Fort Ellsworth (Kansas)
Encyclopedia
In June 1864 soldiers from the 7th Iowa Cavalry, under the command of 2nd Lt. Allen Ellsworth, established a fort four miles southeast of the site that eventually became Ellsworth, Kansas
. A two-story blockhouse was built there. In July Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis, the department commander, named the post Fort Ellsworth for Lt. Ellsworth.
The fort's mission was to protect the area settlers from hostile Indians. On August 7, 1864, Indians drove off and captured most of the post's horses and the mules belonging to the stage company servicing the area. The post remained with only two horses. Col. James H. Ford, who visited Fort Ellsworth in January 1865, noticed the post still only possessed nine horses. Ford, in charge of the district that included the post, ordered an additional company of cavalry to garrison it.
Even though some buildings were built by the end of the Civil War, the troops still had primitive housing. M. Wisner wrote his company arrived in January 1865 and had to build dugouts with mud chimneys. He noted these dugouts had been comfortable in the severe cold weather.
On November 11, 1866, the post was renamed Fort Harker
. In 1867 this site was abandoned when a new site about a mile to the northeast was chosen for Fort Harker.
Ellsworth, Kansas
Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,120.-19th century:...
. A two-story blockhouse was built there. In July Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis, the department commander, named the post Fort Ellsworth for Lt. Ellsworth.
The fort's mission was to protect the area settlers from hostile Indians. On August 7, 1864, Indians drove off and captured most of the post's horses and the mules belonging to the stage company servicing the area. The post remained with only two horses. Col. James H. Ford, who visited Fort Ellsworth in January 1865, noticed the post still only possessed nine horses. Ford, in charge of the district that included the post, ordered an additional company of cavalry to garrison it.
Even though some buildings were built by the end of the Civil War, the troops still had primitive housing. M. Wisner wrote his company arrived in January 1865 and had to build dugouts with mud chimneys. He noted these dugouts had been comfortable in the severe cold weather.
On November 11, 1866, the post was renamed Fort Harker
Fort Harker (Kansas)
Fort Harker, located in Kanopolis, Kansas, was an active military installation of the United States Army from November 17, 1866 to October 5, 1872. The fortification was named after General Charles Garrison Harker, who was killed in action at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the American Civil War...
. In 1867 this site was abandoned when a new site about a mile to the northeast was chosen for Fort Harker.