Kansas (admitted to the Union on January 29, 1861)
Fort Leavenworth (1827-present)
Fort Leavenworth, "the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D. C.," was built in 1827 in Missouri Territory. (The Kansas Territory was established in 1854, and Kansas became a state on January 29, 1861.) Its original mission was to protect the Santa Fe Trail.
Located at the mouth of the Little Platte River, a Missouri River tributary, it was also the staging point in for a battle against its troops and the Cherokees, and its troops "were mobilized to control the 'Mormon Problem' [during] . . . the Utah War (1857-1858).
At the beginning of the Civil War, Fort Leavenworth was a receiving center and training base for Kansas volunteers. Following the war, the fort's mission was to "control" Native Americans "on the Western plains , . . . [and] between 1865 and 1891, the Army had more than 1,000 combat engagements with Apache, Modoc, Cheyenne, Ute, Nez Perce Comanche, Kiowa, Kickapoo and other tribes."
In 1866, the 10th Cavalry Regiment of "Buffalo soldiers," one of four all-black units who then served as on the Western frontier.
In 1877, four-hundred Nez Perce were sent to Fort Leavenworth after being their capture during the Nez Perce War; two years later, they were transferred to Tonkawa, Oklahoma, presumably to the Nez Perce reservation there.
Today, Fort Leavenworth functions as a maximum-security military prison. ("Fort Leavenworth," Wikipedia).
Fort Scott (184201873)
Politics, morality, protection of U. S. sovereignty, and "control" of Native Americans were some of the issues and functions associated with Fort Scott, which was established in 1842 and decommissioned in 1853.
As "10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts, points out, "this fort was initially envisioned as part of a defense line meant to protect the US [sic] from potential foreign invasions and [to] keep the peace among various Native American tribes after their forced relocation from traditional territories."
The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) left it up to territories to determine, by vote, whether to permit slavery, a contentious issue which led to "clashes violent clashes between pro-slavery “Border Ruffians” and anti-slavery “Free-Staters" in "Bleeding Kansas." Even after it was decommissioned in 1853, the fort was a safe haven for those seeking to escape the violence introduced by "the slavery question," and the fort also served as a "supply depot" for Union troops.
Today, the reconstructed fort is a major attraction in the town that bears its name, located in Bourbon County, Kansas.
Fort Riley (Originally Camp Center) (1853-present)
Serving since 1853, when it was established to near the confluence of the Smoky Hill River and the Republican River in Kansas Territory to protect travelers on the Oregon Trail and the Sante Fe Trail, "during escalating tensions between settlers and Native American tribes," Fort Riley (originally Camp Center) continues to serve the U. S. Army today.
During the Civil War (1861-1865), the fort supported Union troops against Confederate soldiers, "housing troops, acting as a training ground, and facilitating the movement of supplies." During World War I and World War II, Fort Riley was used to train soldiers "for . . . European frontlines" and, during the latter, "as as a prisoner of war camp, housing captured Axis soldiers. Today, the fort continues to train soldiers for combat. ("10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts).
Fort Larned (Originally Camp on Pawnee Fork; then Camp Alert (1859-1883)
Names of frontier forts were changed fairly frequently for a variety of reasons. Fort Larned was originally Camp on Pawnee Fork, its mission to protect the Santa Fe Trail. The original designation was of geographic origin: the camp was located on the bank of Pawnee Fork (the Pawnee River, a tributary of the Arkansas River) ("10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts). The completion of the Santa Fe Railroad led to the fort's abandonment in 1878. After serving as a ranch's headquarters from 1885-1966, the fort "was incorporated as a unit of the National Park System" as a National Historic Landmark ("Fort Larned," Wikipedia).
Fort Hays (aka Fort Fletcher) (1865-1889)
Fort Hays (originally Fort Fletcher) entered service in 1865, occupying the first of its three sites, its mission to protect freight wagons traveling over the Smoky Hill Trail against Cheyenne and Arapaho attacks ("Fort Hays," Wikipedia) and to "to relocate Native American tribes to reservations" ("10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts).
The fort closed on May 5, 1886, but reopened in October of the same year, this time " at the confluence of Big Creek and its north fork, 1⁄4 mile north of the previous site," its new purpose the protection of Union Pacific Eastern Division workers, its name changed to Fort Hays in memory of Brigadier General Alexander Hays, a Union casualty of the Civil War's Battle of the Wilderness.
On June 7, 1867, "a severe flood nearly [destroying] the fort, killing nine soldiers and civilians." The fort was relocated "15 miles (24.1 km) to the northwest where the railway would cross Big Creek," its final site, so that it could be closer to the railroad. It also played an important role during the Indian Wars (1609-1890). In 1992, after the fort was closed for good in 1889, most of its buildings were sold at auction as scrap.
Fort Hays is used as a setting in the films The Plainsman (1936), Dances with Wolves (1990), and Stolen Women, Captured Hearts (1997), and the television series Custer (1967); it is also associated with such notable individuals as Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917), Brevet Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), Wild Bill Hickok (1837-1925), U. S. General of the Army Philip Sheridan (1831-1888), and others ("Fort Hays," Wikipedia)
Fort Dodge (1865-1882)
As the U. S., National Park service points out, Fort Dodge, built in 1865, to protect the Santa Fe Trail, "is the oldest permanent settlement in [southwestern] of Kansas." Initially, it was built of "sod and adobe," its wooden buildings constructed only after "lumber arrived." At one point, four infantry companies composed its garrison.
In 1882, the fort was abandoned and "deeded to the state for use as a soldiers home," a function it continues to serve today ("Fort Dodge: Santa Fe National Historic Site," U. S. National Park Service).
Two forts preceded Fort Dodge. The first, Fort Mann, was constructed by civilians in 1847 to protect the Santa Fe Trail, but it failed to survive a Native Americans' attack, collapsing a year later, and was replaced by Fort Atkinson, which the U. S. Army built on the former fort's site, but Fort Atkinson was abandoned in 1853.
Dodge City Peace Commission: From left to right, standing: William H. Harris, Luke Short, Bat Masterson, William F. Petillon; seated: Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Michael Francis "Frank" McLean, Cornelius "Neil" Brown.
Dodge City was built in 1871, in anticipation of the Santa Fe Railroad's passage through western Kansas. Dodge City "boomed" in 1883, when the Western Trail branched off the Chisholm Trail, opening a link to the town.
As "Dodge City," Wikipedia, observes, "Dodge City had more gunfighters working at one time or another than any other town in the West, many of whom participated in the Dodge City War of 1883." Famous lawmen formed the Dodge City Peace Commission, founded on June 210, 1883, members of which included Luke Short, Bat Masterson, Charlie Bassett, and Wyatt Earp.
Fort Wallace (1865-1882)
Officers at Fort Wallace, 1867
The Fort Wallace Museum website provides a fine, succinct account of its subject. Camp Pond Creek was established in 1865 in response to numerous Native American raids against the Pond Creek Stage Station, which was one of the many stations along the Butterfield Overland Despatch:
[Travelers] could cross this great expanse of land for just $100. Stations were approximately 15 miles apart and were given different jobs. One station would be a “home” station that would feed the travelers while “cattle” stations provided hay and "swing" provided fresh mules and horses.
In 1886, the camp was moved east, closer to the Smokey Hill River, and renamed Fort Wallace. During its heyday, the fort became known as "The Fightin'est Fort in the West" due to its many battles with the region's Cheyenne. Famous men associated with the fort include General George Armstrong Custer, George Forsythe, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok.
Fort Zarah (1864-1869)
As "10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts. indicates, "the trail was fraught with perils, from unpredictable weather to potential confrontations with Native American tribes."
There wasn't anything that the federal government could do about the weather, but, to protect travelers, the U. S. Army built and garrisoned several forts along the trail: Fort Leavenworth, Fort Mann, Fort Atkinson, and Fort Zarah among them.
Forts on the Western frontier were often built where rivers came together or a tributary branched off, as was Fort Zarah, constructed in 1864 to protect travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. (Historical sites along the Santa Fe Trail, including U. S. Army forts, are shown on this large interactive map.
Like a good number of other frontier post, Fort Zarah was abandoned fairly soon after its establishment, in 1869, its demise, so to speak, due to the building of the railroad, which "reduced" the need for it and other "such forts" ("10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts).
Fort Aubrey (1864-1865)
Fort Aubrey, established in 1864, near the Arkansas River in Kansas, served the same function as several others, protecting the Santa Fe Trail used by pioneers, traders, and settlers. While it was of a modest size, the fort contained all the essentials, including "barracks, supply storerooms, and stables." The post was abandoned in 1865, as the trail west became safe and railroads were built, offering much less expensive and safer travel ("10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts).
Fort Downer
Fort Downer was established in the late 1800s in response to escalating tensions between settlers and travels and Native Americans and the ongoing Indian Wars (1609-1890), "its primary role . . . [service] as a base for troops embarking on campaigns against Native American tribes resisting the encroachment on their lands" and the provision of support in the forms of "including supplies, medical facilities, and strategic planning headquarters."
By the end of the century, the cessation of the Indian Wars led to the abandonment of the fort ("10 Historic Forts in Kansas," Historic Forts).
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