Fort Custer (Montana)
| Fort Custer | |
|---|---|
| Crow Indian Reservation, Big Horn County, about 1 mile west of I-90 and 2 miles southeast of Hardin, Montana | |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1877 |
| In use | 1877–1898 |
| Battles/wars | Indian Wars |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
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| Garrison | |
Fort Custer was established during the Indian wars in the Department of Dakota by the U.S. Army to subjugate the Sioux, Cheyenne and Crow Indians near present-day Hardin, Montana. The post was named for General George Armstrong Custer who died at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
In April and May, 1877, three companies (C, F and G) were moved from Cheyenne Agency, and three companies ( A, B and H) from Fort Yates in the Standing Rock Agency to the Little Big Horn, Montana, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel G. P. Buell, 11th Infantry, where they constructed the post of Fort Custer.
On June 9, 1877, Lieut. Col. Geo. P. Buell and 2 companies Eleventh Infantry (C and F), together with a number of mechanics, arrived, per steamer Florence Meyer, en route to build Post No. 2 on the Bighorn River.
The construction of Fort Custer, on the Big Horn, was entrusted to Lieutenant-Colonel G. P. Buell, of the Eleventh Infantry. Colonel Buell, with four companies of his regiment and a large force of mechanics and laborers, left Bismarck by steamers for the site of the post ou the 16th of May. Owing to the wretched character of his boats, and to an accident which happened to one of them, he did not reach his destination until the 23d of June. Subsequently two additional companies of his regiment were sent to him. It had been determined to build this post from material to be found in the country; and as soon as Colonel Buell had put up temporary storehouses to protect his supplies, he commenced cutting logs, baking brick, and sawing lumber. The lumber in this immediate vicinity is cotton wood, and, with the exception of some finishing lumber—pine—sent up from Bismarck, the post was built of this material. The post is intended for the same number and description of troops as Fort Keogh. The buildings are not framed, but they are built up of planks two inches thick by six inches wide, laid flat one upon another, forming a solid wall six inches in thickness. The officers' quarters are of one story and an attic. All other buildings are of one story.
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Wikipedia