Fort McIntosh functioned as a U.S. Army post established in 1849 on the Rio Grande at Laredo to guard the international border crossing, protect area settlers and trade routes, and support military operations along the river through the Mexican War aftermath, the Civil War, border conflicts of the late nineteenth century, and the Mexican Revolution era. Troops stationed there patrolled the river, escorted supply trains, and helped police smuggling and cross-border raids, making it one of the longer-serving frontier posts in Texas, remaining an active garrison into the 1940s before its deactivation after World War II. Its everyday operation was that of a working border garrison: barracks, officers quarters, a parade ground, stables, and support buildings housed soldiers who carried out routine patrol, drill, and logistics duties rather than large-scale combat. After the Army left, the fort grounds and a number of its surviving nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings were transferred for civilian use and became the campus of Laredo Junior College, now Laredo College. Several original fort structures still stand and continue to serve functional purposes for the college today, used as classrooms, administrative offices, and campus facilities, so the site has continuously functioned as an institutional campus for decades, first military and now educational, rather than sitting preserved as a static museum.