Fort Phil Kearny
More information at Wikidata,Wikipedia
Fort Phil Kearny (1866-1868) - Established as Fort Carrington by Colonel Henry B. Carrington of the 18th U.S. Infantry in Jul 1866. Renamed for popular Union General, Philip Kearny, finally abandoned 31 Jul 1868.
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Fort Kearny, circa 1867 -
Fort Phil Kearny -
Fort Kearny Stockade Replica
History
Built to protect emigrants traveling the Bozeman Trail north to the gold fields of Montana, and also to prevent intertribal warfare between Native American tribes.
Fort Phil Kearny was the largest of three forts constructed along the Bozeman Trail. The stockade enclosing the fort was 8' high, 1,496' long, 600' wide on the North end and 240' wide on the South end.
Chief Red Cloud redoubled his efforts in the spring of 1867 against the three northern forts and travel on the Bozeman Trail was all but cut off. For over a year the southern forts had scarcely any communication from Fort Smith except from one band of Crows that reported all was well.
As a result of the military reversals and increasing pressure from the Indians under Red Cloud the U.S. Government capitulated and negotiated the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which resulted in the abandonment of the three northern forts (Fort Reno, Fort Phil Kearny, and Fort Smith) and the cessation of travel on the Bozeman Trail. The Sioux Indians destroyed the three forts immediately after the troops had left the country.
Current Status
In 1963 the fort was designated a National Historic Landmark and today portions of the fort site and the Fetterman and Wagon Box battlefields are included within the Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site boundaries. There is a partial restoration of the front of the stockade and one "bastion".
Context
Location:
2 miles from Exit 44 of U.S. Hwy. I-90, between Sheridan & Buffalo, Johnson County, Wyoming.
Lat: 44.532° Long: -106.826° Elevation: 4700'
Bing, Google,
OldMapsOnline,
USGS, OHM
Sources:
- Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 202
- Field, Ron, Forts of the American Frontier 1820-91: Central and Northern Plains, Osprey Publishing, Elms Court, Chapel Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 9LP, United Kingdom, 2005, ISBN: 1 84176 775 1, page 18-19
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 861
Links:
- North American Forts - Fort Phil Kearny
- State Historic Site
- Travel to Wyoming
- State Park
- Wikipedia - Fort Phil Kearny
- Society of the Military Horse thread on Ft. Phil Kearny
Related:
18th U.S. Infantry, 2010 Forts Visited, 2010 Northern Trip - Wyoming, Battery Bingham, Bozeman Trail, Bozman Trail, Fort Carrington, Fort Fetterman, Fort Kearny, Fort Laramie, Fort Reno, Fort Smith, Forts of the American Frontier 1820-91, Sioux War of 1866-1868, Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Philip Kearny,