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Fort D. A. Russell
is now known as Fort Francis E. Warren an Air Force base located near Cheyenne
,
Wyoming
in the county
of
Laramie
. It was originally an
army base established in 1867 and named after General David Allen Russell, who
was a Northern Civil War general who was killed in Chantilly, Virginia. This
base was created in order to protect railroad workers for the Union Pacific
Railroad from Indian threats. It was founded to protect the plans for a
transcontinental railroad under President Lincoln due to the Railroad act of
1862. It was not considered a permanent base until 1884. This base housed three
black regiments of Buffalo Soldiers; the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th
Infantry.
Fort D. A. Russell
became permanent because of its strategic placement half way between Mexico
and Canada
. It
was also a few hundred miles of center between Los Angeles
and New York
. This way soldiers
stationed in Cheyenne
could react
to an attack on the United States
from all directions and hopefully be on site for reinforcements. Cheyenne
was a mountainous region knows previously as Crow Creek and up until it was
made permanent in 1885 there were few buildings or permanent structures there.
The War Department wanted the fort to be rebuilt and be capable of containing eight
infantry companies. They then needed to replace the wooden temporary buildings
that had housed those soldiers before 1885 with new barracks. The twenty seven
new structures were made of red brick and cost the Army 100,000 dollars.
Included in this cost was the amount of money it took to plant thousands of
trees at the fort.
The first garrison
at Fort D. A. Russell consisted of the 30th Infantry and the 2nd
Cavalry. The commander was Col. John D. Stevenson. When the fort was first
formed the soldiers lived in tents and did not move into the wooden barracks
until the winter of 1867 to 1868. These buildings were purposely diamond shaped
in order to protect them from the unforgiving winter wind. Most buildings at
that time would have been rectangular in shape. These structures had openings
toward the east, facing the Chapel and measured 800 X 1040 ft. None of the
original buildings survive today but most of the brick buildings constructed
after 1885 are still around.
Those first
soldiers living there had a very harsh and unforgiving life. They needed to be
able to deal with the Indians in the summer and spring. They also needed to be
prepared to deal with the tough winter climate. Men from Fort D. A. Russell
fought in the Great Sioux Indian Wars in 1876. This is the same war in which
Custer was defeated.
In order to
provide more specific information on these soldiers living at Fort D. A.
Russell and their daily lives and tasks it is necessary to examine individual soldier’s
accounts from their time at the fort. Non-Commissioned Officers in the United
States Army, such as Sergeant C. A. Gimmerman kept books of records describing
the men under them. In these ledgers held information such as where these men
came from and how long they had been in service. It also held physical
descriptions of the men. This contained the soldier’s personal marks such as
tattoos, height, complexion, eye and hair color, and age. This also said if the
soldier was married or if they had any children.
The most important
part of these descriptions pertains to the place in which these people were
born. It does not however allow us the knowledge of how they ended up serving
at Fort D. A. Russell. In one particular case a man had enlisted from Alaska
and ended up stationed in this fort in Wyoming
.
It is likely that this man went to Alaska
in search of gold. When he did not find anything and could not afford to pay
his way home he could have enlisted. For this man military service could have
been his last resort and the only thing he could have done given the situation
he was in. It is very possible that the same path he chose for himself was that
of many other men who found themselves in a similar situation. This
is a description of a man born in New York
but enlisted in Alaska
. The
soldiers at Fort D. A. Russell came from all over the country and many were
from different ethnic groups even though they were separated.
There are men at
Fort D. A. Russell who were born in different countries such as Ireland
.
This man could have come over to the United
States
in order to escape difficulties in Ireland
at the time. Due to domestic difficulties there was a depression in this mans
birth place that took place in the late 1870’s. Potato crops were failing for
many years after 1877. The chances for emigration were declining while disease
was killing off large numbers of poultry and pigs. (http://www.historyhome.co.uk/c-eight/ireland/agire.htm)
This man is named Thomas Robinson and could have come over with financial troubles
looking for a better life and found himself recruited by the United States Army
(citation). It is true that for many of these men difficulties with money or
harsh times in the places they grew up could have driven them into the military
life especially for those from foreign countries.
There are also
records of the letters sent from Fort D. A. Russell to various other military
installations. It is in these letters that the neglect for the fort by the United
States
government can be seen. In these
letters there are also requests for lumber to burn for heat in their fireplaces
so the soldiers could stay warm during the winter. They also order food such as
oats and Corn. This allows us to look
back and see the ways in which these men survived. They had brick fireplaces
for heat and ate corn and oats for nourishment. These are necessities sent to
them from other areas of the country and acquiring these things was part of
their lives and tasks. The soldiers had to deal with all different types of
problems and needs of everyday life. This pattern of neglect that can be seen
in this letter and is a running theme for Fort D. A. Russell throughout this
time of peace, as described in this letter:
October 2, 1885
Sir:
I have the honor to inform you that I have this day forwarded
to your address a sample of the hose coupling, which connects with the fire
hydrants at this post, to the automatic hose coupling, patented January 22,
1878, made by F. B. Preston, Chicago Ill. Being the one required for the fire
plugs at this post, the thread on those received being too fine to couple to
the Chapman fire hydrants. They are too small by ¼ of an inch to fit the 2 ½
inch discharge nippers upon the fire plugs. I have already informed you by
telegraph that the couplings on the large hose recently purchased and forwarded
to this hose, do not fit the foregoing described fire hydrants. I respectfully
state that it will be necessary to forward the hose with couplings like sample
without delay. Please return sample coupling as it belongs to parties in town.
Very respectfully, your obedt. Servt.
J. Regan
In
this sample it becomes apparent that Washington
was not really listening to the needs of the soldiers at Fort D. A. Russell. The
government sent the wrong equipment needed to put out any fire that could occur
on this military installation. The letter states that “J. Regan” had already
been notified by telegraph of the needs on fort and did not listen enough to
provide them with this necessity. They even sent Regan a sample of the coupling
that is needed to accomplish this task. It could be that the man who wrote this
letter has already lost faith in the ability of the government to meet their
needs and wants to make this letter the last of its type and to be unmistakably
clear. It seems like this man is upset by the inability of the government to
supply them correctly, because he included the lines telling Regan that he had
already told him about the problem.
These soldiers
needed water and were ordered the digging of a well as explained in this
letter:
(Received
A. G. O., October 21, 1872.)
Sir: I have the honor to state, in reply to your
communication of the date October 8,
1872
, that full arrangements were made some time ago to dig the
artesian well on the reservation at Fort D. A. Russell. Some unnecessary delay
occurred on a fruitless attempt to contract for the digging of a well through
an unknown soil, after which an arrangement was made with the best skilled
labor in this city to sink the well at least to the depth of 900 feet, if
necessary, inside of 60 days, at an estimated cost of about $6,000. Should the
well have to go down further, it will be sunk until the $10,000 is expended.
Very
respectfully, your obedient servant,
P. H. SHERIDAN,
Lieutenant-General.
Major
W. D. Whipple,
Assistant
Adjutant-General,
Washington,
D. C.
This
is a letter from the Secretary of War on the artesian well. These types of
issues were important and necessary enough to be dealt with in Washington, D.
C. by some of the highest ranking officers. This was a matter of survival for
the men in Wyoming
and should
have been treated as such. In this letter the “unnecessary delay” is due to
disregard of the needs of Fort D. A. Russell on the part of the government. Washington
did not make the necessary arrangements to get the well finished on time and
the men at the fort had to
These letters are
formed with care and respect. All of these letters start out by addressing the
officer as “Sir” and describe the honor that was their task for example; “Sir:
I have the honor to inform you…” or “Sir: I have the honor to transmit…” At the
end of the letter they always write “Very respectfully, your obedient Servant…” These
letters are all hand written and done with impeccable handwriting. This shows
the respect these soldiers had for their chain of command and the knowledge
these men had of the importance of their professions. These letters were sent
to places all over the country such as Ohio
and Omaha
,
Nebraska
. This demonstrates how in touch Fort
Russell
was with the rest of the
country. Even without the technology we have today the men at Fort
Russell
had good communication with
other soldiers in the United States
.
Communication was one of the most important aspects of military life at that
time just as it is today and would have been vital if there was an attack on
Fort Russell or if anyone around them was in need of aid.
These soldiers at
Fort D. A. Russell were not only expected to be able to survive but to perform
military action. This letter from the War Department describes the functions
and duties of these men:
Ordenance
Office, War Department,
Washington
, December 17, 1867
.
Sir: On the subject of the resolution of the House of Representatives
of the 10th instant, referred to this office by indorsement from the
War Department of the 10th, I have to report:
The arsenal recommended to be established at a suitable point
between the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains is intended as a depository
of arms, ammunition, and such other ordnance stores as may be required for
supplying troops serving, or that may serve, in that part of the country. Such
an arsenal should have a few repair shops, with good and safe storage and
magazine room, and suitable quarters for an officer, and a few men to be
employed there in receiving, storing, repairing, taking care of, and
distributing these various ordnance supplies. These store-rooms, shops and
quarters should be substantial and permanent buildings, so constructed as to be
safe from accident by fire, and susceptible of defense by a small force against
sudden inroads by Indians…
This
letter describes the threat of attacks from Indians and the need for security.
They are prepared for any combat and can fix weapon malfunctions in their
repair shops. The soldiers are taking into consideration the possibility of a
fire and taking care to prevent the destruction of their ammunition. If these
weapons were destroyed or stolen by any Native Americans the fort would be
completely defenseless and making the fort nearly useless. Many of these men
would have to know how to fix broken weapons and were tasked with the challenge
of trying to defend these buildings.
Fort
D. A. Russell had the challenges of the weather, the need to feed and warm
themselves, the orders given to defend and perform military operations, and the
motivational challenges that come with military service. The men at this fort
were able to meet these tasks with great success in the early years of
existence and perform their tasks proficiently.
