WYOMING FORTS:

 

Brown:  See Augur and Washakie.

Carrington:. See Phil Kearny.

Caspar:

 Established in May, 1862.
 Located on the south side of the North Platte River at the present town of Casper. From 1840 until 1847 the crossing point was known as Camp Platte and served as a convenient and natural camping place for emigrants following the Oregon Trail. In June, 1847, the Mormons established a ferry at this point and for the succeeding twelve years it was known as Mormon Ferry. Platte Bridge Station, consisting of adobe buildings, was erected at the same spot—the common crossing place—in 1858. From July 29,1858, to April 20,1859, troops were stationed there to protect the emigrant trains, to keep open communciations with Salt Lake City, and to facilitate the movement of supplies for the Utah expeditionary force. The post was garrisoned by regular troops, Companies D and E of the 4th U.S. Artillery, Captain Joseph Roberts and Captain George W. Getty, commanding. In 1859, Louis Guinard completed the 1,000-foot bridge across the North Platte River from which the camp derived its name. In May, 1862, a garrison, consisting of troops of the 6th U.S. Volunteers, was provided to protect the crossing and the telegraph line from the Indians.
In the spring of 1865 the post, still called Platte Bridge Station, became permanent. The post became unusually active that same year when the Indians sought to halt all traffic along the Oregon Trail. On November 21,1865, Major General John Pope, commanding the department, ordered that henceforth the post be known as Fort Caspar, in honor of First Lieutenant Caspar W. Collins, 11th Ohio Cavalry, killed in the Platte Bridge Station Battle, on July 26, 1865.

The post was first garrisoned by regular troops on June 28, 1866, under the command of Captain Richard L. Morris, 18th U.S. Infantry. The name "Caspar" was often spelled "Casper" in
government reports, and in that form was applied to the town which later grew up at the site. The post was rebuilt and enlarged in 1866. Abandoned on October 19, 1867, when it was replaced by Fort Fetterman. Immediately after Fort Caspar was abandoned, the buildings and the bridge across the North Platte were burned by the Indians. The fort has been reconstructed and the site is now a park.

Connor:
 Established August 14, 1865. Located on a mesa rising some one hundred feet above the east bank of the Powder River, about four miles below the mouth of Dry Creek, and about twenty-five miles northeast of the present town of Kaycee. Established by Brigadier General Patrick E. Connor, for whom the post was named, as a supply base during his Powder River campaign. The construction of the post was under the direction of Colonel James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry. The post was garrisoned for about a year and then replaced by Fort Reno.

 (notes: Fred B. Rogers, in his biography of General Connor, states that the name of the post was changed to Fort Reno on November 11,1865, and that "The best evidence points to the fact that their locations [Fort Connor and Fort Reno] were identical."

Fetterman:
Established July 19, 1867.
 Located on a sagebrush-covered plateau on the south bank of the North Platte River, near the mouth of La Prele Creek, at the point where the Bozeman Trail left the river and turned north. Intended to protect the various emigrant routes in the area and to aid in the control of the hostile Sioux Indians.

 Established by Major William McEntyre Dye, 4th U.S. Infantry. Named for Captain William J. Fetterman, 27th U.S. Infantry, killed by the Sioux Indians in the Fetterman massacre on December 21,1866, near Fort Phil Kearny.

 The post buildings were sold on September 29,1882, and military custody ceased on November 6,1882. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department on July 22,1884. The old post then became the nucleus for a hell-roaring cattle town which eventually declined and was deserted. Some of the buildings still stand.

Halleck:
 Established July 20,1862.
Located west of the Medicine Bow River at the north base of Elk Mountain. The site was selected by and the post built under the command of Major John O'Ferrall, 11th Ohio Cavalry. It was established to protect the Overland Trail, the Denver-Salt Lake stage route, and the telegraph line from the Indians. Named for Major General Henry W. Halleck. Abandoned on July 4, 1866. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department on October 11, 1886.

John Buford: See Sanders.

Laramie:
Originally erected in 1834 as a trading post. First called
Fort William, for William Sublette, William Anderson, and William Patton; then Fort John, presumably for John B. Sarpy.    
Located on the left bank of the Laramie River, about a mile above its junction with the North Platte. In March, 1849, United States Adjutant General Roger Jones directed Colonel David E. Twiggs, 2nd U.S. Dragoons, commanding the Western Division of the Army, to establish a post at or near Fort Laramie.
Major Winslow F. Sanderson, Mounted Riflemen, who arrived at Fort Laramie on June 16, 1849, recommended the purchase of the trading post itself. The arrangement for the purchase was concluded on June 26,1849.

The post was first garrisoned by two companies of Mounted Riflemen and one company of the 6th U.S. Infantry, arriving in detachments in June, July, and August, 1849.

 The name, Fort Laramie, which had long been the popular name for the post, was retained. The name was derived from the Laramie River, which was named for a French trapper, Jacques Laramie, who was killed by Arapaho Indians near its headwaters in 1821.

The post was used to protect the Oregon Trail, which had become a major highway for the gold rush to California, and, later, to control the Indians of the northern plains.

The buildings of the trading post were occupied by the army only until they could be replaced by other structures, the last being destroyed in 1862. The construction of the Union Pacific seventy miles to the south and the Chicago and Northwestern fifty miles to the north placed Fort Laramie off the main lines of travel and marked the beginning of its decline. Abandonment was ordered on August 31, 1889 although the last troops did not leave until March 2, 1890. Part of the military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department on June 9,1890, and the remainder on November 4, 1897. Some of the buildings were dismantled; the rest were sold at public auction on April 9, 1890. The partly restored post is now a national monument. (source: Ft.Laramie National Park Service pamphlet)

 THE RESTORATION OF FORT LARAMIE

1. Interim State Custodianship              1937-1938
-Greenburg, Rymill and Randels
-
2. Early Federal Custodianship              1938-1939

- Mattes, Canfield, Humberger and Fraser
3. Jess H. Lombard, Custodian              1939-1944

4. Thor Borreson, Custodian                1944-1946

5. David L. Hieb, Custodian/ Superintendent    1947-1949

6. David L. Hieb, Superintendent/ Restorationist 1950-1958

7. Ray Ringenback, Superintendent          1958-1960

8. Charles C. Sharp, Superintendent          1961-1973

9. Richard L. Maeder, Superintendent         1973-1977


McKinney.

Established October 12,1876. After Brigadier General George Crook's Big Horn expedition had been stopped by Crazy Horse at the Rosebud, another column, the Powder River expedition, was organized under the command of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, 4th U.S. Cavalry, to operate from Fort Fetterman as a base.

 A series of depots was established, one of which was Cantonment Reno, located three miles south of the abandoned Fort Reno. Established by Captain Edwin Pollock, 9th U.S. Infantry. The site was considered unhealthful; hence, on July 18, 1877, the post was re-established on the right bank of Clear Creek, a confluent of the Powder River, a little west of the present town of Buffalo.

The post became the center for control of the Indians in the cattle country east of the Big Horn Mountains.

 On August 30, 1877, the post was designated Fort McKinney, for First Lieutenant John A. McKinney, 4th U.S. Cavalry, killed by Indians on November 25, 1876. Abandoned on November 9, 1894. In 1895 the post buildings and two sections of land were given to the state. In 1903 the old post became the State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home.


Phil Kearny.

 Established July 13, 1866. Located at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains, between Big and Little Piney creeks, just before they unite, about fifteen miles north of the present town of Buffalo.

Established by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, 18th U.S. Infantry, as part of the protective system for the Bozeman Trail. First called Fort Carrington, the post was soon designated Fort Phil Kearny, in honor of Major General Philip Kearny, who was killed on September 1, 1862, in the Battle of Chantilly, Virginia.

Abandoned on July 31, 1868,1 as a result of the Fort Laramie Treaty of
 President Andrew Johnson ordered the abandonment of the three Bozeman Trail forts—Reno, Phil Kearny, and C. F. Smith—on March 2, 1868, but lack of transportation facilities delayed the evacuation of the garrisons until midsummer. August 18, 1868, is sometimes given as the date of abandonment.

 War Department records do not seem to contain the specific dates. Peter C. Harris, adjutant general, stated that they were abandoned in August, 1868, prior to August 7, according to available records.


April 29, 1868, with the Sioux Indians. Immediately after it was evacuated, the buildings were burned by the Sioux Indians.

Reno.

Established June 28, 1866. Located about a mile north of Fort Connor on the opposite (left) bank of the Powder River. It was one of the posts established for the protection of the Bozeman Trail. Established by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, 18th U.S. Infantry, near a spring of pure water, at a site which he considered to be more strategic than that of Fort Connor, which it replaced
. Named in honor of Major Jesse L. Reno, killed on September 14,1862, in the Battle of South Mountain. Abandoned on August 18,1868, as a result of the Fort Laramie Treaty of April 29,1868, with the Sioux Indians. The post was immediately burned by the Indians. Cantonment Reno (see Fort McKinney) was established near the site in 1876.


Russell. D. A.

Established July 21,1867. Located three miles west of Cheyenne on the north bank of Crow Creek, a branch of the South Platte. In the summer of 1867, Major General Grenville M. Dodge selected the site of what was to become the city of Cheyenne for a construction camp for the Union Pacific Railway.

 Colonel Christopher C. Augur, 12th U.S. Infantry, commanding the department, chose the site for the post, which was established by Colonel John D. Stevenson, 30th U.S. Infantry. It was located northwest of the railway terminal, at the point where the Union Pacific was to cross Crow Creek, and was designed to protect the railway workers and the citizens of the new town.

The post was designated Fort D. A. Russell, in honor of Brigadier General David A. Russell, on September 8, 1867. General Russell was killed on September 19, 1864, in the Battle of Opequon, Virginia. The post immediately became an important supply depot for the area. For that reason Camp Carlin, so called for Captain Elias B. Carling, assistant quartermaster, who selected the site and established the depot, also was established in
September, 1867.
 The depot, officially designated Cheyenne Depot, was located on the military reservation about midway between Fort Russell and the city of Cheyenne. The depot was dismantled in 1890. On January 1, 1930, the fort was renamed Fort Francis E. Warren, for a Civil War veteran who was the first governor of the state of Wyoming. The post is still operative and is now the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.

Sanders:

Established July 10,1866. Located one and three-quarters miles east of the Laramie River and about three miles south of the town of Laramie. The post was intended to protect the Overland and Lodgepole Creek emigrant routes, the Denver-Salt Lake stage route, and the construction crews of the Union Pacific Railway.
 Probably established by Captain Henry R. Mizner, 18th U.S. Infantry, by order of Major General John Pope. Originally named Fort John Buford, for Major General John Buford. The post was designated Fort Sanders on September 5, 1866, in honor of Brigadier General William P. Sanders, who died on November 19, 1863, of wounds received at Knoxville. Abandoned on May 22, 1882. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department on August 22,1882.

Stambaugh:
 
Established August 20, 1870. Located in Smith's Gulch, between Atlantic City and the Oregon Trail, about eight miles north of the Sweetwater River. Established because the miners of the Sweetwater district demanded protection when the boundaries of the Shoshoni Indian Reservation were drawn almost adjoining the mining district.
Established by Major James S. Brisbin, 2nd U.S. Cavalry. The post was named for First Lieutenant Charles B. Stambaugh, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, killed by Indians on May 4, 1870, near Miner's Delight, Wyoming. The post was a camp and was never officially designated a fort. Abandoned on August 17, 1878.

Steele Fred:

 Established June 30,1868. Located on the left bank of the North Platte River, some fifteen miles east of the present town of Rawlins, where the Union Pacific Railway crossed the river.
 Established by Major Richard I. Dodge, 30th U.S. Infantry. Established as part of the protective system for the Union Pacific and the Overland Trail, and as partial replacement for the abandoned Bozeman Trail posts.
Named for Colonel Frederick Steele, 20th U.S. Infantry, who died on January 12, 1868. Abandoned in 1886, the last troops leaving the post on November 3, except for a small guard which remained until the Interior Department could formally receive the military reservation, which had been transferred on August 9, 1886.

Walbach:

Established September 20, 1858. Located on Lodge pole Creek, east of Cheyenne Pass, about twenty miles east of the present town of Laramie.
Established to protect the Lodgepole Creek emigrant route, especially the dangerous crossing through Cheyenne Pass.
The post was a camp and was never officially designated a fort. Named for Colonel John De Barth Walbach, 4th U.S. Artillery, who died on June 10, 1857. Abandoned on April 19, 1859.


Fort Washakie:
The post was designated Fort Washakie on December 30, 1878, in honor of Chief Washakie, a Shoshoni Indian. The order to abandon the post was issued in 1899, but Chief Washakie, then more than ninety years of age, objected so strenuously that the order was revoked.

 Evacuated on May 1, 1907. Reoccupied on June 6, 1907, and again constituted a permanent post on October 14, 1907. Permanently abandoned on March 30, 1909.

 The post and military reservation were turned over to the Interior Department and became the headquarters for the Shoshoni Agency.

Yellowstone:
 
Established August 17, 1886. Located in Yellowstone Park on Beaver Creek, near Mammoth Hot Springs. Established to protect the park from vandalism, enforce the game laws, and to guard the natural wonders from despoilation.
Established by Captain Moses Harris, 1st U.S. Cavalry.
Originally called Camp Sheridan, for Lieutenant General Phil Sheridan.
The post was designated Fort Yellowstone on May 11, 1891. Abandoned in 1918.

Additional notes: The nationally significant Fort Yellowstone-Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District is in the northwestern portion of Yellowstone National Park on an old hot springs formation. The buildings on this plateau represent the first development of administrative and concession facilities in the park.

For the decade after 1872 when Yellowstone National Park was established, the park was under serious threat from those who would exploit, rather than protect, its resources. Poachers killed animals. Souvenir hunters broke large pieces off the geysers and hot springs. Developers set up camps for tourists, along with bath and laundry facilities at hot springs. Civilian superintendents were hired to preserve and protect this land from 1872 through 1886. The good intentions of these early administrators, however, were no match for their lack of experience, funds and manpower. Word got back to Congress that the park was in trouble and legislators refused to appropriate any funds for the park's administration in 1886.

Yellowstone National Park turned to the U.S. Army for help. Invoking the Sundry Civil Act of 1883, the Secretary of the Interior called upon the Secretary of War for assistance in protecting the park. The Army came to the rescue and in 1886 men from Company M, First United States Cavalry, Fort Custer, Montana Territory under Captain Moses Harris came to Yellowstone to begin what would be more than 30 years of military presence in Yellowstone.

When Company M arrived in August 1886, they lived in temporary frame buildings at Camp Sheridan, established at the foot of the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. After enduring five cold, harsh winters, the cavalry realized there was no end in sight to this assignment. Therefore, in 1890, Congress appropriated $50,000 for a permanent post. So the days of Fort Yellowstone The first buildings of Fort Yellowstone were finished by late 1891.   As more troops were needed, more buildings were constructed: officers' quarters, guard house, headquarters, barracks for enlisted men, stables for their horses and non-commissioned officers' quarters. In 1909, Scottish masons began constructing sandstone buildings here - among them the Albright Visitor Center (then the Bachelor Officers' Quarters) and the administration building (then a two-troop barracks for 200 men). The Chapel, the final building constructed during the Army's tenure, was also constructed of native sandstone. The stone from these buildings was obtained from a local quarry between the Gardner River and the Mammoth Campground.

In 1910, at the height of the Army's presence in Yellowstone, there were 324 soldiers stationed here plus some families and numerous civilian employees. These troops staffed not only Fort Yellowstone, but were stationed throughout the park in small details at various outposts.

 

 

 

 

 (source: Bureau of Indian Affairs,NPS, library vertical files, old newspapers, Forts of the West, R. Frazier)

 

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