Fort Independence (6)

 (1846-1847) - A Mexican War era fort established in 1846 by a detachment of U.S. Soldiers of the Mormon Battalion in present day Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado. Abandoned in 1847.

History
A detachment of the Mormon Battalion arrived at Fort Pueblo in the fall of 1846 with their families and Mormon immigrants from Mississippi. They established a log settlement south of Fort Pueblo that served as a winter camp for the detachment and all of the accompanying civilians. The settlement became known as Fort Independence or the Mormon Colony Winter Camp.

The Mormons erected a street of cabins built of cottonwood logs, laid one above the other and chocked with mud to make the structures weatherproof. A large log Mormon temple was built at one end. It was said that some 275 people wintered at the post during the winter of 1846-1847.

The fort was abandoned in the spring of 1847 and on 27 Jun 1847, the Mormon immigrants reached their destination at Salt Lake City.

Current Status
Only a monument remains, erected in 1946 to a detachment of U.S. Soldiers of the Mormon Battalion who wintered here with their families and Mormon immigrants from Mississippi near the site of the monument.

See Also:
 * Fort Pueblo
 * Mexican War

Sources:
 * , page 111-112.
 * , page 67-69.

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort Independence