop of the Second Dragoons are those troubled troubadours of harmony, THE FORT PHANTOM IRREGULARS