Fort McPherson, originally called Cantonment McKean and popularly known as Fort Cottonwood and Post Cottonwood, was an Indian Wars-era U.S. Army installation in the Nebraska Territory, located near the site of present-day North Platte, Nebraska.

Location

It was located on the banks of the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

, at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon, a strategic location near the junction of South and North Platte Rivers. Cottonwood Springs, a natural spring in an abandoned bed of the river, was the only spring for many miles along the river and a favored spot used by the

plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

We started early on October 11th, and passed Gilmans' ranch, which was built of cedar, and, going fifteen miles farther, camped at a spring called Cottonwood Springs. A man by the name of Charles MacDonald had built a cedar ranch at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon, which canyon came down to the river near Cottonwood Springs. Cottonwood Springs was merely a seep in a gully which had been an old bed of the river, and which had curved up towards Cottonwood Canyon. The water-bed of the river being largely composed of gravel, the water came down in the underflow, and seeped out at a place down in the bank where there had grown a large cottonwood tree. This spring had been dug out, and was the only spring as far as known along the Platte for two hundred miles. It was at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon that we were to build our military post. The place was a great crossing for the Indians going north and south. The valley here was several miles wide. There was a large island in the river of several thousand acres, upon which grew the finest grass to be found in the country, and there were some scrubby willows and cottonwoods; so that the Indians coming from the north found it a good stopping-place to feed their ponies either in summer or winter, because in the winter the ponies could eat the cottonwood brush. In addition to this, Cottonwood Canyon gave a fine passage to the south. A road went up on the floor of the canyon, between the trees, until it rose onto the tableland twenty miles south. The canyon furnished fuel and protection. It was for the purpose of breaking up this Indian run-way that we were ordered to build a post at the mouth of the canyon.

History

The decision to build the fort was following the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

. It was an outpost to protect travelers along the

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

s, between

Fort Kearny 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 fort was named after Col. and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located along the Ore ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and to keep the peace with the local Native Americans. The fort was built by troops of the

7th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry The 7th Iowa Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the Indian Wars. In Chapter IX of MacKinlay Kantor's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Andersonville" (1955), the father of one of the main characters is commis ...

using cedar logs cut in Cottonwood Canyon. It was completed in October 1863. Originally named Cantonment McKean, on February 26, 1866 it was renamed Fort McPherson in the honor of Major General

James B. McPherson James Birdseye McPherson (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McPherson was on the General's staff of Henry Halleck and late ...

. However, it was always popularly known as Fort Cottonwood. Numerous expeditions were launched from Fort McPherson during the Indian Wars. The most important was the expedition of General

Eugene Asa Carr Eugene Asa Niel Carr (March 20, 1830 – December 2, 1910) was a soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Ear ...

which finished with the defeat of the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

Indians at the Battle of Summit Springs. In 1873, Captain Charles Meinhold and his small command from the fort were the first to travel up the

Massacre Canyon The Massacre Canyon battle took place in Nebraska on August 5, 1873 near the Republican River. It was one of the last hostilities between the Pawnee and the Sioux (or Lakota) and the last battle/massacre between Great Plains Indians in North Ame ...

after a large-scale Pawnee-

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

battle. "We advanced from the mouth of the ravine to its head and found fifty-nine dead Pawnees...", wrote Army doctor

David Franklin Powell David Franklin Powell, also known as D. Frank Powell and White Beaver (May 25, 1847 – 1906) was a pharmacist, physician, field surgeon, maker of patent medicines and sometime politician, associated with Buffalo Bill Cody. He served three terms ...

. The fort was abandoned in 1880. A cemetery was created along with the fort. In 1873, were set aside for Fort McPherson National Cemetery, and the remains interred in the original post cemetery were moved to it.http://www.cem.va.gov/CEMs/nchp/ftmcpherson.asp Fort McPherson National Cemetery - Historical Information

Notes

External links

* at the

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

7th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry (Sioux City Cavalry) details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Mcpherson, Nebraska California Trail McPherson Buildings and structures in Lincoln County, Nebraska Oregon Trail 1863 establishments in Nebraska Territory 1880 disestablishments in the United States Pre-statehood history of Nebraska

Location

History

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links