Kansas Frontier FortsThe Kansas plains were home to many U.S. Army forts during American's westward expansion in the 1800s.
Although many survived only a short time, eight major forts remained active and played significant roles in westward expansion. See the map locating these eight forts in Kansas. On this page you'll find a general history of Kansas forts, and learn about a typical soldier's life. The Kansas Forts Network in conjunction with the Kansas Historical Society is publishing a series of books on the forts. HistoryContrary to popular myth and the movies, western forts were not fortresses protecting the Army from Native Americans. The primary role of forts was to maintain peace among tribes, as well as between Native Americans and White immigrants. These outposts played an important role in the U.S. government's Indian policy. In many cases, early Kansas forts were established to prevent encroachment on native lands or to protect one tribe from another. The opening of the Santa Fe Trail in the 1820s brought many teamsters and traders across Kansas. Expansion of trade across tribal lands met with opposition from the tribes. In response, more forts were built to protect commerce along the trail. Some Kansas forts also served as Indian agencies and distribution points for annuities given to tribes under treaty agreements. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 moved more than 80,000 individuals from tribal lands east of the Mississippi to lands in present-day Kansas and Oklahoma. Congress passed legislation intended to preserve the peace, restrict Indian-settler contact, regulate trade, and allow the military to enforce the act. Immigrant presence increased dramatically when Kansas opened for settlement in 1854. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush, new mail and stage routes, and railroad construction further increased travel through remaining tribal lands. The U.S. government often failed to protect tribal territorial rights and uphold treaties. Native Americans became increasingly upset with treaty violations and travelers, settlers, and railroad crews encroaching on their lands in the mid-1800s. Many engagements occurred between Indian warriors and government soldiers in western and central Kansas during the Indian Wars (1867 to 1869). All eight Kansas forts served as military supply depots and headquarters for troops during this period. Major General Winfield Scott Hancock led a brief campaign against the tribes in the spring of 1867. His goal was to bring peace by showing the superior strength of the Army. Instead, he provoked a full-scale war that lasted until the Medicine Lodge Council in the fall. General Philip H. Sheridan took command of the Department of the Missouri in 1867. The next year he led an unusual winter campaign against the tribes. In the Battle of the Washita, George Custer led the 7th U.S. Cavalry in a surprise attack against a Cheyenne encampment in the Washita River Valley of Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The attack claimed the lives of many warriors and left the Cheyenne to face the winter with no food or shelter. Fighting to preserve their ways of life, the Plains Indians could not win against White expansionism. Their battle to protect their food supply (the buffalo) and lands ended in defeat. Kansas experienced only limited conflict between Indians and Whites after the mid-1870s. In 1863 Congress authorized President Lincoln to proceed with the extinction of all Indian land titles in Kansas and make room for displaced tribes in Indian Territory. Within the next decade most Native Americans in Kansas were removed. The activities of the Army at the Kansas forts contributed to the end of traditional Native American life on the Plains. However, the construction of railroads, the slaughter of buffalo herds, and the arrival of many settlers also played significant roles in the transition. A Soldier's LifeLife was hard and often monotonous at a frontier outpost. Most recruits saw little or no combat and spent long days in routine manual labor.
About 200 infantry and cavalry soldiers were stationed at each fort, although more men could be sent if necessary. Army recruits often were poor, illiterate, and frequently foreign-born. Many were Irish and German immigrants. Although military life was hard, it offered more opportunity than some recent immigrants could find elsewhere. Black soldiers also served on the western frontier. The 10th U.S. Cavalry was a "colored" regiment with Black enlisted men and White officers. These Blacks were the first to be called "Buffalo Soldiers." It is said the tribes gave them the name because their hair resembled that of the buffalo. The typical frontier fort consisted of officers' quarters, barracks, stables, storehouses, and headquarters buildings. These structures were grouped around a central parade ground. Few forts had surrounding walls because attacks were unlikely. Most Kansas forts were built by soldiers using local materials. See Fort Wallace for a drawing depicting that fort's layout.
Fort Leavenworth (1827 - present)It's the oldest U.S. Army fort in continuous existence west of the Mississippi. Fort Leavenworth, on the bluffs of the Missouri River, was established in 1827 as a frontier post to protect trade on the Santa Fe Trail. It became essential to the overland expansion on both the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.
During the Mexican War, the Army of the West departed from Fort Leavenworth. When Kansas opened for settlement, the fort served the governor as his territorial capital. During the Civil War it was the Union's linchpin to the far West, serving as an arsenal and training point. After the Civil War, Col. Benjamin Grierson formed the Black 10th Cavalry Regiment that so distinguished itself throughout the frontier. George Armstrong Custer, William Tecumseh Sherman, George S. Patton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Colin Powell all served there. Today Fort Leavenworth is the home of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, considered the finest senior tactical school in the world for advanced military education. The Frontier Army Museum gives a history of the frontier army from 1817 to 1917 and Fort Leavenworth from 1827 to the present. Also on the fort are many historic buildings including the "Rookery" (1830), the oldest residence in Kansas; the Post Chapel (1872); the 15-acre Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery; and the Buffalo Soldier Monument honoring the Black 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments. Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday Fort Scott (1842 - 1853)The U.S. Army established Fort Scott in 1842 to protect the Permanent Indian Frontier. Relations between Native Americans and non-Indians during the 1840s were relatively peaceful. Troops participated in the Mexican War and missions of exploration, and they functioned as escorts in the far west.
Fort Scott was abandoned by the U.S. Army in 1853 as the frontier moved westward. The buildings were sold at public auction in 1855 and became the town of Fort Scott. This was the end of the fort but not of the military presence in the area. Bleeding Kansas, the Civil War, and land squabbles in the 1870s brought the army back as violence periodically plagued the area until 1873. Administered by the National Park Service, Fort Scott National Historic Site contains 20 major historic structures, 33 historically furnished rooms, museum exhibits, and a bookstore. Interpretive programs, guided tours, and special events are offered throughout the year. Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily Fort Riley (1853 - present)As the frontier advanced westward in the early 1850s, a fort to protect travelers on both the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails was needed. Built as Camp Center, Fort Riley was established in 1853 and in 1866 became the site of the formation of the 7th Cavalry Regiment under the leadership of Lt. Col. George Custer. During the next three decades, soldiers used Fort Riley as a staging area to protect the expanding frontier. In 1892 the fort became an important fixture in the U.S. Army's educational system. Its schools served as the center for the evolution of cavalry tactics and training. Fort Riley also served as a training center during all of the major wars of the 20th century. Soldiers learned skills that would be tested from the trenches of World War I and on the far-flung battlefields of World War II, to the cold of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, and the sands of Kuwait. Today Fort Riley is home to the Army's 1st Infantry Division, the 1st Armored Division. The U.S. Cavalry Museum relates the colorful history of the mounted soldier from the Revolutionary War to World War II and is housed in a building that dates back to 1855. The Custer House realistically depicts military life for an Army officer at a post on the western frontier. Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday Fort Larned (1859 - 1878)In 1859 the Army established a small post of dugouts and tents along the Pawnee River near the Santa Fe Trail. The post originally was named Camp on Pawnee Fork, but later was called Camp Alert. Eventually the post was moved and renamed Fort Larned. Troops stationed here escorted mail coaches, protected wagon trains along the trail, and patrolled the region. The fort also served as a base for military campaigns during periods of hostility as trail travelers increasingly encroached on lands aleady occupied by Native Americans, decimated the buffalo herds on which they depended, and threatened the tribes' very existence. Throughout much of the 1860s the fort served as an agency of the Indian Bureau as the government attempted to find a peaceful solution to the cultural conflict. With its nine surviving buildings built in the mid-1860s plus a reconstructed blockhouse, Fort Larned is one of the best surviving examples of a frontier Army post. The building exteriors and parade grounds are fully restored. More than 40 interior rooms are restored and furnished in the period style. In its relatively unspoiled setting on a bend of the Pawnee River, the fort survives as an authentic vestige of the past. The National Park Service operates Fort Larned as a National Historic Site. Facilities include a visitor center with audio-visual programs, a museum, and a bookstore to help visitors understand the causes of conflict in this turbulent chapter of westward expansion. Park rangers and volunteers provide living history programs and tours. Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily Fort Hays (1865 - 1889)Originally named Fort Fletcher, Fort Hays was built to protect military roads and the Smoky Hill Trail, guard the mails, and defend construction gangs on the Union Pacific Railway. It also served as a major supply depot shipping badly needed supplies to other U.S. Army posts in western and southern Kansas. At times Fort Hays was home to the 7th U.S. Cavalry commanded by Lt. Col. George Custer, the 5th U.S. Infantry commanded by Col Nelson Miles, and the Black 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry better known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Gen. Philip H. Sheridan also spent time at Fort Hays. Four original structures still stand, including the blockhouse, guardhouse, and two officers' quarters. A modern visitors center features historical exhibits. Living history demonstrations are presented on weekends during the summer and for special events. Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Saturday Fort Dodge (1865 - 1882)Situated on a site once used as a camping ground by wagon trains, Fort Dodge was a supply depot and base of operations. The fort was established in 1865. The first buildings were sod and adobe, and some troops lived in dugouts. Disease was common during the first year in the isolated fort. The first shipments of lumber arrived in 1866, and officers' quarters and a temporary hospital were built. At the height of its operation, the fort boasted four companies of infantry. The 7th Cavalry was at Fort Dodge when George Custer returned to his regiment after a court martial suspension. The fort was abandoned in 1882. Eight years later it was deeded to the state for use as a soldiers' home. Most early residents were Civil War veterans and others were veterans of the Mexican and Indian wars. Today the fort still serves as the Kansas Soldier's Home. Several buildings are open for tours. The quiet, tree-lined walks and dignified buildings are a far cry from the sod homes and dugouts that made up the original fort in 1865. 316-227-2121 Fort Harker (1864 - 1872)Established as Fort Ellsworth, this fort provided protection to the Kansas Stage Line and military wagon trains traveling the Fort Riley Road and Smoky Hill Trail. The famous Butterfield Overland Despatch began operation in 1865 along the Smoky Hill route to Denver. In 1866 young Bill Cody took his first scouting job at the fort. The next year, while hunting buffalo for the railroads, he became known as Buffalo Bill. In November 1866 the post was renamed Fort Harker. A three-day peace council at the fort failed, with the Cheyenne vowing to drive the soldiers off the Plains.
For three weeks in 1867 cholera swept through the fort. That experience led the post surgeon, Dr. George M. Sternberg, to become a leading authority on communicable diseases. Fort Harker served as a supply depot and distribution point for all the forts in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Texas. It closed in 1872. Today most of what was Fort Harker is private property. The Ellsworth County Historical Society manages the museum and grounds while overseeing ongoing improvements. 785-472-4071 Fort Wallace (1865 - 1882)First called Camp Pond Creek, Fort Wallace was established in 1865 near present-day Wallace. A year later soldiers were moved farther east along the Smoky Hill River where the fort was built. This fort protected travelers heading west along the Smoky Hill Trail to the Denver gold fields. It was the westernmost outpost along the trail between the Missouri River and Denver. Soldiers also protected settlers in the area. By 1882 the U.S. government decided to discontinue the services of Fort Wallace and to abandon the site. The bodies of 88 soldiers were exhumed and moved to Fort Leavenworth in 1885. More than 100 graves were left, including U.S. scouts who were not members of the conventional Army. All that remains of the original fort is the old post cemetery, enclosed by stone walls within the Wallace Township cemetery. The area where the original buildings stood is directly south of the cemetery on private property. Access is very limited. Call for appointment. 785-891-3538 This material was taken from a brochure financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior, and administered by the Kansas Historical Society. The contents and opinions, however, do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of the Interior or the Kansas Historical Society. This program received Federal financial assistance. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write: Office for Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, D.C. 20013-7127. © 1996 Kansas Department of Commerce & Housing |
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