Fort
Fletcher, which later became Fort Hays, in Ellis County, Kansas, was an
important U.S. Army post established in 1865. The mission of the fort was to protect
military roads, guard the mails, and defend construction crews on the Union
Pacific Railway. Fort Hays also served as a major supply depot for other U. S.
Army posts in western Kansas. It was also to protect the white settlers who
moved into the region.
Originally
designated Fort Fletcher (after Governor Thomas C. Fletcher of Missouri), it
was located five miles south of present-day Walker and became operational on October 11, 1865. Troops stationed at
Fort Fletcher were to protect the stage
and freight wagons on the Butterfield Overland Despatch (BOD) traveling
along the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver. Despite the presence of the soldiers,
Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho Indians continued to confront traffic
along the trail. Due to reduced use of the Smoky Hill Trail, Fort Fletcher was closed May 5, 1866.
On
October 11, 1866, Fort Fletcher was reopened
approximately one-fourth mile north of its previous location, at the confluence
of Big Creek and the North Fork of Big Creek. In November 1866 Fort Fletcher was renamed Fort Hays in honor of Brigadier General Alexander Hays, who was
killed during the Civil War.
The
Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, was being constructed westward roughly
paralleling the Smoky Hill Trail and construction workers needed the protection
of the U.S. Army. As the railroad approached Fort Hays, it became apparent that
it would pass approximately five miles to the north of the post.
A
flood in June 1867 nearly wiped out
Fort Hays killing nine soldiers and civilians. This forced the
relocation of the fort. The army wanted the fort to be used as a supply depot
for other forts in the area, this provided the momentum to relocate the fort close
to the railroad line. Two weeks later,
on June 23, the new Fort Hays was built and occupied fifteen miles west of the
previous location and near the railroad right-of-way. With the arrival of the railway a few months
later, the goal of a large supply depot to service forts to the south and west
was realized.
African
American soldiers, sometimes called Buffalo Soldiers, members of the 9th and
10th U.S. Cavalry regiments had been deployed to the fort in response to an
increase in conflicts with Plains Indians. At various times, Fort Hays served
as home to the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
commanded the 7th Cavalry and visited, but did not live at Fort Hays. Buffalo
Bill Cody also spent time at the fort.
Many
of the records about the fort came from the post surgeon’s reports. These
records detailed the cholera epidemic of 1867. Cholera plagued several of the
forts in Kansas that year. The first case of cholera at Fort Hays appeared July 11, 1867. The post hospital had
not yet been built so soldiers and civilian patients were housed in tents. The epidemic
lasted two months, killing 36 soldiers and approximately 150 civilians.
The
post surgeon’s reports can also tell us about the civilians at Fort Hays. Rose
Glennan was working as a servant in the home of Lieutenant Colonel Bliss in
August 1881. Glennan used kerosene to light a fire in the kitchen stove, but
was engulfed in flame when the oil can exploded. She ran to the front part of
the house, where Bliss threw a blanket around her to extinguish the fire. She suffered
second and third degree burns on her hands, arms, underarms, and legs from
ankles to hips. The surgeon reported that flour was applied and the burns were
dressed with raw cotton. “She was doing well,” the surgeon wrote, “although
ulceration of the duodenum supervened during the second week, death was at one
time imminent.”
There
is little information about the children of Fort Hays. From among them came the
history of the Maier family. Charity Humphries Maier was married to Christian
Maier, a sergeant in the 18th Infantry. Charity gave birth to three daughters
while her husband was stationed at Fort Hays. The oldest, whose name we do not
know, was born in 1885 and died at the age of seven months from cholera. The
next daughter, Jessie, was born in 1886, followed in 1888 by Gertrude, who died
at the age of two months from an “inflammation of stomach and bowels.”
The
post surgeon’s records mentioned the everyday ailments suffered by soldiers,
including “boils, colic, contusions, diarrhea, frostbite, sprains, and ulcers.”
Fort
Hays was abandoned in 1889.
Fort Hays Guardhouse - made of stone |
After
its closing, the land and buildings of Fort Hays were turned over to the
Department of the Interior, which later transferred them to the state of Kansas
in 1900. Most was sold to private businesses and individuals. When Frontier
Historical Park was opened at the site in 1929, Of the original fort buildings,
only the blockhouse and guardhouse remained. The two officers' quarters had
been sold at auction in 1902 and moved into town at the time the other
buildings were being sold for scrap. The officers' quarters were relocated in
1964 and 1987. The visitor center was built in 1967. Today it operates as Fort Hays State Historic
Site.
~o0o~
I have two books so far in which Fort Ellsworth serves as part
of the setting. In Hannah’s Handkerchief, book 24 in the Lockets & Lace series
set in 1865, Jake Burdock often finds his quartermaster duties take him to Fort
Ellsworth. Hannah’s Handkerchief is
now available. To find the book description and purchase link, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
~o0o~
In Mail Order Roslyn, book 9 in the Widows, Brides & Secret Babies series set in 1866, my
heroine finds herself and her baby in the Ellsworth Stage Station near the town and Fort
Ellsworth. At that time, hostile tribes, particularly the Cheyenne, frequently
attacked stagecoaches and stations in an attempt to capture livestock and
either kill or drive away the white Americans invading their favored hunting
grounds. This book is now available. To find the book description and purchase link, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
Sources:
http://www.kansastravel.org/forthays.htm
https://kshs.org/kansapedia/fort-hays-post-surgeon/15494
https://kshs.org/kansapedia/fort-hays/11793
1 comment:
Hi: great post, so much useful information and with photos! Thank you
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