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Article Title: The 1887 Expansion of Fort Robinson

Full Citation: Thomas R Buecker, “The 1887 Expansion of Fort Robinson,” Nebraska History 68 (1988): 83-93

URL of article: http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH1987ExpFtRobinson.pdf Date: 10/18/2013

Article Summary: The 1887 expansion of Fort Robinson was the most significant chapter of its history. The removal of Indians to reservations and the arrival of the railroad spurred development of the physical layout of the fort. Buildings dating from the expansion are still in use.

Cataloging Information:

Names: Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Charles F Manderson, James Brisbin, George Crook, George B Dandy, Henry H Wright, Edward Hatch, Charles Taylor

Place Names: Red Cloud Agency, South Dakota; Pine Ridge Agency, South Dakota; White River Valley, South Dakota; Chadron, Nebraska; Crawford, Nebraska

Keywords: Camp (later Fort) Robinson; Red Cloud Agency; Black Hills gold rush; Cheyenne Outbreak; George Crook; Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad; Chicago and North Western Railroad; Fort Laramie; George Crook; quartermaster remount depot; James Brisbin; George B Dandy, Edward Hatch,

Photographs / Images: interior of one of the 1887 cavalry barracks about 1890, Fort Robinson shortly after the 1887 expansion, Colonel Edward Hatch, Nebraska Representative Archibald J Weaver, Nebraska Senator Charles F Manderson, map showing buildings constructed in 1887 for the new “west end “ at Fort Robinson and for the “east end” (old post) area, General George Crook, drawing depicting one side of an 1887 officers’ duplex unit, single unit of noncommissioned officers quarters constructed c. 1887 (1905 photo), cavalry stable constructed in 1887 (1905 photo)

Interior of one of the 1887 cavalry barracks about 1890.

By Thomas R. Buecker

The 1880s brought a new period of planned and constructed, while exist­ duringthe latterpart ofthe nineteenth consolidation to the army on the ing posts like Fort Riley, Kansas, and century was the famous Fort Laramie. plains. With the removal and restric­ Fort Snelling, Minnesota, were greatly Among those slated for expansion and tion of the plains Indians to reser­ expanded. Isolated posts, such as Fort further service was Fort Robinson. vations, the army redeployed its McPherson, Nebraska, and Fort Fet­ Fort Robinson began in March 1874 forces. Larger, more modern posts, terman, Wyoming, began to be aban­ with the establishment of Camp such as Fort Logan in Denver, were doned. The primary reasons for this Robinson at the Red Cloud Agency. consolidation and troop redistribution Located on the White River in Thomas R. Buecker, a 1973 graduate of were the concentration of plains tribes northwestern Nebraska, the agency Kearney State College, is curator of the on reservations and the rapidly was home for some 13,000 Oglala Nebraska State Historical Society's Fort expanding network of railroads, which Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Robinson Museum. He is a frequent con­ expedited troop and supply move­ Indians. Soldiers sent from Fort tributor to historical journals. ments. Among the posts abandoned Laramie established the camp to pro­ 83 Nebraska History - Summer 1987

Fort Robinson (from the east) shortly after the 1887 expansion was completed. The six buildings on the upper right are adobe officers quarters. tect the agency and its employees. In the tragic Cheyenne Outbreak of of a 160-yard-square parade ground May they moved the camp one and January 1879. were six duplex adobe officers' quar­ one-half miles west of the agency to a In October 1877 the Indians at the ters and a single residence for the post permanent site at the confluence of Red Cloud Agency were moved to a commander. On the east and west Soldier Creek and White River. At this new agency site on the Sioux reserva­ sides were two long, log barracks, each site a post area to house a garrison of tion in Dakota Territory. With this housing two companies. Completing five companies was built in 1874-75.1 removal, the original mission of Camp the south side were a log cavalry During the turbulent years of the Robinson ended. And after 1880 the barracks, adjutant's office, guard middle 1870s, soldiers from Camp Sidney-Deadwood Trail traffic house and commissary, and quarter­ Robinson played an important role in diminished, reducing the need for trail master storehouses. Behind these were keeping the peace in the northern pan­ protection. Garrisons at the post were stables, shops, other storehouses, and handle region. Soldiers provided reduced to one or two companies; the the corral for quartermaster animals. escorts, scouted, and pursued dep­ useful period of the post seemed The post could house officers and redating bands of Indians. After the over. enlisted men for five companies in Custer defeat, the post was a key factor However, after1878Camp Robinson somewhat crowded conditions. in the neutralizing of Red Cloud's took on a new importance as the Hastily constructed, the log Oglala, holding many non-treaty second closest military post to the new buildings were hardly considered per­ Indians in check. In the winter of 1876­ Pine Ridge Agency. It became one of a manent. Built by troop labor with 77it was an importantbase of military chain of posts that surrounded the available log, stone, and adobe, the operations, culminating with the sur­ Sioux reservation. They included Fort buildings soon began to require con­ render oflarge numbers ofIndians who Niobrara in Nebraska, and Forts Ran­ siderable maintenance. Post comman­ had refused to come to the agencies. In dall, Hale, Sully, Bennett, and Meade der MajorL. W. Carpenter commented the early years of the Black Hills gold in Dakota Territory. As a further sign in April 1884, "Very extensive repairs rush the post was an important point ofits usefulness, the post's designation are now necessary to place the on the Sidney-Deadwood Trail. was changed from "Camp" to "Fort" barracks in proper condition, and the Troops from Camp Robinson provided in 1878, indicating its permanent old and decaying walls do not seem to escorts and patrolled the road. The status." be worth the labor and expense which postwas also the scene oftwo dramatic In the early 1880s Fort Robinson will have to be expended upon them." events of the Indian Wars: the death of retained the same appearance as when In addition the officers' quarters were Crazy Horse in September of 1877 and established in 1874. On the north side very crowded. Originally intended as 84 Fort Robinson

single dwellings, the houses were be accomplished, the Elkhorn line was Laramie's abandonment resurfaced. quickly converted to duplex units, purchased by the Chicago and North That year the post commander there each unit having two large rooms with Western. The North Western pro­ wrote, "It seems to me probable that small, crude kitchen additions built to ceeded with the plan to build into the the new line of railroad ascending the the rear. Summing up the state of Dakota Territory and to extend a line Niobrara reopens the question as to affairs of postfacilities, Major Carpen­ to the west, via the WhiteRiver Valley. the need of retaining this as a perma­ ter also wrote, "If the post is to be This new route would put Fort Robin­ nent post."? retained, it will certainly be economy son directly on a railroad line and Sparked by rumors of railroad and good policy to expend a sufficient make the post the logical guardian of expansion, advertisements promoted sum at Fort Robinson to place it in the reservation to the north. the availability of grazing and good condition, instead of patching up agricultural lands in the White River old and worthless log buildings, which Valley for homesteads. In the spring of have now lasted as long as could be 1885 settlers began to stream into the expected."? region, drawn by the promise of With the abandonment of Camp railroad service and available land. Sheridan in 1881, Fort Laramie Close proximity to the Sioux reserva­ became the next closest military post tion would be offset by the protection to the Pine Ridge Agency after Fort of the Fort Robinson garrison. Robinson. For many years Fort By 1885 the decision had been Laramie occupied the most important made to expand Fort Robinson. A location regarding military operations larger post would have many benefits in the upper plains.' Strategically - increased economy of supply, dis­ situated at the gateway to the Powder cipline of troops, greater proficiency in River country, it 'was undoubtedly the drill, and improved comfort of officers key military post in the West during and enlisted men. In addition, the main years oftheIndian Wars. But columns of troops for field service with the removal of the Indians to could be speedily organized. In his reservations, the importance of its 1884 report, Major General John A. location decreased. During the 1880s it Schofield, Division of the Missouri became apparent to the military that commanding officer; stated the Fort Laramie's value as a troop statii... stations to be occupied should be per­ was declining. In addition its buildings manent (rather than temporary) posts required major repair or replace­ Colonel Edward Hatch. Courtesy of with comfortable barracks and quar­ ment. US. Army Military History Institute. ters. This included Fort Robinson." Probably the single most important The Fremont, Elkhorn, and Mis­ factor to the success of the western souri Valley Railroad reached Fort army was the railroad. The steady In his annual report for 1884, Robinson during 1886. Ifthe arrival of expansion of railroad routes in the Department of the Platte Commander the railroad indicated continued use post-Civil War period allowed rapid Colonel John Gibbon urged a larger for that post, it also meant the end for movement of men and supplies. garrison for both Forts Niobrara and Fort Laramie. Schofield noted, General ofthe Army Phil Sheridanwas Robinson. The primary basis for his Even if another railroad should hereafter be extended along the valley of the North Platte to a strong advocate of western railroad recommendation was the fort's loca­ and beyond Fort Laramie, Fort Robinson would expansion. He felt railroads brought tion relative to the Sioux reservation: still remain much the most important station not only settlement to new regions, but "Forts Robinson and Niobrara are well because of its closer proximity to the Sioux Reservation. Hence I suggest the construction of great change to the western army. located as picket posts for the close additional barracks and quarters at Robinson With posts located along rail routes observation of the most powerful and and a corresponding reduction of garrison at Fort troops could easily be sent into warlike tribe of Indians on the conti­ Laramie." troubled areas." nent .... wise policy would therefore Plans for an expanded Fort Robin­ By 1883 the Fremont, Elkhorn and seem to indicate these two posts son began late in 1885. The War Missouri Valley Railroad had ex­ should be enlarged."? By 1885 the Department proposed to station ten tended its tracks to Fort Niobrara in routefor the new railroad was surveyed companies, five of cavalry and five of north-central Nebraska. The builders past Fort Robinson and into Wyoming. infantry, there. In February 1886 con­ had envisioned a route from Fremont With expansion proposed for Fort struction estimates from Department to the BlackHills, butbefore this could Robinson, the question of Fort of the Platte headquarters were for­ 85 Nebraska History - Summer 1987

warded to the adjutant general's hood." Such protests were ignored as The report also pointed out that there office. They recommended building the Fort Robinson project moved was an influx of population near the seven new barracks, three officers' forward. 12 threshold of the Sioux reservation, quarters, two storehouses, and one In May 1886 the Senate Committee "relying upon government protection stable, at a cost of $70,000. An on Military Affairs released its report . . . . liable at any moment to additional appropriation of $12,000 to accompany Bill S. 1935. This bill experience all the horrors of Indian was requested to make "necessary was to enlarge, repair, and complete warfare." The committee's report repairs to post." It was evident a larger military quarters and barracks at Fort added that the existing buildings at parade ground would be required for D.A. Russell, near Cheyenne, and Fort Robinson were temporary in more troops. But before construction Forts Niobrara and Robinson in Ne­ nature and almost uninhabitable. It could begin, funding had to be secured braska. The bill proposed an approp­ went on to stress the importance of from Congress. riation of $200,000 to complete this consolidation and the potential threat It was only natural that a proposed of "these Indians, many of them were military construction project would in the Custer massacre, and are among attract the interest of Nebraska the worst of their species, andhave had politicians. In March 1886 a Nebraska a taste of white man's blood .... Give delegation consisting of Senator Robinson a garrison of sufficient size to Charles Fv Manderson, and Represen­ cow down the savages by certain and tatives Archibald J. Weaver and G.W. immediate punishment."> Dorsey called on Secretary of War Congress soon provided funds for William E. Endicott.lO The purpose of additional quarters at Fort Robinson. the meeting was to urge the enlarge­ Part ofthefunding hadbeensecuredin ment of Fort Robinson. Manderson, a August of 1886. A sundry civil bill member ofthe Committee on Military passed by Congress granted $225,000 Affairs, had taken great interest in the for construction and enlargement at project after hearing rumors of the posts as determined by the Secretary post's abandonment late in 1885. A bill of War. Of this amount $20,000 was for building additional quarters cost­ earmarked for Fort Robinson. The ing $52,000 was then pending. After main funding bill was passed on the meeting, Dorsey stated, "This is a January 29, 1887, and appropriated very important measure for the people $55,000 "to complete barracks and of the state.'!" quarters at Fort Robinson for ten com­ Meanwhile the local press reacted to panies." The Secretary of War com­ the news from Washington. After bined both amounts for a total of learning of the project and realizing its $75,000 to be expended for improve­ importance to the region, the ments in 1887.15 A decision then had to neighboring Chadron Journal stressed Nebraska Representative Archibald be made regarding how many the potential danger in case of an J. Weaver buildings, barracks and officers' quar­ Indian outbreak: "The handful of ters, should be built ... troops now at Robinson would be oflit­ Lt. Col. James Brisbin, command­ work. Senator Manderson, a member tle avail .... Iftroops are necessary at ing officer at FortRobinson, felt the log of the committee, was a staunch sup­ all they are necessary within reach of barracks. could be repaired and porterofthe bill, andthe reportrecom­ the Sioux and Fort Robinson is one of remodeled to adequately house five of mended its passage in language the places they should be quartered." the ten proposed companies. The bulk calculated to raise the specter of However, not all newspaper editors of the appropriation was to be expend­ Indian attacks on defenseless settle­ were in favor of expansion at the post. ed on new quarters for the other com­ ments: The Sidney Telegraph, most inter­ panies. Brisbin also suggested the new The primary object of stationing troops at Fort ested in improvement of Fort Sidney, Robinson and at FortNiobrara is to hold in check post headquartersbuildingbe convert­ was hardly sympathetic. "The Jour­ 28,000 savage Sioux on the Sioux Reservation in ed into a field grade Dakota, on the confines of Northern Nebraska. quarters. 16 nal would have us believe the Sioux at This tribe of hostiles is armed with the deadly Pine Ridge are a very hard set of Winchester rifle, and its warlike disposition has In December Brig. Gen. Indians liable to break out at any repeatedly left desolation and massacre in the Crook, department commander, track and trouble therefrom may be again moment and that large numbers of apprehended in spite of the civilizing influences Maj. George B. Dandy, chief quarter­ troops are necessary in that neighbor­ at work to temper its ferocity.P master for the department, made 86 first of several visits to Fort Robinson. post commander. Besides acting as This visit affected the future design of commanding officer of the regiment, the post. At least five additional sets of Hatch also had to oversee the post officers' quarters would be required for enlargement project. He soon became the larger garrison. Building style and a moving force in this endeavor. Lt. construction material to be used for Charles Taylor, Ninth Cavalry the officers' quarters had to be deter­ regimental quartermaster, arrived mined. Recent construction at Fort several days later to replace Lieuten­ Russell utilized two-story brick quar­ ant Wright as the quartermaster ters, which became a standard quar­ officer in immediate charge of expan­ termaster department building design sion operations." about 1885. Brisbin checked with a Actual preparations for construc­ brickyard in Chadron for a price quote tion began in late spring. The previous on brick, but this type of building was February Brisbin had prepared and not used. submitted final estimates for After Dandy's December visit, Bris­ materials and other contingencies. bin was ordered to prepare final plans Beginning in May raw materials for and specifications. He detailed 2d Lt. construction work were procured and Phillip Bettens, Troop K, Ninth stockpiled at the post. A steam saw­ Cavalry, on special duty to work on mill was sent over from Fort Niobrara this project along with post quarter­ Nebraska Senator Charles F. and set up on the wood reserve five master Lt. Henry H. Wright, also of K Manderson miles west ofFort Robinson. Stone was Troop. In February Brisbin and located, quarried, and hauled in for Wright made a trip to department building foundations. Limestone was headquarters in Omaha to confer on burnt in temporary kilns for lime to be the projectedwork. Aswas done atFort above and west ofthe old post afforded mixed with sand for mortar. Hundreds Niobrara, it was decided to build the an excellent site for the new buildings. of thousands of adobe bricks had to be new quarters of adobe." An officers' row was laid out on the manufactured. From locations about Adobe construction was certainly north side of the new parade grounds. four miles away, clay was plowed and not unusual in Nebraska. The army On the south side would be the scraped to be hauled to ten adobe mills extensively used adobe at numerous barracks and behind them an area for for forming brick. All ofthis conformed western posts, including ones in Ne­ stables. The new layout would be to a basic rule followed by the frontier braska and as far north as Montana. retained through the remainder of the army in post construction: use avail­ Economy was the main reason for the post's military use. able materials. use -of adobe, and it was readily avail­ Inthe spring of 1887Fort Robinson's The labor needed to procure build­ able. Adobe also allowed the army to garrison consisted of thirteen officers ing materials also resulted from stan­ stretch the building appropriation. and 250 enlisted men under the com­ dard military procedure. Soldiers from The new plans to be used were better mand of Lieutenant Colonel Brisbin. the garrison were detailed as laborers than those used at Niobrara. The The units stationed there were Com­ to cut trees, manufacture adobes, and officers' quarters were nearly identi­ panies C and I, 8th Infantry, and process other building materials. It cal; the only difference was that the Troops C, F, and K of the Ninth was common for soldiers to be used as Robinson quarters were five feet lon­ Cavalry. Brisbin realized additional laborers. Enlisted men could be paid ger. The barracks were basically of the troops would soon be arriving to bring about twenty cents a day extra by the same design, but the main portions of the post up to ten company size. To quartermaster department, non­ the buildings were about fifty feet lon­ eliminate household disruptions, he commissioned officers excluded. ger than those at Fort Niobrara. requested newly arriving units be put Hatch was concerned about the large General Crook and Major Dandy up in tents until the new quarters were number of men required to perform returned to the poston March 18, 1887. completed. In May 1887 the head­ this work plus regular garrison duties On this visit it was decided to locate quarters staff and band of the Ninth and normal training activities. The the new post just northwest of the Cavalry were transferred from Fort construction project would require existing installation." Fort Robinson's McKhmey, Wyoming, making Fort "many and large details to accomplish original post area was large enough for Robinson a regimental headquarters such portion of the work that the five companies, but inadequate for the post. On the eleventh Col. Edward appropriation may be used economic­ enlarged garrison. The broad plain Hatch arrived and replaced Brisbin as ally."20 He recommended that the 87 Nebraska History - Summer 1987

o

Officers quarters

WEST END (New post)

Barracks o o

DO 0 o C'J D Stables o

~ EAST END I I I 'U' l] (Old post) U Legend: [f c::=:::o DOD IZJ Adobe construction 9 DO Du IIIIIl Frame construction = o~BakerY 0 IIIIIIlII Frame outbuildings U ~ \> 00 00 '~~ L.\Z.e.~y... \> oS 0 L DIE 12­ [1

Six duplex officers quarters, six barracks, and three cavalry stables were constructed in 1887 to form the "west end" at Fort Robin­ son. Two noncommissioned officers quarters and a bakery were added to the complex of buildings in the old post area,

88 Fort Robinson

reinforcing units soon to arrive be was questionable. To eliminate a poss­ able sawmill was requested, to be ordered to assist in the construction of ible shortage, Hatch wrote depart­ obtained through emergency pur­ the quarters they were to occupy. ment headquarters, suggesting the chase, so that it would not be charged Later he asked that prisoners held in addition of eight sections of available against the appropriation. However, the post guard house, sentenced to land to the reserve. The land was well­ the old mill continued to be used after hard labor at the Leavenworth prison, timbered and was closer to the post. replacement parts and new shafting be retained to augment the labor force This recommendation, like many that were delivered. at the post. Hatch also requested that Hatch would submit, was not The lack of adequate transportation other prisoners held at hard labor be implemented, and the post reserve remained a potential problem as sum­ sent to Fort Robinson to work." continued to supply wood for mer began and construction started in Logistical problems developed and construction." earnest. A concerned Hatch asked that continually plagued the construction teams used to transport troops to Fort project. From the onset shipment of Duchesne, Utah, the previous fall be building materials from Omaha was transferred back at once. He wrote a delayed. Hatch noticed the problem lengthy letter to the department adju­ shortly after taking command. On tant general, hoping to enlighten May 23 he urgently requested that headquarters on the shortage of articles needed for the renovation of transportation. He noted that former the existing quarters be hurried on, Post Quartermaster Wright had been adding, "The necessity is so great they assured by Dandy that enough teams should be forwarded at once. "22 and wagons would be provided for Besides supply problems, there was a moving materials. At the time there serious lack of transportation avail­ was barely enough transportation at able at Fort Robinson to haul lumber the post for garrison use. Hatch and to prepare and haul adobe brick, itemized the number of teams and stone, sand, and lime. When construc­ wagons he thought necessary for tion began, there were only four six­ various tasks in connection with the mule teams at the post, three of them construction and computed that 254 under orders to accompany a detail to additional mules were needed. But he Cheyenne. Hatch realized it would then backed down substantially and reduce costs if the government pro­ stated, "There is a bare possibility of vided draft animals and wagons to completing the work by the addition of move materials rather than contract­ General George Crook 48 mules.l'" At the same time, ing for this service." He was aware of requisitions were forwarded for six new the fine line between available funding army wagons and twenty additional and the number of buildings projected On June 15 ground was broken at the front wheels for timber and stone to be built. Meanwhile the work new post site for the building foun­ wagons. proceeded. dations. On June 20 all bids were sub­ To help remedy the situation, On May 23 Colonel Hatch asked mitted to Department Quartermaster Dandy transferred teams from Fort permission to advertise in the Dandy and the successful ones ac­ Duchesne and Fort Bridger, Wyom­ newspapers for bid proposals. The cepted. Most of the contractors for the ing. Apparently the animals received next week he telegraphed Omaha masonry and carpentry work came were inferior to those Hatch expected, headquarters requesting bid proposal from the Chadron area: Banning and as he immediately called a board of forms. By the middle of June bidders McFarland, Rothwell Brothers, and survey to report on the condition of the had gathered at the post, anxious to Benjamin Cooley, who soon proceeded mules. The board condemned the Fort submit proposals for the work, but the with their work. Much of the founda­ Bridger quartermaster of culpable forms still had not been received. With tion and adobe work was to be done by neglect in not sending "complete and potential contractors waiting, Hatch mason Tom Madden, also from serviceable" teams. A report of the was urtderstandably irritated by the Chadron." board's findings was forwarded to delay. The sawmill sent from Fort Nio­ department headquarters." At about the same time concern brara proved to be the weak point in As the summer progressed, hard­ arose over availability of timber. It furnishing the new post with lumber. ware supplies from Omaha were late was planned to use wood from the post Post officers described it as worthless and caused construction delays." reserve for the project, but the supply and urged its replacement. A new port­ Besides barracks, quarters, and 89 Nebraska History - Summer 1987

FRONT HALL SERVANT

I DINING ROOM KITCHEN GIRL'S ROOM o 0: 0 a.

I- PARLOR z 0 0: u,

0 5 10 20 1", ! I I I FEET

~._~

L_ 0

Drawing adapted from floor plan of 1887 adobe officers quarters. It depicts one side of a duplex unit.

stables, Hatch and Lieutenant Taylor want of quarters by men and officers it is respect­ easier with brick than with adobe. He fully suggested that an officer of the General planned to build a new bakery to Staffin whom the Chief Quartermaster can have stressed that adobe was not well replace the 1875structure. By the mid­ confidence be submitted and intrusted with the adapted to the northern climate, and dle of July they had not received word disbursement and the construction relieving the builders in Chadron and Crawford present Quartermaster and Commanding from Dandy to proceed with its con­ Officer of all responsibility and supervision. 29 were using brick for fine buildings. struction. Hatch was impatientwith the Hatch also thought if the soil was suit­ chief quartermaster's delay and Hatch thought the post quartermaster able for adobe it would be fine for brick. ordered adobes manufactured for the should at least be able to payout sums This was just another Hatch recom­ building, trusting that other inciden­ from one to five hundred dollars. Sub­ mendation that was received and tal bills incurred during its construc­ mitted requisitions for payment were ignored by department headquarters tion would be honored. Another source being delayed, causing complaints that summer.30 of irritation to Hatch was the fact that from individual suppliers for non­ By August construction work at Fort Major Dandy wanted all disburse­ payment. Robinson was in full swing. On August ments for payment made solely Just before construction began on 11 General Crook made a quick inspec­ through his office, rather than releas­ the officers' quarters, Hatch at­ tion visit. Work was well underway on ing funds to the post quartermaster. tempted to change both their design five duplex officers' quarters. Each Hatch felt this method of payment and the material from which they unit contained a parlor, library, main delayed the work; not allowing the would be built. Hatch wanted no part bedroom, and bathroom in the main post quartermaster or commander to of the single-story, adobe duplex plan. part, with dining room, kitchen and disburse funds was "absolutely a Instead he favored the two-story type maid's room in the rear wing. Each declaration that neither can be trust­ quarters similar to those built at Fort half had about 1,750 square feet of liv­ ed." On July 25 he wrote a vigorous Russell. In a letter to department ing space, or about twice that of the letter of protest to the adjutant general headquarters, he argued that it was earlier 1874-75 quarters. Long porches in Omaha: really more economical to use brick on the front and back sides were added instead of adobe. Breakage and loss by to protect the adobe from the If the post Quartermaster is not to be trusted rains would be much higher with adobe elements; shortly after completion with the disbursements he should not be with the construction ... knowing how important it [new (about thirty percent), and the con­ wood siding was installed on the construction] is to this command suffering for tractors could lay up a wall faster and exposed ends for further protection, 90 Fort Robinson

On the south side of the parade ground five barracks buildings were taking shape. Each was built to house a com­ pany of men with a main living area 30 by 169 feet and a kitchen and dining room wing 30 by 70 feet. Like the officers' quarters the barracks were constructed of adobe brick. Behind the barracks three frame troop stables were built. Each stable was 30 by 201 feet in size and was divided into thirty­ three double stalls. Each had a capacity of sixty-six animals and con­ tained a saddle room and granary." The weather occasionally slowed the work and soldiers detailed for extra duty on the project sometimes caused problems. On August 24Private Henry Royster of Troop F, Ninth Cavalry, was charged with driving a six-mule team while intoxicated. For this transgression, a garrison court found him guilty and fined him $10.00. In another case Private Thomas Powell of Company I, Eighth Infantry was charged with desertion of his post. Powell, assigned to watch over the sawmill, was discovered absent from Single unit of noncommissioned officers quarters, constructed ca. 1887 and his post for seventeen hours, subject­ photographed in 1905. Building Inventory and Specification Books for Fort Robin­ ing the property in his charge to des­ son, Nebraska, Record Group 501, Nebraska State Historical Society Archives. truction by fire or loss by theft. For this offense, he was fined $10.50.32 More new quarters were required if more than eight company garrisons two small houses for non-com­ the fort was to house ten companies. In would ever be stationed there." missioned staff officers. Outhouses for September it was decided to add On September 18 two of the new all quarters, fencing and boardwalks barracks for one more cavalry troop barracks were finished and occupied for the officers' houses, and an ice and an additional set of officers' quar­ by Companies D and K of the Eighth house completed Hatch's project." ters. Considerable repair work was Infantry. In October three more of the When it was all totaled, there was a done on the old barracks. Earlier that barracks were occupied and most of slight cost overrun of $1,271.57. This summer two companies of the Eighth the officers' quarters completed with was made up from another sundry civil Infantry arrived from Fort Bridger, the "remainder of those projected bill that had been passed March 3, and a troop of the Ninth Cavalry was being rapidly pushed forward. "34 The 1887. The new construction at Fort transferred from Fort Niobrara. The following month, all the new buildings Robinson accounted for twenty per­ new units were housed in tents until were finished. On November 2 Senator cent of the Department of the Platte adequate barracks housing was com­ Manderson arrived as a guest of quartermaster expenditures for 1887­ pleted. The arrival of additional Colonel Hatch to inspect the newly 88. What must have been a trying sum­ soldiers brought a corresponding completed post. Though dwarfed by mer and fall for Colonel Hatch W/lS increase to the officer staff. By August modern military construction, the over." twenty-three officers were at the fort, expenditures in 1887 were impressive. With the enlargement of - Fort half of them awaiting completion of Each barracks cost $6,017.65; the Robinson, Fort Laramie's days were houses on the officers' row. The gar­ officers' quarters $6,150.80; and the numbered. On August 31, 1889, rison strength of ten companies was stables $1,086.95. Enough was General Order No. 69 announced its never achieved during Fort Robinson's squeezed out ofthe $75,000 appropria­ abandonment. In March 1890 the last remaining years as a troop station; no tion to also construct the bakery and garrison marched out and headed for 91 Nebraska History - Summer 1987

Fort Logan, one of the new consolida­ Robinson in 1889, 1891, and 1895, add­ ditioning and processing horses for the tion posts. The next monthLieutenant ing two barracks, six sets of officers' mounted services, and was no longer Taylor and fourteen men of the Ninth quarters, five stables, and other shops used as a regular troop station. During Cavalry came over to handle the auc­ and warehouses. By 1895 the entire the remount years the troop compo­ tion of the abandoned fort. The first garrisonwas located on the new parade nent at the post was much smaller soldiers at Fort Robinson came from ground, now referred to as the "west than it had been with regular cavalry Fort Laramie; ironically the last end." The original post buildings on garrisons. The remount detachment soldiers at Fort Laramie came from the "east end" were used for storage was housed in one of two double com­ Fort Robinson. and married soldiers' quarters. Finally pany brick barracks built in 1909. The "new" post of Fort Robinson in 1899-1900, the remaining log struc­ Because they were in poor condition soon proved its worth. During the Pine tures of the first fort were demol­ and no longer used, the five remaining Ridge fighting of 1890 the first troops ished." 1887 barracks were demolished in sent to the troubled agency came from In the early 1900s Fort Robinson was 1923. Construction of new brick Fort Robinson. Later in the 1890s the still considered a key installation. In stables in 1908 removed several of the railroad added a new dimension to the 1906 projected expansion proposed earlier frame stables. One of the post's role as a troop station. Units brick construction, for which Hatch original 1887 stables remained in use from Robinson were sent by rail to had pleaded twenty years earlier. An by the remount service until it was Montana for strike duty during the elaborate building plan that year demolished in the 1930s. great railroad strike of 1894 and to the called for replacing all of the 1887 However, the 1887 officers' quarters Idaho mining strike in 1899. The post adobe buildings with modern brick saw much additional service. During took on an international aspect as structures. In 1908-9 construction the remount period there were fewer troop units from Fort Robinson were started - but the massive brick officers at Fort Robinson. The adobe sent into the Spanish-American War, rebuilding project was never com­ officers' quarters were then mainly and later duty in the Philippines. The pleted as planned." used as N.C.O. housing, except for a days of the frontier army were over. In 1919 Fort Robinson became a brief period when a battalion of field Further expansion came to Fort quartermaster remount depot, con­ artillery was stationed at the post be-

Cavalry stable, constructed in 1887 and photographed in 1905. Building Inventory and Specification Books for Fort Robinson, Nebraska, Record Group 501, Nebraska State Historical Society Archives. Fort Robinson

tween 1928 and 1931.39 World War II (hereafter referred to as A.A.G. D. of P.), April 21Ibid.,June 19, 1887. brought more officers to the post and 24, 1884. National Archives and Records 2~elegram, Hatch to Chief Quartermaster D. Administration (NARA), non-record material. of P., May 23, 1887. for the last time the row was fully "I'wo well-known sources on the history ofFort 23Letter endorsement, May 21, 1887. utilized by the military. After the Laramie: LeRoy Hafen and Francis Marion 24Telegram, Hatch to AA.G. D. ofP., June 17, 1887; Letter endorsement, Hatch to A.A.G. D. of army closed the post in 1948, the Young, Fort Laramie and the Pageant of the P., July 11,1887. facility was turned over to the United West 1834-1890 (Glendale, California: The 2~elegram, Hatch to A.A.G. D. ofP., June 29, States Department of Agriculture as a Arthur H. Clark Company, 1938; Lincoln: 1887; Chadron Democrat, June 30, 1887; July University of Nebraska Press, 1984) and Remi 14 Crawford Crescent, July 14, 1887. 21887; beef research station. The 1887 Nadeau, Fort Laramie and the Sioux Indians "Letter, Hatch to A.A.G. D. of P., June 13, officers' quarters, like most of the post (Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1887. 1967). 27Ibid.,July 19, August 4,1887; Post Order No. buildings, faced an uncertain future. 142 July 15, 1887. Today the row and other remaining 5Robert G. Athearn, Union Pacific Country 28Complications involving shipment of build­ post buildings are preserved as part of (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1976), ing supplies through the Department of the 199-212. Platte Quartermaster Office were common. The Fort Robinson State Park. The first 6War Department, Annual Report of the Sec­ previous year (1886) considerable delays were unit on the line was restored by the retary of War 1884 (G.P.O., 1885), Part I, 116. experienced in receiving supplies in the con­ Nebraska State Historical Society as it 7Nadeau, 294. struction of buildings at the new post of Fort sWar Department, Annual Report of the Sec­ Duchesne, Utah. Colonel Hatch was then com­ would have appeared in the 1890s. The retaryof War 1884 (G.P.O. 1885), Part 1,84-85, manding officer of Fort Duchesne. other five houses are used as park 103-104. 29Letter, Hatch to A.AG. D. of P., July 25, 9Hafen and Young, 390. 1887; Telegram, July 7,1887. visitor accommodations. lOSenator Charles F. Manderson from Omaha 30Letter, Hatch to A.A.G. D. of P., July 12, The 1887 expansion of Fort Robin­ served in the Senate from 1883-95 and was a 1887. son was undoubtedly the most signifi­ member of committees on Indian and military 3lAI! information on buildings involved in the affairs. Archibald J. Weaver was the First Dis­ 1887 expansion and the later construction men­ cant chapter of its history. A physical trict Representative from Falls City from 1883­ tioned is compiled from materials held in the layout of the post was developed that 87. He died April 18, 1887. George W.E. Dorsey Post Building File at the Fort Robinson was Third District Representative from Fre­ Museum. was maintained for the rest of its mont from 1885-91. Dorsey secured approp­ 32postOrders No. 177,September5, 1887;Post military years. Building types from riations for buildings at Forts Niobrara, Omaha, Orders No. 188, September 23, 1887. the expansion survive and are still in and Robinson, and the Indian school at 33Letter, Hatch to A.AG. D. ofP., September Genoa. 14, 1887; Telegram, Hatch to A.A.G. D. of P., use today. The expansion was made llChadron Democrat, March 18, 1886. Jul~ 11, 1887. possible by the arrival of the railroad, 12SidneyTelegraph, January 30, 1886. 3 Monthly medical report by Capt. A.W. which also guaranteed Fort Robinson's 13Senate Report No. 930, May 5,1886 (G.P.O., Taylor, Post Surgeon, September-October 1887. 1886),1. Fort Robinson Medical Papers, NARA RG 98. continued military importance. Fort 14Ibid., 2-3. 35FortRobinson Completion Reports, October Robinson became one of the survivor 15War Department, Annual Report of the Sec­ 30, November 1, 30,1887. Fort Robinson Letters retary of War 1887 (G.P.O. 1888), Serial 2628, Sent, 1884-90, NARA RG 98. posts of the Indian War period and 430. 36Colonel Hatch continued on as post com­ awaited new roles in the twentieth 16Letter, Lt. Col. James Brisbin to A.A.G. D. mander, until he died on April 11, 1889, from century. ofP., December 5,1886; January 18,1887. Fort injuries received in a carriage accident the pre­ Robinson Letters Sent 1884-90, NARA RG 98. vious month. 17post Order No.9 (January 18, 1887), Fort 37The officers' quarters from the original post Robinson Orders 1884-88, NARA RG 98. For were completely remodeled in the 1890s and NOTES more information on the history of Fort Niobrara then used to house both commissioned and non­ see Thomas R. Buecker, "Fort Niobrara, 1880­ commissioned officers. Six of these houses IFor more information on the founding of Fort 1906: Guardian of the Rosebud Sioux," Ne­ remain today and are used for park Robinson and the Red Cloud Agency, see Roger braska History 65 (Fall 1984):300-325. accommodations. lSDiary of Capt. Augustus Corliss, entry for T. Grange, Jr., 3sAbout one-third of the parade ground Fort Robinson, Outpost On The March 18,1887. Corliss's materials are housed in buildings were either rebuilt or replaced by brick Plains (April 1978; reprint, Nebraska History, the Western History Collection of the Denver structures in 1908-9. This included four out of September 1958),39:191-240. Public Library. Dates regarding visits of officers twenty-four projected sets of officers' quarters, 2General Order 79, Division of the Missouri, and general construction activity are from the two out of six double company barracks, and four December 30, 1878, changed the designation. dia9J:. out of twelve troop stables. The same order changed "Sidney Barracks" to 1 AI! information regarding garrison strength, 39About six officers were stationed at the post "Fort Sidney." Microfilmed copies of this and troop transfers and duties, and officer transfers with the remount detachment, and twenty other National Archives records cited below are and duties are from the monthly post returns officers were with the Fourth Field Artillery Bat­ from January to December 1887, Fort Robinson at the Nebraska State Historical Society. talion. From A Souvenir History of Fort Robin­ Post Returns, NARA RG 98. son Nebraska (Northwest Nebraska News, 3Letter, Maj. L.W. Carpenter to Assistant 2o:Letter, Hatch to A.A.G. D. of P., May 26, Crawford, 1930). Adjutant General, Department of the Platte 1887.

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