With no stockade walls, and no roughhewn log buildings, Ft. Laramie is the antithesis of the popular ideal of a frontier fort. Indeed, the fort’s appearance much more closely resembles the older areas on present day U.S. Army posts. None-the-less, and in keeping with its important role, Ft. Laramie was one of the most significant posts on the northern plains. Today the fort is a National Park Service administered National Historic Site, preserving a glimpse into its unique history, and that of the frontier soldier.

Ft. Laramie’s History

Ft. Laramie is unique in that it existed for nearly the entire period of western conquest and settlement, albeit not always as a military post. As an inordinately long lasting institution, there is nearly nothing about the 19^th Century West that the fort did not experience

.The location of a "fort" at the site was first made by William Sublette, the legendary fur trader, in 1834. The location, at the confluence of the Laramie and Platte Rivers, was already known as Laramie’s Point,  having been named for a Canadian fur trapper of the last name of Larame. Little is known about Msr. Larame, other than he was reputed to have been buried somewhere in the vicinity after having been killed by Indians in 1821, and his name was later used for towns, counties, rivers, mountain ranges, peaks and even a geologic event (The Laramide Orogeny). The original fort, however, was known as Ft. William, and was a facility dedicated to frontier private enterprise.

In 1836 Sublette sold his stockade to the American Fur Company, which converted it into a major trading center. Ft. William dominated the significant fur market in the region until 1841 when competitors built Ft. Platte a mere mile away. The American Fur Company, in response, replaced the wooden walled fort, which was disintegrating in any event, with an adobe walled fort, renaming it Ft. John. The post rapidly came to be known as Ft. Laramie, however. Ft. Platte was abandoned by its owners in 1845, having principally inspired the owners of Ft. Laramie to engage in new construction.

The adobe walled Ft. Laramie became a stopping post in the 1840s for Oregon and Utah bound emigrants, with the first party visiting the fort in 1841. By 1843 what had begun as a small trickle, became a flood, and the fort's role as a major stopping point for the westward bound was firmly established. Being an economic entity, the fort enjoyed a significant new trade, bolstering the existing fur and Indian trades it had been established to exploit.

In 1849 the first soldiers were stationed at Ft. Laramie and the government, through Lt. Daniel P. Woodbury, Corps of Engineers, purchased it from the American Fur Company. Company E, of the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, arrived at Ft. Laramie on June 16, 1849. Fort Laramie remained the only permanent established military post in what is now Wyoming for a decade, with no substantial permanent post to be established elsewhere in Wyoming until after Red Cloud's War, following the Civil War. The adobe structures were occupied by the Army in 1849, but were already disintegrating under the harsh weather conditions. While occupying the adobe fort, a new installation, without walls, and featuring concrete buildings, as well as wood buildings, was constructed.

As a post, Ft. Laramie was strongly identified with the Oregon Trail, and indeed would not have come about but for the trail. It became a major post for military endeavors on the northern plains, and remained so throughout the Indian War period, playing a significant role in the 1860s, and an important, but less significant role in the 1870s. It figured prominently in the Powder River Expedition, as well as the dramatic aftermath of the Expedition While never a scene of armed conflict itself, the early "Gratten Massacre" happened quite near it, involving troops stationed at the post. It was the site of several significant Indian Treaty councils, including the council resulting in the highly controversial Treaty of 1868, as well as preceding treaty councils such as that in 1851.

The fort’s importance diminished after the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. In some ways, it can be regarded as a first-generation western fort, predating the railroads. That it survived throughout the Indian wars after the second-generation forts, built on the rail lines, were established gives testimony as to its importance. None-the-less, by the 1880s the fort was no longer really needed, and it was abandoned on April 20, 1890.

Today the fort is a National Historic Site, and is ably administered by the National Park Service.

The Soldier’s Life at the Fort

Ft. Laramie, as mentioned above, was a major installation, unlike the hardscrabble tiny stations scattered elsewhere throughout the west. Much of the routine of the fort would be recognizable to soldiers of any era. None-the-less, it was highly isolated up until the 1870s, and like other frontier posts it had a high desertion rate. In Ft. Laramie’s case, the desertion rate was 33%. However, the conditions depicted here were much superior to those endured elsewhere. The majority of the soldiers stationed at Ft. Laramie were infantry, but the post also had a large cavalry garrison, and also saw Mounted Riflemen in the early days

The Fort as an Indian Village

Although not commonly thought of as such, the fort was also a Native American village. Early in the military occupation of the site, the Plains tribes were either actively or accidentally encouraged to rely upon sustenance from the post. This encouragement was made easier by the fact that the commercial endeavors preceding the military occupation had relied upon Indian trade.

The fact that a fairly significant Native American population came to surround the fort was a matter of controversy within the tribes themselves. Some Sioux factions in particular were concerned or opposed to reliance upon the fort, urging that reliance upon more traditional means be reasserted. Soldiers at the fort, ironically, also looked down upon the tribesmen, looking more favorably upon those who retained the nomadic lifestyle, in spite of the fact that the latter were more likely to be hostile to emigrants.

While very little has been said in favor of the Indians who chose to be near the fort, it should be noted that a choice to acquire guaranteed sustenance, as opposed to seasonal starvation, was not irrational. A fairly large number, in fact, only relied upon the fort seasonally, and in fact would join the wars against white invasion, while still wintering over at the fort.

The Fort and Westward Migration.

The importance of Ft. Laramie as the last outpost on the Oregon Trail for hundreds of miles cannot be overstated. The fort had the last major facilities for many immigrants for the foreseeable future. Some would not be able to count on any reliable help until virtually reaching their destinations. While there were forts after Ft. Laramie, for much of this period they were little more than camps.

Additionally, Ft. Laramie was an important milestone on the trail. By the time it was reached, an emigrant had already covered the treeless plain of Nebraska. Here, they had a chance, if they had the resources, to resupply to an extent, see a doctor if needed, or just get news. After Ft. Laramie, although many did not realize it, the trail became much worse, entering a region of increasing desolation.

Some Observations on Looking at the Fort Today.

Ft. Laramie, through the administration of the National Park Service, is a wonderful window into the past, and is particularly fascinating to the student of the frontier military. It should be mentioned, however, that the true extent and nature of the fort is not evident today. The park is so well run that this is easy to forget.

Only about half the facility remains, with such important features as the cavalry stables completely gone. Others, such as the infantry barracks, are only barely visible foundations. Perhaps more importantly, the region the fort is in is now part of the busy agricultural region centered in Nebraska, and spilling into Wyoming. The farms, feedlots, and rail yards seen today, were not existent then, and the forts isolation in the 19^th Century can hardly be imagined now…