In June, 1864, Fort Ellsworth was established on
the northeast side of the Smoky Hill River to protect the traders and
travelers along the
Santa Fe
Trail, as well as the Smoky Hill Trail to
Denver.
Construction of the post
became the responsibility of 2nd Lieutenant Allen Ellsworth of Company
H, 7th Iowa Cavalry, for whom the post was named.
Though little information was ever recorded about
the post, on traveler who stopped there in September, 1865, wrote to
his wife, giving this description:
"You would laugh to see the Fort, here is a group
of log shanties covered with dirt, most of the windows are made of
boards hung on leather hinges and made to swing open and shut. There
is two or three of them which have a half window sash and some of them
have panes of glass in them.
Fort
Harker, 1867, photo by Alexander Gardner.
I
suppose the aristocracy reside in them which have the glass. It is a
military post. There are soldiers established here. There is but very few
log shacks perhaps eight or ten in all and a cat could go in and out of
them between the logs. There is a row of caves along the river bank in
which the soldiers burrow in winter. You can look away & see nothing but
high stony hills and valleys... This country should be left to the
Indians
and wild beasts and such is pretty much the case."
On at least two occasions,
Indians
directly attacked Fort Ellsworth, once shortly after the fort after the
fort was established, they drove off about 50 horses and five mules. The
second attack happened the next summer in June, 1865, but little is known
about it.
In 1865, the fort also acquired a
stage station for the Butterfield Stage Line which traveled along the
Smoky Hill Trail between Atchison,
Kansas
and Denver,
Colorado. But the stage coaches were often in danger from the
Indians,
who often waylaid them, killing a number of drivers. The soldiers spent
much of their time escorting the stage through the perilous area.
In 1866, the fort was renamed Fort
Harker in honor of General Charles Garrison Harker, who died in combat
during the
Civil War. The following year the fort was relocated one mile
to the northeast closer to the Union Pacific Railroad terminus. The
buildings of the old fort were torn down. The railroad was completed in
July, 1867 and Fort Harker soon became a major supply post for forts
farther west as well as a number of military campaigns to subdue the
Indians.
The
Indians
increased their resistance, but this would not be the worst of the
depredations at Fort Harker. No sooner was the new fort completed when a
Cholera epidemic broke out. From June to December of 1867, more than 800
cases were reported, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people, both
civilians and soldiers alike.
Regardless of the disease running rampant
through the post, Fort Harker became the starting point and major base
of Major General Winfield S. Hancock's 1,400-man expedition of 1867
that sought to intimidate the
Cheyennes and other
Kansas
tribes. Burning villages and pursuing the
Indians
relentlessly, his efforts never resulted in a major engagement, but
rather, simply served to inflame the
Indians,
who often led the soldiers on wild "goose-chases” across the sea of
grassland. The
Indians
retaliated by attacking wagon trains even more.
While the officers and commanders
were making the plans for military campaigns, the soldiers were often
spending their time in the nearby lawless town of Ellsworth, where the
cattle trade was making the flourishing settlement one of the most wicked
in
Kansas.
By 1871, Fort Harker had declined
in importance in the
Indian Wars as the natives had been driven westward.
In March and April of 1872, the majority of troops were moved southwest
to Fort Union,
New Mexico. The base was completely abandoned by October 5,
1872.
Today, three of the original
buildings are now part of the Fort Harker Musuem, run by the Ellsworth
County Historical Society. The complex includes the original guardhouse,
junior officer’s quarters, and the old railroad depot. Other buildings
once used by commanding officers have been modernized and are now utilized
as private residences.
The post is located in the tiny
town of Kanopolis, about five miles southeast of
Ellsworth,
Kansas.
Fort Harker Guardhouse Museum Complex
308 West Ohio
Great American Bars and Saloonsby
Kathy Weiser,
Owner/Editor of Legends of America
-
Kathy Weiser's first venture into the publishing world takes you into the
many watering holes of America's past, particularly the numerous
saloons
that sprouted up during our nation's
Wild West
days. This great
photographic review displays hundreds of
vintage photographs from
California
to
Arizona, the mining camps of
Colorado, all the way to New
York and its turbulent days of
Prohibition.
Hardcover, 2006, 224 Pages.
Signed by the author!!
