The Cimarron Redoubt (also known as the Deep Hole Redoubt) was an improvised

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 ...

fortification south of the city of Ashland in Clark County,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, United States. Built in 1870 near a major trade route's crossing of the Cimarron River, it was later used for a variety of civilian purposes, including a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

. Today, it lies abandoned amid farm fields in southern Center Township.

History

Southwestern Kansas was the location of some of the fighting of the Comanche War, fought between 1867 and 1875. In order to protect traffic on the Fort Supply/

Fort Dodge Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...

trail, U.S. Army soldiers built two

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

s north and south of the Cimarron River. The southern redoubt, constructed of

sandbag A sandbag or dirtbag is a bag or sack made of hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification in trenches and bunkers, shielding gl ...

s, was erected on the eastern side of Clark Creek south of its confluence with the Cimarron,Stein, Martin.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cimarron Redoubt
'. National Park Service, 1976-04-26. Accessed 2009-09-09. while the earthen northern redoubt was built along the eastern side of Bear Creek.Stein, Martin.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Bear Creek Redoubt
'. National Park Service, 1976-04-26, 2. Accessed 2009-09-09. Named for the streams along which they lie, the two sites are located approximately fourteen miles apart: the Cimarron Redoubt lies nine miles south of Ashland, while the Bear Creek Redoubt lies five miles to the north of the city. Although fighting concluded in the immediate vicinity of the redoubt by 1875, it and the Bear Creek redoubt remained necessary fortifications in the Army's strategy of keeping hostile Native Americans away from settled areas. By the late 1870s, the region was sufficiently peaceful to render the Cimarron Redoubt unnecessary, and it was left to use by local civilians. The next few years saw it converted into a store, and by 1881, it was the location of the Deep Hole post office. After an undetermined period of time, it was abandoned. Since that time, the redoubt has been remarkably well preserved: the tall grass that now covers it has significantly reduced the rate of erosion. Located in the middle of a field now used for the storage of

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

, the grass-covered redoubt is Kansas' only known sandbag fort. In 1978, the Cimarron Redoubt's excellent state of preservation led to its being placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, both for its historical role in military affairs and for the potential archeological value of excavation. The areas recognized as significant include both the fortification and some surrounding fields. Moreover, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

has recognized the redoubt as one of the principal sites in the valley of the Cimarron River.Rivers, Trails & Conservation Program: Kansas Segment

, 2009-02-27. Accessed 2009-09-09.

Structure

Built by soldiers under the command of Captain John Page,Haywood, C. Robert.
Trails South: The Wagon-Road Economy in the Dodge City-Panhandle Region
'' Meade: Prairie, 2006, 29-30. the redoubt was constructed in the shape of a square, sixty feet on each side. According to an account by Frances Roe, a later commander's wife who was stationed there in January 1873, it was laid out with many aspects of larger

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

s, such as bastions,

ditches A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

, and a ten-foot-tall

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

. Inside, the fortification included log-reinforced rooms for the garrison that, under Roe's supervision, were capable of becoming "clean and cheerful" for a military wife. Today, the walls have been eroded somewhat, especially along Clark Creek on the redoubt's southern side; they are generally only about two or three feet above the surrounding terrain. Nevertheless, its structure is overall strong enough that the redoubt is expected to survive essentially intact long into the future.

History

Structure

References

Further reading