Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the western U.S. during the middle and late 19th century. The outpost was located along the Oregon Trail near present-day Kearney, Nebraska, which took its name from the fort (with a modification of spelling). It was the first major military post along the trail, and was a primary source of provisions for emigrants on the early section of the trail for several decades during the height of the trail use until its abandonment in 1871. It was founded along the Platte River to protect emigrants on the trail westward. It became an important stop along the eastern part of the trail for the following decade, offering the sale of food, reliable mail service and other amenities. During the height of the trail use in the 1850s, as many as 2,000 emigrants and 10,000 oxen might pass through in a single day during the height of the trail season in late May. Acquired by the State of Nebraska in 1929, part of the original site is now operated as Fort Kearny State Historical Park by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of the term, see Oregon Trail (disambiguation) The route of the Oregon Trail is shown in red in the western United States The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... Parade of U.S. Infantry through Kearney, Nebraska, 1888. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the Platte River in Nebraska. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) is a public agency of the government of the State of Nebraska in the United States. ...

Description

The fort was intended mostly as a supply post, and not as defensive position in the Indian Wars. Throughout most of its history, the fort consisted mostly of wooden buildings surrounding a central parade ground without fortified walls. Throughout the decades of its use until the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the character of the buildings became slightly more permanent, changing from adobe and sod structures to wooden frame construction. Although it was in the heart of area inhabited by Native Americans, and was near the center of hostile action in the 1860s, no direct attack was ever made on the fort. Poster announcing railroads opening The First Transcontinental Railroad was a transcontinental railroad in North America that was finished in 1869. ... Renewal of the surface coating of an adobe wall in Chamisal, New Mexico Adobe is a building material composed of water, sandy clay and straw or other organic materials, which is shaped into bricks using wooden frames and dried in the sun . ... Rolled sod Sod farm in Cutchogue. ... An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Native Americans in the United States (also known as Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States and their descendants in... // Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States is built in the six year period between 1863 and 1869. ...

History

First Fort Kearny

The fort along the Platte River was the second of two army posts in present-day Nebraska to be named after Colonel Stephen W. Kearny of the U.S. Army. In 1838, Kearny had scouted the area along the Missouri River at the mouth of Table Creek near present-day Nebraska City looking for a suitable location for an outpost to protect westeward travelers. In 1846, following Kearney's recommendation, the United States War Department had ordered the building of an outpost on the site and directed Kearney to construct one there. The Army then sent Colonel Kearney with a detachment of men from Fort Leavenworth up the Missouri to the area with orders to construct an outpost at the selected site. This article is about the Platte River in Nebraska. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 16th 200,520 km² 340 km 690 km 0. ... Portrait of Stephen Kearny Stephen Watts Kearny (August 30, 1794–October 31, 1848) was a United States Army officer, noted for action in the southwest during the Mexican American War, in particular in the conquest of California. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the United States. ... Nebraska City is a city located in Otoe County, Nebraska. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Department of War was the military department of the United States governments executive branch from 1789 until 1949, when it became part of the United States Department of Defense. ... In 1827, Colonel Henry Leavenworth established a post on the bluffs overlooking the western bank of the Missouri River to protect the fur trade, safeguard commerce on the Santa Fe Trail and maintain the peace among the inhabitants. ...

The Army constructed a two-story wooden blockhouse on the site, which became known as Camp Kearny and later Fort Kearny. The Army quickly realized, however, the location was not chosen well, since few emigrants passed the site on their west way. Instead, the main routes of the trails preferred by emigrants lay to the north near Omaha and to the south. Construction was subsequently halted on the site, with the exception of the erection of a number of log huts for temporary quarters for a battalion of troops who wintered there in 1847– 1848. For other uses, see Omaha (disambiguation). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Second Fort Kearny

In September 1847, Kearny sent topographical engineer Lt. Daniel P. Woodbury westward along the Platte looking for a more suitable location for the outpost. Woodbury selected a site in present-day central Nebraska near the spot where the Trail westward from Independence, Missouri joined the trail westward from Omaha and Council Bluffs. Woodbury described the spot in his journals as: 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Independence is a city located in Missouri, in the Kansas City metropolitan area. ... Satellite photo showing Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska Council Bluffs is a city located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. ...

I have located the post opposite a group of wooded islands in the Platte River . . . three hundred seventeen miles from Independence, Missouri, one hundred seventeen miles from Fort Kearny on the Missouri and three miles from the head of the group of islands called Grand Island.

In December Woodbury went to Washington, D.C. with orders to secure organization of the new post. Woodbury requested an appropriation of $15,000 for construction, while advocating the employment of Mormon emigrants for construction. Although he did not receive these provisions, Woodbury received permission to build the form from scratch with soldier labor. Grain elevator along the Union Pacific Railroad in downtown Grand Island Grand Island is a city located in Hall County, Nebraska. ... Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Official website: http://www. ... Mormon is a colloquial term used to refer to members of most of the sects of the Latter Day Saint movement, a Christian religious movement which began in the 1830s. ...

The Army abandoned the Table Creek post in May 1848 and arrived at the new site in June. Woodbury directed construction of the fort with 175 men as labor. They built wooden buildings around a four acre (16,000 m²) parade ground, with cottonwood trees planted around the perimeter. Woodbury initially named the fort "Fort Childs" after Col. Thomas Childs, a famous soldier in the Mexican-American War, as well as Woodbury's father-in-law. A directive from War Department, however, directed that the name "Fort Kearny" would be transferred to the new fort. Species Populus deltoides L. Populus fremontii [[]] Populus nigra L. The cottonwoods are three species of poplars in the section Aegiros of the genus Populus, native to North America, Europe and western Asia. ... Thomas Childs was a U.S. soldier who served with distinction during the Mexican-American War. ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Strength 60,000 40,000 Casualties KIA: 1,733 Total dead: 13,283 Wounded: 4,152 25,000 (Mexican government estimate) {{{notes}}} The Mexican-American War was fought between the United States...

The fort grew rapidly into an important trail stop. By June 1849, Woodbury noted in his journals that 4,000 wagons had passed the fort so far that year, mostly on their way to California. The fort accumulated large stores of goods for travelers, with the directive of selling them at a beneficial cost to the emigrants. Specifically, the commander of the fort was authorized to sell goods at cost to emigrants, and in some cases of hardship, to give goods to them for free. In 1850, the fort acquired regular once-a-month mail service with the arrival of a stagecoach route between Independence, Missouri and Salt Lake City. It was the first regular mail service established along the trail. 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Buffalo soldiers guard a Concord style stagecoach somewhere in the American West, ca. ... Nickname: Crossroads of the West Motto: Official website: http://www. ...

Role in the Indian Wars

The early years of the fort were relatively peaceful. After 1854, and the creation of the Nebraska Territory by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the area around the fort in northern Kansas and southern Nebraska increasingly became the hostile activity of the Cheyenne and Sioux tribes. In the summer of 1864, the irritation of the Native Americans at the encroachment by white settlers culminated in violent attacks on wagon trains along the Platte and the Little Blue River. During this time, soldiers from the fort began escorting wagon trains, and the fort became a center for refugees fleeing from attacks. Earthwork fortifications were constructed at the fort, and the Army ordered the deployment of the First Nebraska Cavalry and the Seventh Iowa Cavalry to the fort. By 1865, the conflict between Native Americans and white settlers had shifted westward away from the area of the fort. 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nebraska Territory was a historic, organized territory of the United States from May 30, 1854 until March 1, 1867 when Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state. ... The Kansas–Nebraska Act was an Act of Congress passed on January 23, 1854 organizing a territorial government for the lands that later became the states of Kansas and Nebraska. ... The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. ... The Sioux (also Dakota) are a Native American tribe. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Later years and abandonment

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska starting in 1867 largely marked the end of the need for a fort to protect and supply wagon train emigrants. Following the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the U.S. Army issued an order for abandonment of the post on May 22, 1871. In 1875, the buildings were torn down and the materials removed to barracks at North Platte and Sidney. The troops of the fort were restationed to Omaha and its stores were relocated to Fort McPhearson 70 miles (110 km) to the west. In December 1876, the grounds were given over to the United States Department of the Interior for disbursement to homesteaders. Within several years, little remained of the fort except for cottonwood trees and the 1864 earthwork fortifications. The Union Pacific Railroad NYSE: UNP is the largest railroad in the United States. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Grain elevator along the Union Pacific Railroad in downtown North Platte North Platte is a small city located in Lincoln County in southwestern Nebraska on I-80 where the South Platte River and the North Platte River join to form the Platte River. ... Sidney is a city located in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally-owned land. ... Broadly, homesteading is a lifestyle of agrarian self-sufficiency. ...

In 1928, the Fort Kearny Memorial Association was formed by Nebraska citizens to raise money to purchase and restore part of the grounds. The organization was able to purchase 40 acres (162,000 m²) of the original site, which it offered to the State of Nebraska. The State Legislature authorized the purchase, which became final on March 26, 1929. In cooperation with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which operates the current State Historic Park, the Nebraska State Historical Society conducts ongoing archaeological investigations of the grounds. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Archaeology, archeology or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

Depiction in fiction

In the novel Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne, a train in the process of being hijacked by Sioux stops at Fort Kearny to request aid from the troops there. Such an event is somewhat of an anachronism, given that the conflicts with Native Americans had largely shifted away from the area by the time of the completion of the railroad. Around the World in Eighty Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours) is a classic adventure novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1872. ... Jules Verne. ...

See also

• Fort Phil Kearny

Fort Phil Kearny was an outpost of the United States Army that existed in the late 1860s in present-day northeastern Wyoming along the Bozeman Trail. ...

External links

• Fort Kearney site from Idaho State University
• History of Fort Kearny
• Fort Kearny State Historical Park