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33-651: After soldiers from Fort Fetterman in Wyoming Territory under Brigadier General George Crook fought the Northern Cheyenne at the Battle of Powder River , on March 17, 1876, the Battle of Prairie Dog Creek on June 9, 1876, the Battle of the Rosebud on June 17, 1876, and the Battle of Slim Buttes on September 9–10, 1876, General Crook received reinforcements at his Goose Creek, Wyoming supply base and began to move up

66-499: A hospital with fifteen beds; stables for fifty horses; a corral capable of holding fifty-six mule wagons, with their animals; a theatre, an ice-house, a root-house, a granary, a bake-house, blacksmith shops, saw-mill, saddlers' shop, paint shop, laundresses' quarters and a steam engine for pumping water from the North Platte River." With the completion of Fort Fetterman, the army abandoned Fort Caspar and moved its garrison into

99-536: A library with materials about Fort Robinson and military and western history available for research. A quartermaster's stores building is now used as a playhouse. The Fort Robinson Museum is located in the 1905 post headquarters building. Exhibits focus on the fort's history, including its role guarding the Red Cloud Agency from 1874 to 1877, up through the housing of World War II German POWs from 1943 to 1946. The Trailside Museum of Natural History , operated by

132-513: A major role in the Sioux Wars from 1876 to 1890. The Battle of Warbonnet Creek took place nearby in July 1876. The war chief Crazy Horse surrendered at the fort along with his 1,100 followers on May 6, 1877, and on September 5 that year, he was killed there while resisting imprisonment. A historic plaque marks the site of his death. In January 1879, Chief Morning Star (also known as Dull Knife) led

165-780: Is located east of the Bighorn Mountains in Johnson County, Wyoming near the present day town of Kaycee, Wyoming . The battlefield is on private land and tours are available only by special arrangement. The location is now the site of a cattle ranch. Fort Fetterman Fort Fetterman was constructed in 1867 by the United States Army on the Great Plains frontier in Dakota Territory , approximately 11 miles northwest of present-day Douglas, Wyoming . Located high on

198-465: The 4th U.S. Infantry under the command of Major William E. Dye, the fort was named in honor of Captain William J. Fetterman , who was killed in a battle with Indians near Fort Phil Kearny on December 21, 1866. "It contained quarters for three hundred enlisted men, and the necessary officers; the various magazines and store-houses required for the preservation of ammunition, rations and other supplies;

231-780: The Battle of Rosebud in June, and the Powder River Expedition under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie destroyed a Cheyenne village in November during the Dull Knife Fight . Fort Fetterman remained active until 1882, when it was abandoned by the Army as the Indian Wars had subsided. A small community (Fetterman City) was started around the empty fort by Charles Henry King and others as an outfitting point for area ranchers and for wagon trains. When

264-621: The Fort Robinson massacre . The U.S. Supreme Court described it as a "shocking story", "one of the most melancholy of Indian tragedies". The event marked the end of the Sioux and Cheyenne wars in Nebraska. In 1885, the 9th Cavalry Regiment , nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers by Native Americans, was stationed at Fort Robinson. During the next several years, the fort was enlarged, and military training

297-622: The Great Sioux War with the Lakota , Cheyenne , and Arapaho tribes, the monotony of garrison duty at Fetterman was broken by a series of major military expeditions that set out from the fort. The Big Horn Expedition , which included three of the post's four companies under the command of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds , culminated in a defeat at the Battle of Powder River in March. The Yellowstone Expedition led by Brigadier General George Crook engaged in

330-695: The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission , with some individual buildings operated by the History Nebraska and the University of Nebraska . In August 1873, the Red Cloud Agency was moved from the North Platte River to the White River , near what is now Crawford, Nebraska , in the northwest corner of the state. The following March, the U. S. Government authorized the establishment of a military camp at

363-706: The Northern Cheyenne Exodus . Other survivors never surrendered. A large number of Dull Knife's band traveled north along the Bighorn Mountains, eventually reaching the upper Tongue River regions. Some joined Chief Crazy Horse 's Oglala Sioux camp on Beaver Creek, and on January 8, 1877, would fight alongside Crazy Horse and Two Moon at the Battle of Wolf Mountain on the banks of the Tongue River, in Montana Territory . The Dull Knife Fight ended

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396-957: The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation . Native Americans , Chief's Dull Knife , and Little Coyote (Little Wolf) . About 400 warriors. Native Americans         United States Army Expedition from Camp Robinson , Nebraska , October–November, 1876, Late Major General , Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie , commanding.      Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie , 4th Cavalry, commanding.    Captain James "Teddy" Egan, Lt. Allison    Russell, Wessells    Second Lieutenant John A. McKinney † , Davis, Hemphill    Maj. G.A. Gordon, Capt. John M. Hamilton, Capt. A.B. Taylor, Lt. Wheeler    Major Frank North ,Lts. W.P. Clark, W.S. Schuyler, and H. Delaney The Dull Knife Battlefield

429-515: The Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska . The fort was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is part of the Fort Robinson and Red Cloud Agency historic district . This includes Fort Robinson and the site of the second Red Cloud Agency (about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) to the east). The district also includes the Camp Camby site and the 1886 Percy Homestead. The fort is managed by

462-430: The 4th Artillery and eleven companies of infantry from the 4th, 9th, 14th and 25th regiments under Colonel Richard I. Dodge , and a medical staff of 6 surgeons. The Indian scouts "scoured" the front, flank and rear up to 40 miles (64 km). The cavalry then pushed forward, ready to fall back on the infantry if necessary. A train of some 168 wagons, 7 ambulances, 219 drivers and attendants, 400 mules and 65 packers in

495-608: The Northern Cheyenne in an outbreak from the Agency. Because the Cheyenne had refused to return to Indian Territory , where they believed conditions were too adverse for them to survive, the army had been holding and starving them of food, water and heat during the severe winter. This campaign of torture and neglect was a tactic to try to force them into submission. U.S. soldiers hunted down the escapees, killing men, women, and children in

528-594: The Northern Cheyennes' resistance to the United States for all practical purposes. General Crook telegrammed the War Department, "This will be a terrible blow to the hostiles, as those Cheyennes were not only their bravest warriors but have been the head and front of most all the raids and deviltry committed in this country." There were a few more skirmishes, but by 1884 the Northern Cheyenne people were confined to

561-522: The agency site. Some 13,000 Lakota had been subject to resettlement. The camp was named Camp Robinson in honor of Lt. Levi H. Robinson, who had been killed by Indians while on Indian land in February. In May, the military camp was moved 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the agency to its present location; the camp was renamed Fort Robinson in January 1878. Fort Robinson was a base of US military forces and played

594-463: The bluffs south of the North Platte River , it served as a major base for the start of several United States military expeditions against warring Native American tribes . The fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Fort Fetterman was built as a major supply point for the United States army's operations in the area. Established on July 19, 1867, by Companies A, C, H, and I of

627-506: The cavalry except one company, in search of the village. He led 1000 men, one third of which were Indians. Eventually on November 25, 1876, Mackenzie found the camp of Dull Knife and Little Wolf on the Red Fork of the Powder River . The Cheyenne warriors were having a celebration because of a recent victory over a Shoshone village. Mackenzie waited until dawn, then attacked and drove

660-538: The days that followed, some of the women and children froze to death. Hungry and freezing, many survivors surrendered at Camp Robinson , Nebraska by April 1877. Those who surrendered were exiled to the Southern Cheyenne reservation in Indian Territory . After a year of reservation life in which they were decimated by disease and hunger, many—including Dull Knife and his followers—escaped in what became known as

693-585: The fort as a historic site. In 1955, History Nebraska, formally the Nebraska State Historical Society, began to acquire property on the fort; in 1956, they opened a museum on the site. The USDA closed its operation in 1971, and transferred the property to the state of Nebraska. The Fort Robinson State Park was established in 1956 following the purchase of a parcel of land by the Nebraska Game, Forestation and Parks Commission in 1955. The park

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726-453: The fort's history, Fetterman City and area Native Americans. 42°50′25″N 105°28′47″W  /  42.84028°N 105.47972°W  / 42.84028; -105.47972 Fort Robinson Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and now a major feature of Fort Robinson State Park , a 22,000-acre (8,900 ha) public recreation and historic preservation area located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20 in

759-408: The fort. During World War II , the fort was the site of a K-9 corps training center and a German prisoner-of-war camp . The U.S. Army decided to abandon Fort Robinson in 1947; in the following year, it transferred the property to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for its Beef Cattle Research Station. After some buildings were demolished in the mid-1950s, efforts were made to preserve

792-669: The new fort in August. As it was on the south side of the Platte, Fort Fetterman was excluded from the provisions of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie , which resulted in the US abandonment of all forts further to the north: forts Reno , Phil Kearny, and C.F. Smith ). Thus, Fort Fetterman became the northernmost military post in eastern Wyoming . It was important to the protection of the Bozeman Trail and other routes for settlers. Given its remote location,

825-857: The old Bozeman Trail towards Crazy Horse . After learning of a village of Cheyennes in October, 1876, Crook sent Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie into the Southern Powder River Country to locate it. Colonel Mackenzie departed Camp Robinson, Nebraska with nearly 1,000 soldiers in 11 companies of the 2nd , 3rd , 4th , and 5th United States Cavalry Regiments. He also had a large contingent of 400 Indian scouts, including Pawnee led by Li-heris-oo-li-shar, Shoshone led by O-ho-a-tay, Arapaho led by "Sharp Nose", Sioux led by "Three Bears", Bannocks led by Tup-si-paw, and Cheyenne . The expedition of 1500 officers and men left Fort Fetterman on 14 November 1876, accompanied by four dismounted companies of

858-454: The pack-train supplied the column. They waited out a snow storm at Cantonment Reno until 22 Nov. On 23 Nov., a Cheyenne Indian from the Red Cloud Agency informed the soldiers of an "extremely large" Cheyenne village at the source of Crazy Woman Creek , further upstream from the current US camp, in a Bighorn Mountains canyon . Col. Mackenzie was ordered to take the Indian scouts, and all of

891-437: The post was not considered a desirable station. Desertions by soldiers were frequent, and the winters long and hard. Supplies had to be brought in by wagon from Fort Laramie to the southeast or from Medicine Bow Station on the railroad. Soldiers had to carry water up the steep bluffs from the river or nearby creek. The soil proved to be unsuitable for sustaining gardens, so fresh vegetables were not available. In 1876, during

924-514: The soldiers captured about 700 "head of stock". Dull Knife lost 3 sons in the fight. "From the desperate cold of the night immediately following they suffered as much. Eleven babies froze to death in the arms of famished mothers..." Finally, the US soldiers recovered articles from the Battle of the Little Bighorn . Dull Knife's followers were left in the freezing November weather without sufficient clothing, and many suffered from frostbite. In

957-474: The soldiers. In 1919 at the end of World War I , Fort Robinson became the world's largest quartermaster remount depot . It was used as a breeding and training center for horses and mules for the military. In addition, stallions owned by the military were used to breed with local stock to improve it. During the Great Depression , a hobo was murdered on a Chicago & Northwestern freight train within

990-546: The town of Douglas was established eleven miles away in 1886, Fetterman City rapidly declined. The old fort deteriorated from neglect. Today, the partially restored site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is administered as an historic site by the State of Wyoming. Visitors can walk an interpretive trail to view the ruins of the fort's buildings. An officers' quarters and an ordnance warehouse have been restored and contain exhibits, artifacts and dioramas about

1023-612: The warriors from the village. Some were forced to leave their clothes, blankets and buffalo robes behind and flee into the frozen countryside. Dull Knife began to offer stiff resistance, and the fighting continued. The Pawnee warriors accompanying the soldiers fought with exceptional ability against the Cheyenne. Second Lieutenant John A. McKinney, of the 4th United States Cavalry Regiment , and five enlisted men were Killed in action . Chief Dull Knife's Cheyenne warriors finally retreated, abandoning their village. The Cheyenne village of 200 lodges and all its contents were entirely destroyed, and

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1056-488: Was a major activity. From 1889 to 1890, Second Lieutenant Charles Young served here and later was reassigned to the regiment. A black pioneer officer who had graduated from West Point , he was the highest-ranking black person in the US Army throughout his career and achieved the rank of colonel. From 1887 to 1898, the fort served as regimental headquarters. The post gymnasium and theatre, built in 1904, provided entertainment for

1089-453: Was expanded after much of the site was deeded over from the Federal government in 1964. It reached its full size with Nebraska's purchase of the adjoining James Arthur Ranch in 1972. The fort's historic buildings and sites include the 1904 blacksmith shop, the 1908 veterinary hospital, the 1887 officers' quarters, the 1875 guardhouse and adjutant's office, and the post cemetery. There is also

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