Travel ’s historic Indian Wars sites with Fort 1 Laramie

In 1849 the post was purchased by During the Indian Wars of the the U.S. Army. It 1860s and 1870s, all sides fought became an important to control the land, travel safely supply, logistics and and protect their families and communications center their futures. This tour of forts and for the Indian Wars battle sites leads from Fort Laramie to campaigns of the next four decades. northern Wyoming. Follow it to better understand the events leading up to Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn in Montana, just 44 miles north, on I-90, 2 Fort Fetterman of Wyoming’s northern border. Established on a bluff Use the QR codes on the following above the North Platte pages with your mobile phone River in 1867, Fort Fetterman was used or tablet, download the free app frequently as a staging TravelStorysGPS™ for GPS-triggered, location for U.S. Army three-minute audio segments at each expeditions during the of the eight Indian Wars sites, or go to Indian Wars. www.wyohistory.org/indian-wars for much more, including in-depth articles, maps, directions and galleries of 3 historic images. The Army outpost WyoHistory.org is a project of the was meant to guard the mail service and Wyoming State Historical Sociey. the newly constructed TravelStorysGPS™ offers travelers GPS- transcontinental telegraph triggered audio stories synced to passing lines from attack by Plains landscapes and communities. Indian groups. Fort/Cantonment 4 Reno Cantonment Reno was established as a supply base for the U.S. Army during campaigns to drive Plains Indian groups out of prime hunting grounds and onto reservations. ’s War Wagon Box When the U.S. Army in 7 Fight 1866 sent troops to build a On Aug. 2, 1867, a large force string of forts, tribes in that of attacked country reacted angrily. woodcutters near Fort Phil For two years, the tribes Kearny. Soldiers assigned harassed and attacked the to protect the woodcutters soldiers and travelers on took cover behind a ring of the trail. wagon boxes. 5 Connor The largest of the three forts built along the Bozeman 8 Battlefield Trail, the posts’s original The Connor Battlefield is purpose was to protect a park on Tongue River freighters, gold prospectors in Ranchester marking and other travelers from the spot where Brig. Gen. attack by Plains Indians. Patrick Connor, U.S. troops and Pawnee scouts in August 1865 attacked a Fetterman village of . 6 Battlefield Fetterman Battlefield is the site of the U.S. Army’s worst defeat by Plains Indian WyoHistory.org is a project of the groups with the exception of Wyoming State Historical Society, the Battle of Little Bighorn. www.wyshs.org.