Fort Fetterman
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Fort Fetterman
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| Nearest city | Orpha, Wyoming |
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| Area | 70 acres (28 ha) |
| Built | 1867 |
| Architectural style | Other, Log cabin style |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000187 |
| Added to NRHP | April 16, 1969 |
Fort Fetterman was a wooden fort 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. It was located high on the bluffs south of the North Platte River. It was not the site of any major battle. It served as a major jumping-off point for the start of several major military expeditions against warring Native American tribes. The main role of the soldiers was to protect pioneers on the Bozeman Trail. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
European-American civilization was advancing across the frontier along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad. The fort was built as a major supply point for the army's operations against occasional hostile Indians. Fort Fetterman was established on July 19, 1867, by Companies A, C, H, and I of the 4th U.S. Infantry under the command of Major William E. Dye, and was named in honor of Captain William J. Fetterman, who was killed in 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; 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."
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Wikipedia