Camp Porter,

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries T ...

, was established as a single-year camp in the

Department of Dakota A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866, to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory. The Depar ...

by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, to provide protection to

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

construction crews during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

Established

Camp Porter was established on the right bank of the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains an ...

(approximately 3 miles above the mouth of Glendive Creek) by Company A, Eleventh Infantry, from Fort Sully, and Company B, Seventeenth Infantry, from

Fort Yates Yates is a city in Sioux County, North Dakota, United States. It is the tribal headquarters of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and county seat of Sioux County. Since 1970 the population has declined markedly from more than 1,100 residents, as peo ...

, on 18 October 1880, as a winter camp for troops guarding working parties and materials on the Northern Pacific Railroad (N.P.R.R.).Annual report of the Secretary of War, Volume 1, United States War Dept, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1881.

History

June 1, 1880, Company B, Seventeenth Infantry, left Fort Yates and formed part of a command, under Major Lewis Merrill, guarding construction parties along the N. P. R. R. between the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. It remained on this duty until October 21, when it proceeded to the Yellowstone River and established, with one company 11th Infantry, Camp Porter near the mouth of Glendive Creek. Doors, sashes and nails were furnished, the other building material was obtained by the troops, and they made themselves as comfortable as possible during the winter of 1880-81, without stoves, flooring or plastering.Rodenbough, Theophilus F. and William L. Haskin, eds
The Army of the United States: Historical Sketches of Staff and Line.
New York: Charles E. Merrill and Company, 1896. Chubb, Captain C. St. J., ''The Seventeenth Regiment of Infantry'' July 12, 1881, Major Merrill, Seventh Cavalry, assigned to command of "escort to working parties on extension Northern Pacific Railroad, between Little Missouri and Tongue Rivers." Command consists of Troops E, Second Cavalry, and E, F, G, Seventh Cavalry, and Companies I, Fifth Infantry; D, Seventh Infantry; A, Eleventh Infantry; B, Seventeenth Infantry; and A, Twenty-fifth Infantry. Headquarters at Camp Porter, Mont. Troops from

Fort Keogh Fort Keogh is a former United States Army post located at the western edge of modern Miles City, Montana, Miles City, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is situated on the south bank of the Yellowstone River, at the mouth of the Tongue River (Montan ...

changed monthly. October 17, 1881, Company A, Eleventh Infantry, left Camp Porter, Mont., en route to Fort Sully, arriving there October 25, 1881.Annual report of the Secretary of War, Volume 1, United States War Dept, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1882.

Abandoned

November 29, 1881, Camp Porter, Mont., was broken up as a military post, the object for which it was established having been accomplished, and the company stationed there (B, Seventeenth Infantry) left for

Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...

, arriving there the same day. December 7, 1881, Major Lewis Merrill, Seventh Cavalry (with a detachment of Company B, Seventeenth Infantry, under Lieutenant Brennan, for Fort Lincoln), left Glendive and Camp Porter, Mont., en route to his station, the work of the escort to working parties on the extension of the N. P. E. E., between Little Missouri and Tongue Rivers, having terminated and the command having been broken up. Camp Porter was finally abandoned this date, the buildings, &c., having been sold on the 6th of December.

Established

History

Abandoned

Notes

See also