"Field of flags to honor the fallen, Fort Scott National Historic Park, 2014." by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
Fort ScottBrochure |
Official Brochure of Fort Scott National Historic Site (NHS) in Kansas. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Historic Site
Kansas
Fort Scott
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Drill was a large part of
every dragoon s life. He
drilled nearly every day
in garrison on his horsemanship and individual
skills and as part of his
platoon, squadron, and
regiment. In the exercise
Guidon
A guidon identified each
company in the regiment.
Made of silk, it measured
2 feet 3 inches by 3V2
feet. It was carried on
a lance by the first
corporal.
called running at the
heads, dragoons practiced with the pistol and
saber on a course set
with dummy heads on
posts. These figures are
from the Army's Cavalry
Tactics, 1841.
Osage dance coat
c I
-. •"
1
O
E
00
Insignia
The dragoons' insignia,
which they wore on their
dress caps, was a gilt star
with a superimposed silver eagle. It is about 5
inches high. The design
is Napoleonic.
The Post Community
These figures by an artist
suggest the diversity of
the garrison at Fort Scott.
The dragoon officer, in
full dress uniform at left,
was one of the most resplendent military figures of the day. His lady
often rivaled her husband's display during
Sunday promenades.The
post sutler was familiar to
soldiers and civilians
alike. His store stocked
all kinds of l u x u r i e s candy, tobacco, whiskey,
playing cards, cloth,
boots and shoes —not
usually available through
the quartermaster. The
sergeant at right was a
mainstay of the infantry
ranks.
The Middle Border
A military road, begun in
1836, connected the
army posts built along
the Indian border. When
finished in 1844, it
stretched over 800 miles
from Minnesota to the
Red River in Louisiana.
The Osage
The Osage, according to
the artist George Catlin
who visited them in the
1830s, were a handsome
people, tall, well-proportioned, graceful and
quick in movement.
Good warriors and hunt-
ers, they were the dominant tribe in this region
before the advent of the
white man. By the 1840s
they posed no military
threat to the border.
They came often to the
fort to trade, and the dra-
goons frequently rode
onto their land to evict
squatters. Above are
Catlin s portraits of
Tal-Lee, a warrior, and
Clermont, head chief of
the tribe. The shield is
Osage, made of buffalo.
Policing the Frontier
In its brief but varied life, Fort Scott mirrored
the course of western settlement along the
middle border. From 1 8 4 2 - 5 3 , troops from this
post helped keep peace on the Indian frontier.
Between 1 8 5 4 and 1 8 6 1 , the years of Bleeding Kansas,' the fort and town w e r e caught up
in the violent struggle between free-soilers'
and slave-holders. During the Civil War, the fort
became an important supply center for Union
armies in the West. In the 1870s, the U.S. Army
returned to the town of Fort Scott, this time to
protect workers building a railroad across disputed land.
W h e n the army established this fort, this was
Indian country, the ancestral land of the Osage,
but assigned in recent years to eastern tribes
that the government had exiled westward beyond the line of white settlement. This line was
known as the permanent Indian frontier.' It
was garrisoned at intervals from Minnesota to
Louisiana by forts manned by infantry and a
special breed of mounted troops, the colorfully
dressed, heavily armed dragoons, trained to
fight on foot and well suited to take on the
superb horsemen of the Plains tribes.
In 1 8 4 2 two companies of dragoons—about
1 3 0 officers and men—arrived at this site and
began putting up the first quarters. T h e new
post (named for G e n . Winf ield Scott) stood on a
bluff, surrounded by prairie and rolling hills.
Strategically, it filled the gap between Fort
Leavenworth (built 1 8 2 7 ) in northern Kansas
and Fort Gibson (1824) 1 5 0 miles south. The
fort was planned around a spacious paradeground. Officers' quarters lined o n e side, dragoon barracks and stables another. Most buildings were frame, Greek Revival in style, and
comfortable, with high ceilings, walnut woodwork, porches, and fireplaces. By 1 8 4 8 the fort
we see today was essentially finished.
Capt. Benjamin Moore
The first post commander, Moore helped select
the fort site and took part
in several expeditions into Indian country. While
serving under Kearny in
California in 1846, he
was killed at the battle of
San Pasqual.
The fort's primary purpose was to keep peace
between the relocated Indians from the east,
nomadic tribes, and white settlers. As it turned
out, the Indians were quiet, and the main duties
were to guard caravans on the Santa F e Trail
and patrol the far Indian country. Two expeditions rode escort on the trail in 1843, and the
next year dragoons from Scott and Leavenworth marched into Pawnee country to try to
end fighting between that tribe and the Sioux.
These campaigns were a rehearsal for the great
expedition of 1 8 4 5 under Stephen W. Kearny,
who marched his horse soldiers 2 2 0 0 miles in
9 9 days in a grand tour of the wilderness
empire of the Plains Indians.
Chestnut Gray
Bay
Whether hard or merely boring, this life came
to an end in 1 8 5 3 . The frontier had passed
through, and there was little need for a fort
here. The garrison was transferred to Leavenworth, and t h e post buildings w e r e sold at
auction.
Such was the end of Fort Scott, but not of the
military life of the post and town. Bleeding
Kansas, the Civil War, land squabbles in the
1870s—these issues brought the U.S. Army
back to the scene. Those themes and o t h e r s worthy of more space than is available here—
are recounted daily in programs at the park.
While the dragoons were showing the flag on
the Plains, events in Texas w e r e drifting toward
war with Mexico. Part of Scott's dragoons
marched with Kearny into California, part
served with Zachary Taylor at Buena Vista.
Horse Colors
When the Regiment of
Dragoons was organized
in 1833, colors were designated for the horses of
each company: black for
A and K; chestnut for B,
F, and H; bay for C, D, E,
and //and gray for G.
Troopers liked horses of
a solid color best, with no
Black
Both campaigns were American successes.
These actions were a far cry from the usual
monotony of garrison duty. A soldier's life was a
round of guard duty, drills, details, construction, and maintenance. If anything, the infantry
had it worse, for the dragoons could at least go
on marches.
white noses or feet. One
veteran was firm in what
he wanted in horseflesh:
Sound feet, flat, sinewy
legs, sound hocks and
knees, arms and quarters
well muscled, short, sinewy back, high withers,
rangy neck, bony head,
bold eye...deepchest.'
Dragoon Private
Dragoons were the elite
troops of the frontier
army. Trained to fight
either on foot or horseback, they were employed to keep peace
along the border, patrol
the trails west, explore unmapped territory, and
show American power
among the Plains tribes.
The private illustrated
above is wearing the field
uniform of the 1840s. He
is armed with the breechloading Hall carbine (the
first percussion firearm
adopted by the army), a
single-shot pistol, and
the dragoon saber, an
arm more traditional than
useful in Plains combat.
His weaponry and his
ability to fight in disciplined formations awed
the Indians, who were
not anxious to engage
dragoons in battle and
rarely did.
11 lustrations of the mounted dragoon and the people of the fort by DonTroiani.
Weapons
Most dragoons went into
the field with the weapons at left: t h e l 840 heavy
saber, known as old
wristbreaker'; the Hall
carbine, .52 caliber, and
the 1842 percussion pistol, .54 caliber.
About Your Visit
Fort Scott National Historic Site is located on
Old Fort Boulevard in the
city of Fort Scott. Kansas, which is about 90
miles south of Kansas
City and 60 miles north
of Joplin, Missouri. Major
highways U S. 69 and 54
intersect at Fort Scott.
Fort Scott
Follow this map for a
close look at the fort and
the life of the frontier
army. The main buildings
are numbered below and
briefly identified at right.
Building the Fort
The soldiers themselves,
assisted by a comparatively few skilled craftsmen, built the fort. The
raw materials were close
by. Walnut, ash, and oak
grew thickly along the
bottom lands of the Marmaton, and there was
stone in the hills around.
Capt Thomas Swords
(right), the post quartermaster from 1842-46. directed most of the construction. He built barracks for the enlisted
men, houses for the officers, stables for the horses, a hospital, a magazine, and the various
storehouses and support
buildings required by an
isolated post. Most of the
buildings went up within
© B u i l t in 1843 for the
treatment of the sick and
wounded, now used as
the fort s visitor center.
One of the two original
wards is refurnished.
Restoration
a few years. But work
soon slowed to a crawl
for lack of men, money,
and materials before
ceasing entirely in 1850.
All told, the fort cost
about $32,000, a low figure even for those times
and indicative of how little the Nation was willing
to spend on the frontier
army.
© The original barracks
on this site was constructed in 1844, some
work being done by units
of the 4th Infantry. The
present building houses
a museum. Reconstruction
The Kearny Expedition
Kearny s sweep through
the high Plains in the
summer of 1845 was a
skillful display of dragoon
power. Gathering 5 companies of the 1 st Dragoons—including Co. A
from Fort Scott —Kearny
led them up the Platte to
Fort Laramie and beyond, down the Rockies
to the Arkansas, and
home again over the
Santa Fe Trail Along the
way, they escorted emigrants on the Oregon
Trail, parleyed with Sioux
and Cheyenne, and made
geographical sightings.
Well planned and well
led, the long march proved that mounted troops
could move easily and
rapidly about the Plains.
© The original stables
(built 1843) held over 80
stalls for horses and several rooms for storing
feed, tack, and hay.
Reconstruction
© First occupied by Co.
A of the 1 st Dragoons
in 1844. The soldiers
bunked on the upper
level, took their meals in
the mess hall on the
ground floor. Reconstruction
© The commanding officer and his adjutant ran
the post from this building. It held their offices, a
court-martial room, and
storerooms for artillery.
Reconstruction
The Mexican War
Dragoons from Fort Scott
fought in two important
battles during the Mexican War. C Company, stationed here 1842-43,
marched with Kearny's
Army of the West. At San
Pasqual (near San Diego)
in late 1846, it met the
Mexicans in wild, handto-hand fighting. The
outcome was mixed for
Kearny: he was able to
continue his lineof
march, but among his
dead was Benjamin
Moore, the fort's first
commander. A Company
campaigned with Zachary Taylor in northern
Mexico. It was present in
Feb. 1847 at the hardfought battle of Buena
Vista (right).
w Officers and their families lived comfortably in
houses like this. Captain
Swords and his wife occupied one unit of this
duplex. Restoration
mer there are extended
hours and some evening
programs
is Old Fort Boulevard.
Fort Scott. Kansas 66701.
is in immediate charge
The fort is open every
day from 8 a.m. to 5 p m
except Thanksgiving.
Christmas, and New
Year s Day During sum-
Fort Scott National Historic Site is administered
by the National Park Service. U S Department of
the Interior A superintendent, whose address
For your safety: use handrails on steep stairways.
© The post s diverse
military supplies—everything needed to put a
fighting force into the
field—were delivered to,
stored in. and issued from
this building. Restoration
© Bread was a staple of
the soldiers diet. His
daily ration (18 ounces)
was baked in ovens here
by bakers chosen from
each company on a rotating basis. Restoration
© This shop is the only
original structure remaining from the Quartermaster Quadrangle.
Hesforaf/on
The fort is right in the
center of town, close to
motels, eating places,
and parking.
Bleeding Kansas
The turbulence from
1855-61 at Fort Scott
had its origins in the larger national controversy
over slavery. In 1854
Congress opened Kansas and Nebraska territories to white settlement
and allowed them to
choose by vote whether
they would be slave or
free. Newcomers of both
persuasions flowed in
and struggled for political
control. Emotions ran
high and atrocities were
committed on both sides.
Bleeding Kansas' soon
a;
became a byword for the
o
CJ war raging along the
border. To quell this turmoil. Federal troops returned to the town of Fort
I O Scott in 1857 and again
in 1858 and quieted
down the local civilian
unrest Some of the hostility between rival factions in town is evident in
this 1858 woodcut from
Harper's Weekly: partisan mobs threaten harm
at a Peace Convention
held at the Western
Hotel, a converted infantry barracks.
© Military discipline
was strict in the frontier
army. Solitary confinement and a diet of bread
and water were common
punishments for enlisted
men. Reconstruction
The Civil War
The U.S. Army returned
to Fort Scott in numbers
during the Civil War. The
fort served as the headquarters of the Army of
the Frontier, a supply depot, a refugee center for
displaced Indians, and a
base for one of the first
Black regiments raised
during the war. By 1863
the post quartermaster
employed 350 wagons,
400 horses, 2200 mules,
and 460 men. Shops,
warehouses, stables, and
mess halls spread far beyond the original post.
The town itself, said a
visitor, had many well
stocked stores, a good
hotel, a countless number of beer saloons, a
couple dozen billiard ta-
© The magazine, completed in 1844 and demolished in 1868. gave
safe storage to the fort s
explosives: powder, cartridges, fuses, and primers. Reconstruction
bles, and two or three ten
pin alleys. .. .'The 1st
Kansas Colored Infantry,
mustered here that same
year, compiled a proud
record It took part in five
engagements and suffered more casualties
than any other Kansas
regiment.
GPO 1982
361 5 7 8 / 1 8 5