Fort Hays
| Fort Hays | |
|---|---|
| 1472 U.S. Highway 183 Alt, Hays, Kansas in United States | |
Historic American Buildings Survey drawing of the Fort Hays blockhouse
|
|
 Fort Hays
Location in Kansas
|
|
| Coordinates | 38°51′42″N 99°20′32″W / 38.86167°N 99.34222°WCoordinates: 38°51′42″N 99°20′32″W / 38.86167°N 99.34222°W |
| Type | Military base |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Kansas Historical Society |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Partially dismantled; remnants preserved as a historical site |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1865 (1st site) 1866 (2nd site) 1867 (final site) |
| Built by | U.S. Army |
| In use | 1865-1889 |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
Nelson Miles Philip Sheridan |
| Garrison |
5th Infantry Regiment 7th Cavalry Regiment 10th Cavalry Regiment |
|
Fort Hays State Historic Site
|
|
| Location | Frontier Historical Park, Hays, Kansas |
| Area | 177 acres (72 ha) |
| Built | 1867 |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000314 |
| Added to NRHP | January 25, 1971 |
Fort Hays, originally named Fort Fletcher, was a United States Army fort near Hays, Kansas. Active from 1865 to 1889, it was an important frontier post during the American Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Reopened as a historical park in 1929, it is now operated by the Kansas Historical Society as the Fort Hays State Historic Site.
To protect Butterfield Overland Despatch stage and freight wagons traveling the Smoky Hill Trail from Cheyenne and Arapaho attacks, the U.S. Army established Fort Fletcher on October 11, 1865. Named after then governor of Missouri Thomas C. Fletcher, the fort was located on the trail 1⁄4 mile south of the confluence of Big Creek and the North Fork of Big Creek in western Kansas. Lt. Col. William Tamblyn and three companies of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Infantry established the post and were stationed there along with detachments of the 13th Missouri Cavalry. Raids on the stage line continued despite the military presence, and the line soon went bankrupt. Use of the trail ceased, and Fort Fletcher closed on May 5, 1866.
The U.S. Army reopened Fort Fletcher on October 11, 1866 at the confluence of Big Creek and its north fork, 1⁄4 mile north of the previous site. This time, the purpose of the fort was to protect workers building the Union Pacific Eastern Division railway westward, parallel to the Smoky Hill Trail. A month later, in November, the Army renamed the post Fort Hays after Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness during the American Civil War. On June 7, 1867, a severe flood nearly destroyed the fort, killing nine soldiers and civilians.
...
Wikipedia