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Please note: This page contains a 2 MB animated .gif file that shows a 300 degree panoramic view of the site of Fort Phil Kearny near Story, Wyoming, compiled from pictures taken in August, 1998. It may take several minutes to download. If you are interested in viewing the .gif allow the file to download completely.
In recent years, I have developed a growing interest in U.S. History, especially the Civil War and the Cavalry/Indian Battles. Other interests include early American Indian History (Anastasi), American Indian Culture and the Arts & Crafts Movement influences on American Architecture. When I vacation I typically plan a fly & drive so I have the opportunity to explore nearby national parks and historical sites. I also enjoy photography and have recently started to dabble in digital video editing.
Click on one of the following to see other topics on this page:
Here's a little background on me:
I am nearly 45 years old and have just gone through a major transition in my life. I felt as if I was careening through my career and all of a sudden found myself working as a Quality Assurance Manager. About a year ago I finally decided to take back control of my life. The corporations I had worked for were all gung-ho for a world class quality image, implementing the mandated Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Quality System Regulation (QSR) for medical device manufacturers while building-in compliance to ISO 9001 and that was the extent of it.
I accepted a position with a start-up medical device manufacturer in the city for less pay but I could take public transportation and eliminate the driving hassle. For me living and working in the city is an ideal situation. In taking the pay cut I was also taking a risk with the hope of better long-range opportunities as this start-up company takes off.
During my first seven months with the company, while working 60 to 80 hours per week, I initiated quality assurance planning to implement FDA and ISO compliant quality systems, and established and staffed the Quality Control Department. After all this front end effort it was becoming obvious the company was having big business troubles resulting from mismanagement and a failing business concept.
The company renegged on negotiated hiring agreements that led me to accept the job. They were increasingly driven by cut-throat politics in the executive suite and lost credibility with suppliers, investors and their own employees. Again the company was asking employees to give it their all with no reviews or incentives. The excercise price of promised stock options increased six times as the result of a 6-for-1 reverse stock split. In other words the purchase/excercise price of employees' stock options initially valued at $6.00 became $36.00.
This experience was taking a toll on me. I was in constant tension and I could feel myself shutting down. I felt spidery twinges of strange physical pain crawl across my back, hot spots and memory loss. I was beginning to worry that I would come down with some terrible premature illness such as cancer, heart disease or something that would irreversibly affect my life.
It was a nightmare!
I was also working on developing a business plan for a micro-brewery and restaurant. So when I wasn't working my 60 to 80 hours per week for the start-up company, I was developing a complex business plan and negotiating with property owners, brokers, city and state officials as we looked for funding and location options for the venture.
The strength to finally initiate the changes I went through came after I started reading a book titled "The Artist's Way" while vacationing in Ft. Lauderdale during January, 1998. The first decision I made for myself was my New Year's Resolution - "I am going to improve my quality of life in 1998". This became my number one objective.
Within the month I had resigned from an extremely high risk business venture of my own. I provided many hours over the three years creating the initial plan and coming to the brink of placing serious, personal financial commitments on the line. Financially for me, it was a lose - lose situation, so the decision was a no brainer. Having gotten into this situation in the first place gives supporting evidence as to how desperate I really was. This was my first big relief. Now I could focus on just where my quality career was headed.
I am an expert when it comes to quality system assessment, planning and implementation but it was very frustrating for me to be in corporate organizations that want the image of world-class quality while top management executives see quality as a detection-based system and a cost center. I know that a quality system, properly implemented can pay back big time as it provides all the tools needed to support and track continuous improvement, the path to becoming a global competitor. I have come to believe that fewer than 10% of American corporations realize this fact. Its their loss. I feel I was a casualty of this ignorance.
My goal to improve my quality of life and accomplish a mid-life career change has been realized. I stopped the run-away train by resigning from my job on May 29, 1998. I focused on what I needed to do to improve my quality of life. Changed my career path to something I feel good about doing. I had to realize the expectations I grew up with were no longer valid. They were impressions from the generation I grew up in. There time has passed. This is the beginning of a new plan for my future, developed from what I know now. I was able to stop, look back, self assess and move forward.
I am now working in the information technology field for a state university with a technical team that knows how to work together. Our department head believes in training and education to better her staff! I am moving forward again with new knowledge.
If you were, are or feel you will be in a similar situation and want to share their views or feelings with me, please send me an E-mail.
A Story of Fort Philip Kearny and The Fetterman and Wagon Box Fights:
Map of Fort Philip Kearny and Notable Engagements
Animated.gif Showing a Panorama of the Site of Fort Philip Kearny
This panorama shows an approximately 270 degree view of Fort Phil Kearny's surroundings. The panorama begins with view looking east, southeast from the site of Fort Phil Kearny, showing the Bozeman Trail and the surrounding terrain. Subsequent frames of this animated .gif display as if you are turning in a clockwise direction while standing in the northwest quadrant of the site. Within the next few frames (frames 3 and 4) you will begin to see light green hills rising, south of the Bozeman Trail. These hills surround Pilot Hill, the main lookout for the fort with a view over the area of protection provided by the fort during its existence.
Fort Phil Kearny was the largest of three forts established along the Bozeman Trail. Colonel Carrington, of the 18th Infantry Division, established the fort in July, 1866 at the forks of the Big and Little Piney Creeks. He named the fort after a popular Union general killed in the Civil War.
For two years the fort was the focal point of a violent war between the U.S Army and the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians opposed to the expansion of whites into their last great hunting grounds. The Wagon Box Fight and the Fetterman Battle are the best known and will be described as you view in the direction where these engagements occurred.
The crest of Pilot Hill emerges about frame 15 and is centered in frames 20 and 21. If the picture resolution is good enough you may be able to see a tiny dark point at the very top of the hill. It is a black, metal silhouettte of a cavalry officer on a horse. The hill is located southeast of the fort.
The tree line along the Little Piney Creek between the fort and Pilot Hill is also visible. As the scene continues you will see in the foreground, sage and brush overgrowth with occassional signs, flags and stakes. These markers indicate where various buildings of the fort, such as the officers' quarters, quartermaster warehouse, infantry barracks, hospital, surrounding 8' stockade fence (indicated by the orange flags) and main entrance once existed, as revealed through fort plans, old photographs and archeological digs.
The Bighorn Mountains are seen rising in the distance with somewhat stormy weather brewing about them.
Frames 87 to 97 show location of the Commander's Quarter's (in this case Colonel Carrington). The rise of the Sullivant Hills are now entering the view from the right of the frame (light green gently sloping hills in the distance). This is also a view in the direction of the Wagon Box Fight that took place on August 2, 1867, less then a year after the Fetterman Battle that took place on December 21, 1866.
The Wagon Box Fight:
Indian forces attempted to repeat the Fetterman victory in Summer, 1867. On August 2, 1867 about 800 Sioux warriors attacked woodcutters and soldiers camped at a cutting area five miles from Fort Phil Kearny. During initial stages of the battle, 26 soldiers and six civilians took cover inside an oval of wagon boxes used as a stock corral.
After burning another camp, the Sioux launched a series of attacks against the corral. Armed with breechloading rifles, the soldiers and civilians commanded by Captain James Powell held off the massed warriors until a relief force arrived from the fort. Three men were killed and two wounded inside the corral, while indian casualties were estimated at from five to 60 or more killed, and five to 120 more wounded.
The Sullivant Hills were named by Colonel Carrington after his wife's maiden name. As we continue panning to the right (frames to ) we see the Sullivant Hills from the west-northwest and ending rather abruptly to the north-northwest. You will see the tree line along the Big Piney Creek emerge from behind the hills and Lodge Trail Ridge rise beyond.
The following is some background information on Captain Fetterman:
Captain Fetterman was a common personality type that occurred frequently in the Indian-fighting Army. He was arrogant and belittled the indians and their fighting ability. After arriving at Fort Phil Kearny in November, 1866, it wasn't long before his loud and aggressive manner, combined with his field experience during the civil war, enabled him to become a divisive influence at the fort. Colonel Carrington on the other hand, having had first-hand experience with the difficulties of building and maintaining the fort, shortage of hands to keep it up and made worse by the frequent indian attacks, forced him to operate cautiously. Fetterman criticized Carrington's caution and respect for the Indians' fighting ability at every opportunity.
"Give me eighty men and I would ride through the whole Sioux nation" was one of Fetterman's boasts.
The Fetterman Battle:
The last of three attacks against the wood train during December, 1866.
December 6, 1866:
A party of Sioux attack the wood train. Colonel Carrington orders Captain Fetterman to take a cavalry company and force of mounted infantry down the wood road to relieve the besieged wood train, while Carrington took a squad of cavalry behind Sullivant Hills to cut them off. Everything went wrong. The cavalry's young lieutenant, George Grummond, became excited and dashed ahead disobeying Carrington's orders and narrowly escaped being cut to pieces in an ambush - saved by the swiftness of his horse and saber. Lieutenant Bingham, in charge of the cavalry company under Captain Fetterman, was less fortunate. When the Sioux had broken off their attack, Bingham led his cavalry in pursuit over the Sullivant Hills, across Big Piney Creek and up Lodge Trail Ridge. In excitement of the pursuit, he spurred ahead of his men and was caught in an ambush. His body was found with over 50 arrows in it. An enlisted man died in the same ambush. Several men had also been wounded in the fighting.
December 19, 1866:
After observing how the whites had fought, their lack of skill, discipline and even common sense, Red Cloud and the other leading chiefs held a council to determine their best strategy to defeat the whites. The whites had been led into ambush so easily why not bait them for a great ambush. They were convinced they had found a way to defeat them.
The Indians attacked the wagon train and Colonel Carrington sent Captain Powell out to relieve the train with explicit orders not to pursue across Lodge Trail Ridge. Powell, the most cautious of Carrington's officers, refused to let any of his men be drawn out of formation by the decoys, and turned back as ordered when he reached the top of the ridge. The Indians' plan had failed - this time.
Snow had fallen during the night.
December 20, 1866:
The snow melted off during the day. No Indian attacks on the wood train and no sign of Indians this day. In the evening, Captain Fetterman, accompanied by Captain Frederick Brown, regimental quartermaster, came to Colonel Carrington to request permission to settle the indian problem once and for all. Now Fetterman was asking for one-hundred men instead of eighty. His belief was the only way to whip the indians was to go after them. Carrington denied permission, pleading that the fort already had its hands full and cannot spare men or horses from the regular duties and commitments.
December 21, 1866:
The load of logs being brought back today are to be the last of the season. Carrington provided a strong guard for this last logging party, a force of more than eighty men. The wood train left the fort shortly after 10:00 AM.
At about 11:00 AM the lookout on Pilot Hill signaled that the train was under attack. Carrington, pleased with the way Captain Powell handled the situation two days before, again placed him in charge of the relief column. This time Captain Fetterman, reporting with his company, came over to Carrington and demanded that he be given command of the entire force since he outranked Powell. Carrington, his hands tied by the Army policy, had no choice but to give the command to Fetterman. Later he admitted he was not happy with the change. Fetterman's company had forty-eight enlisted men. Second Lieutenant George Grummond commanded the cavalry company with twenty-seven men. This brought to 76 the number of men under Fetterman's command. While last minute inspections of arms were being made, Private Maddeon and two civilian employees, James Wheatly and Isaac Fisher, both Civil War veterans, requested and were granted permission to join Fetterman's forces. Through the strange perfection of fate Captain Fetterman had his eighty men. Unknown to them considerable numbers of the Sioux Nation lay waiting on the other side of Lodge Trail Ridge.
Colonel Carrington's orders to Captain Fetterman were explicit: "Support the wood train. Relieve it and report to me. Do not engage or pursue indians at its expense. Under no circumstances pursue over Lodge Trail Ridge". As Fetterman moved out with his company, Carrington sent his adjutant across the parade to stop him and repeat his orders. He wanted to make sure Captain Fetterman was clear with his orders. Carrington also stopped Grummond at the gate and again repeated his order: under no circumstances was he to cross Lodge Trail Ridge.
About the time Fetterman and his troops were leaving the fort, Indians were spotted hiding in the brush across the Big Piney Creek. Colonel Carrington immediately ordered out a Howitzer to fire some canisters at them. As the shots were fired more Indians were stirred from the brush and retreated up the trail at full gallop. During this action Fetterman's forces had disappeared behind the Sullivant Hills. This was thought to be a good strategic maneuver as long as his basic orders were adhered to. A short time later Carrington realized that Fetterman's party had left without a surgeon, so he sent the assistant post surgeon C. M. Hines with an escort of four men to join with Fetterman.
Around 11:30 A.M. the lookout signalled the fort that the Indians had broken off their attack on the wood train and that the train was proceeding on its way.
At about noon, Surgeon Hines came galloping back and reported to Carrington that he was unable to see any sign of Fetterman's command and could not look further because Lodge Trail Ridge and the valley of the Big Piney was alive with hundreds of Indians. The sound of rifle fire was now plainly heard at the fort. The sound was coming from the northwest in the direction of Peno Creek. Realizing the intensity of the fire, Carrington knew there was big trouble and immediately ordered Captain Tenedor Ten Eyck to take a force to relieve Fetterman. Ten Eyck left the fort with a force of 54 men, an ambulance and wagons. Carrington sent another column of forty men to join up with Ten Eyck. He led them across Big Piney Creek, then to the right and onto a ridge that paralleled the trail. As they reached the high point of the ridge the sound of gunfire died out. This was about 12:45 P.M. The soldiers on the ridge gasped at the thousands of Indians they saw. When Ten Eyck and his forces were detected on the ridge, the Indians began swarming toward the base of the ridge and started taunting the soldiers to come down and fight. Why the Indians, in such overwhelming numbers did not attack, is a mystery.
The Indians began to thin out as they withdrew to the west on their ponies. Ten Eyck's forces were finally able to view the remains of the aftermath: all the soldiers were dead. Dusk came early on this cloudy, blustery day, the shortest day of the year as Captain Ten Eyck led his forces down the ridge. The totality of the disaster became clear as they approached the stripped, scalped and mutilated bodies. The bodies of Fetterman and Brown were found with bullet wounds and powder burns on their temples. They apparently shot each other to prevent being captured.
The bodies of Fetterman's command, beginning to freeze into rigid shapes, were loaded onto the ambulance and wagons. There were 49 bodies collected and returned to the fort that evening. Meanwhile, Carrington was doing all he could to keep the fort secured and prepared for the worst. Carrington was feeling a growing sense of doom as the events played out and upon receiving a message from Ten Eyck. He sent the message to report back to Carrington once he and his troops had reached the top of the ridge overlooking the numerous Indians.
Later Indian accounts of the battle reported that Captain Fetterman did stop at the crest of Lodge Trail Ridge. The Indians, fearful that their plan would fail went all out to antagonize Fetterman and his forces. Then, Indians mustered earlier by the cannister shot from the fort, joined the decoys in tempting Fetterman. The site of more Indians to kill was probably more temptation than they could hold and pursued them past the ridge and into their trap.
In conclusion:
August, 1868:
In the Treaty of 1868, the U.S agreed to close the forts along the Bozeman Trail as the Union Pacific Railroad reached a point to the west where travelers could bypass the Bozeman Trail. Fort Phil Kearny was abandoned in August, 1868 and burned soon after by the Cheyenne.