The number and variety of forts and posts, together with changes of location, name, and designation, have posed perplexing problems for students of western history. Now Robert W. Frazer has prepared a systematic listing of all presidios and military forts, which were ever, at any time and in any sense, so designated. The lists of posts are arranged alphabetically within the boundaries of present states. Pertinent information is included for each fort: date of establishment, location, and reason for establishment; name, rank, and military unit of the person establishing the post; origin of the post name and changes in name and location; present status or date of abandonment; and disposition of any existing military reservation. A map for each state shows the location of the posts discussed. A prime reference for historians, Forts of the West will prove useful to readers of western history as well.

A comprehensive guide to over one thousand forts, camps, and posts in the western United States; includes detailed historical background accompanied by more than 250 photos and drawings.

"Author Hart finds the crumbling adobe walls of the western forts to be virtually permeated with these rapidly being forgotten memories, and extracts them with story and picture just in time to prevent them from returning to the dust from which they came."--Inside front dust cover.

An up-to-date guide to the critical forts of the Indian campaigns of the late 19th century. Recounts the integral role of 51 forts during the decades of warfare with the Plains Indian tribes and tells of the posts fates after the Indian wars, providing narrative vignettes of incidents or points of historical importance. It also provides directions and visitor information for the following states: Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming.

At least fifty-six frontier forts once stood in, or within view of, what is now the state of Iowa. The earliest date to the 1680s, while the latest date to the Dakota uprising of 1862. Some were vast compounds housing hundreds of soldiers; others consisted of a few sheds built by a trader along a riverbank. Regardless of their size and function—William Whittaker and his contributors include any compound that was historically called a fort, whether stockaded or not, as well as all military installations—all sought to control and manipulate Indians to the advantage of European and American traders, governments, and settlers. Frontier Forts of Iowa draws extensively upon the archaeological and historical records to document this era of transformation from the seventeenth-century fur trade until almost all Indians had been removed from the region. The earliest European-constructed forts along the Mississippi, Des Moines, and Missouri rivers fostered a complex relationship between Indians and early traders. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1804, American military forts emerged in the Upper Midwest, defending the newly claimed territories from foreign armies, foreign traders, and foreign-supported Indians. After the War of 1812, new forts were built to control Indians until they could be moved out of the way of American settlers; forts of this period, which made extensive use of roads and trails, teamed a military presence with an Indian agent who negotiated treaties and regulated trade. The final phase of fort construction in Iowa occurred in response to the Spirit Lake massacre and the Dakota uprising; the complete removal of the Dakota in 1863 marked the end of frontier forts in a state now almost completely settled by Euro-Americans. By focusing on the archaeological evidence produced by many years of excavations and by supporting their words with a wealth of maps and illustrations, the authors uncover the past and connect it with the real history of real places. In so doing they illuminate the complicated and dramatic history of the Upper Midwest in a time of enormous change. Past is linked to present in the form of a section on visiting original and reconstructed forts today. Contributors: Gayle F. Carlson Jeffrey T. Carr Lance M. Foster Kathryn E. M. Gourley Marshall B. McKusick Cindy L. Nagel David J. Nolan Cynthia L. Peterson Leah D. Rogers Regena Jo Schantz Christopher M. Schoen Vicki L. Twinde-Javner William E. Whittaker

During his thirty-eight-year career as a military officer, Henry Clay Merriam received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Civil War, rose to prominence in the Western army, and exerted significant influence on the American West by establishing military posts, protecting rail lines, and maintaining an uneasy peace between settlers and Indians. Historian Jack Stokes Ballard’s new study of Merriam’s life and career sheds light on the experience of the western fort builders, whose impact on the US westward expansion, though less dramatic, was just as lasting as that of Indian fighters such as Custer and Sheridan. Further, Merriam’s lengthy period in command of black troops offers a study in leadership and important understandings about the conditions under which African Americans served on the Western frontier. During the course of his service, Merriam crisscrossed the country, from Brownsville, Texas, to the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver Barracks, serving in eastern Washington, California, and Denver. Drawing extensively on the many letters and records associated with Merriam’s long army career, Ballard presents his service in a wide range of settings, many of which have become the stuff of Western history: from conflict with Mexican revolutionaries on the Rio Grande to the miners’ riots in Coeur d’Alene. Ballard’s careful research provides a vivid picture of the military’s role in the westward expansion.

This book is about the diverse communities associated with English and British forts of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It casts new light on forts and their communities by asking new questions and applying innovative methodological approaches.

What was it like to live in a nineteenth-century fort, in the midst of the wild frontier? Take a peek inside its strong, high walls to see how it was built; what a pioneer cabin was like; what the people there did all day; and how the forts sometimes grew into bustling towns. Cutaway illustrations capture the fort in its spectacular entirety.