Arthur Tracy Lee served as an officer in the regular army before and during the American Civil War. He was also an author, painter, musician, and an architect.

Fort Croghan was the third of the first four forts established by the United States government to protect settlers from hostile Indians along the Texas frontier. From its establishment on March 18, 1849, by Lt. C.H. Taylor until it was abandoned in 1855, Fort Croghan was home to Company C, 8th Infantry, U.S.A. (mounted), and eventually became the headquarters of the Second Dragoon Regiment.