Three army outposts built before and during the Civil War protected critical routes along the western trails at the North Platte River near what later became Casper. All had been abandoned by 1867, and their dramatic stories are mostly forgotten. The Post at Platte Bridge was a vital outpost on Albert Sidney Johnston's Utah War supply route. Camp Dodge and Platte Bridge Station, also called Fort Caspar, guarded telegraph lines from Native American sabotage. Violent winds, horrendous blizzards and scorching summers made life miserable. Tension reached a fever pitch at the Battle of Platte Bridge when Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a cavalry detachment led by Caspar Collins. Today, a reconstructed Fort Caspar stands as a vigilant reminder of the struggles at those lonely frontier stations. Local historian Johanna Wickman chronicles military efforts to keep the peace, wage war and merely survive.

One of the two most important books about life at the frontier post of Fort Phil Kearny. At 21 in 1866, Fannie Grummond was the witness to and victim of the famous Fetterman Fight. Forces commanded by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse took the offensive against the encroachment on their lands of the Bozeman Trail. On December 21, 1866, 81 soldiers from Fort Phil Kearny were killed in a short battle, including Fannie's husband. This is a very personal and poignant account of life on the frontier for a woman from the east. She was tenderly cared for by Margaret Carrington, wife of the post commander, who wrote "AB-SA-RA-KA: Home of the Crows" about her life at Kearny. When Margaret Carrington died in 1870, correspondence began between Fannie and the widowed husband, Henry B. Carrington. They later married. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the movement that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.