Wyoming

On August 17, 1886, Capt. Moses Harris and the troops of Company M rode into Yellowstone to take over guardianship of America's first national park. Receiving orders thereupon that the company was staying indefinitely, Captain Harris ordered the construction of Camp Sheridan. Seeing no end in sight for this temporary duty, the US War Department established Fort Yellowstone in 1891. For 32 years, ceremonial splendor of the US Army filled this era of Yellowstone with booming cannons at sunrise and sunset, crackling rifle-range practices, flashing saber drills, exacting military maneuvers, and dashing dress parades led by the regimental band. With the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, the Army began a two-year administrative transition and formally abandoned Fort Yellowstone in October 1918.

Fort Laramie was one of the most important frontier outposts of the American West. Founded as the trading post Fort William in 1834, the fort became a U.S. military post in 1849. Beginning in 1841, emigrants stopped at Fort Laramie while traveling the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. Fort Laramie served as a gathering place for thousands of Native Americans and hosted the 1851 and 1868 treaty councils. When the treaties failed, the post became the staging area for campaigns that eventually led to the tribes's confinement on reservations. Fort Laramie was abandoned by the military in 1890; the buildings were auctioned and served private interests during the homestead period from 1890 to 1937. Fort Laramie was acquired by the state of Wyoming in 1937, and the fort became a unit of the National Park System in 1938. Fort Laramie National Historic Site is open daily except New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The restoration of many structures to their historical appearance provides visitors with a glimpse of the past.

The history of Fort Bridger represents a microcosm of the development of the American West. Situated in an area initially inhabited by the Shoshone people, Fort Bridger was established during a transitional phase between the fur-trade era and the period of western migration. The fort became one of the most important supply points along the nation's western trail network. Later, the post served as a bastion of civilization as one of a number of western military posts. Soldiers at the fort protected not only the lives and property of its local citizenry but also the emerging transportation and communication advancements of a nation. Following the Army's departure, a small settlement emerged at Fort Bridger, using buildings and materials from the old military garrison. Today, the fort and town remain active, in part as a respite for travelers just as it had been more than 150 years ago.

Three army outposts built before and during the Civil War protected critical routes along the western trails at the North Platte River near what later became Casper. All had been abandoned by 1867, and their dramatic stories are mostly forgotten. The Post at Platte Bridge was a vital outpost on Albert Sidney Johnston's Utah War supply route. Camp Dodge and Platte Bridge Station, also called Fort Caspar, guarded telegraph lines from Native American sabotage. Violent winds, horrendous blizzards and scorching summers made life miserable. Tension reached a fever pitch at the Battle of Platte Bridge when Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a cavalry detachment led by Caspar Collins. Today, a reconstructed Fort Caspar stands as a vigilant reminder of the struggles at those lonely frontier stations. Local historian Johanna Wickman chronicles military efforts to keep the peace, wage war and merely survive.