Part of our in-depth series exploring Southern Early American Forts
Camp Dix, a Confederate outpost established by James M. Norris on April 4, 1862, was at the crossing of the San Antonio-Eagle Pass road and the Frio River, a spot on the river known as Black Waterhole, seven miles east of Uvalde. The camp was a Frontier Regiment post under the command of Capt. John J. Dix, Jr. The road had become a vital commercial route to Mexico for the Confederate cause when the Union forces gained control of the entry points to Mexico along the lower Rio Grande. Camp Dix was one of several encampments established to protect Confederate export wagon trains on their way to Mexico. It was abandoned after the consolidation of the Frontier Regiment in March 1864.