Fort Assinniboine was a United States Army
fort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
located in present-day north central
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
(historically within the military
Department of Dakota). It was built in 1879 and operated by the Army through 1911. The
10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, made up of African-American soldiers, were among the units making up the garrison at the fort. Determining that this fort was no longer needed after the end of the
Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...
, the US Army closed and abandoned it.
In 1916 Congress authorized a reservation for the
Rocky Boy's Band of
Chippewa, who were landless. It became known as
Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation
Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation (also known as Rocky Boy Reservation) is one of seven Native American reservations in the U.S. state of Montana. Established by an act of Congress on September 7, 1916, it was named after ''Ahsiniiwin'' (Rocky Boy ...
, named after the chief who had sought the reservation. A portion of the fort was ceded in 1916 for use as a reservation; the land extended in both Hill and Chouteau counties. This was intended for landless Chippewa who had been pushed west out of their traditional territory. In the event, landless
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
and
Metis, refugees from Canada, also settled at the reservation.
Context
During the
Great Sioux War of 1876
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota people, Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of t ...
,
U.S. Army forces led by General
Custer suffered a disastrous defeat at the
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northe ...
(known by the Sioux as the Battle of Greasy Grass) on June 25, 1876. The following year, the US Army defeated and captured the
Nez Perce
The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...
band of
Chief Joseph
''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography; March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) ...
in the
Battle of Bear Paw
The Battle of Bear Paw (also sometimes called Battle of the Bears Paw or Battle of the Bears Paw Mountains) was the final engagement of the Nez Perce War of 1877. Following a running fight from North Central Idaho, north central Idaho Territor ...
.
At that time,
General Phil Sheridan suggested that a fort be built on or near the Milk River to ward off possible attacks from the North by the
Sioux
The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
led by Chief
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...
, who had migrated to the
Cypress Hills in Canada, or by the Nez Perce, some of whom were also in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Lt. Col. J.R. Brooke recommended the site where the post was established. The fort is located in
Hill County six miles southwest of
Havre (the county seat). Today Highway 87 passes near it. It was named for the
Siouan
Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east.
Name
Authors who ...
-speaking
Assinniboine people. Neither the Sioux nor the Nez Perce in Canada ever attacked across the border.
Active period
The fort was located within a massive military reservation stretching south to the
Missouri River
The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
, north to the
Milk River and containing the
Bear's Paw Mountains. It encompassed 704,000 acres (1,100 sq. mi., 2850 km
2) at its maximum extent in 1880. It later was reduced to encompass 220,000 acres (344 sq. mi., 890 km
2). At its peak, it garrisoned more than 750 officers and enlisted men and their families. With 104 buildings, the fort was one of the largest ever built in the United States.
The
10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, made up of African-American soldiers, were part of the Fort Assiniboine garrison during the Indian Wars. They were called into service on the front during the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
. They supported the flank of
Roosevelt's "
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
" at the
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill (), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Span ...
in 1898 in
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Eyewitnesses noted that the Rough Riders would not have prevailed without the Buffalo Soldiers.
From the late 19th century, the extensive lands of Fort Assiniboine served as a refuge for bands of landless
Chippewa and
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
people, who camped within the military reservation. The fort was operated by the Army until 1911, when it was closed and abandoned, determined to no longer be necessary. The US believed that the Indians were peaceful or under control, mostly contained on reservations in the West, and on the decline. By 1912, a few hundred Native Americans were within the grounds.
Notable people
*
John Pershing
General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American army general, educator, and founder of the Pershing Rifles. He served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forc ...
, career officer assigned for a time to Fort Assinboine. Pershing so impressed General-in-chief of the Army Maj. General
Nelson A. Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War (1861–1865), the later American Indian Wars (1840–1890), and the Spanish–American War,
(1898). From 1895 to 1903 ...
, who was on a hunting trip in the area, that Miles transferred the younger man to Washington, D.C. as an aide-de-camp. Pershing later served as a tactical officer at West Point. When the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
broke out in 1898, he was reassigned, at his request, to the famed Buffalo Soldiers of Fort Assinniboine from the 10th Cavalry. They fought alongside Roosevelt in Cuba at the
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill (), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Span ...
. Pershing later achieved worldwide fame as the leader of the
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and continued to distinguish himself over the course of his career.
* Sgt.
Horace Bivens, member of the 10th Cavalry Regiment and career soldier, he fought in Indian Wars in the Southwest. As part of the 10th, he served under John Pershing in Cuba during the Spanish American War. He was awarded a Silver Star for valor. In the early 20th century, he received the first
Army Distinguished Pistol Shot badge because of his scores in marksmanship competitions.
Closure
By the early twentieth century, the Indian Wars were finished and the Army determined it no longer had a need for Fort Assiniboine. At the same time, Chippewa leader ''Asiniiwin'' (
Rocky Boy) appealed to the
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
administration for land and education for his band, who had been pushed out of their traditional territory further east.
Gradually numerous
Chippewa and
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
people settled on the large military reservation; the Cree had come as refugees from Canada following the
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...
. The Chippewa had been pushed west from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Both groups traded with the Army and had no land of their own.
In 1916, Congress authorized establishment of a reservation for the Chippewa, who had been supported in their quest by prominent whites in Montana. The government ceded a portion of Fort Assinniboine to the
Rocky Boy Indian Reservation
Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation (also known as Rocky Boy Reservation) is one of seven Native American reservations in the U.S. state of Montana. Established by an act of Congress on September 7, 1916, it was named after ''Ahsiniiwin'' ( Stone C ...
, established for the Chippewa band led by Chief Ahsiniwiin (Rocky Boy, or Stone Child.) He had died several months before the reservation was authorized by Congress, and it was eventually named in his honor. It is the smallest reservation in the state in terms of land area, with a total land area of , which includes extensive off-reservation trust lands. (Some lands were added after the initial authorization.)
Most of the abandoned buildings at the fort were soon razed and hauled away by settlers for building materials. A handful of surviving structures have been adapted for use as both an agricultural research station associated with
Montana State University - Bozeman
Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers bacc ...
, and as a historical preservation site. The site is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
A portion of the Reservation, where the beaver creek ran through the Bears Paw Mountains, was first designated as a national park. The federal government later ceded it to the city of
Havre, Montana
Havre ( ) is the county seat of and the largest city in Hill County, Montana, United States. Havre is nicknamed the crown jewel of the Hi-Line (Montana), Hi-Line. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. As of the 2020 Unite ...
for the purpose of a city recreation area. When they failed to use it, the Reservation transferred the land to Hill County, which created Beaver Creek Park. With 10,000 acres, it is the largest
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
park in the United States.
Tourism
It is possible to visit Fort Assinniboine. The Havre Chamber of Commerce and the Hill County Museum both furnish current visitor information. A tour guide is available during the summer season (June 1 through September 1), Monday through Sunday 9AM to 5PM. Tour guides are on-site. The site is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
See also
*
List of military installations in Montana
There are at least 60 current and former U.S. military installations located in Montana. Installations listed as historical are no longer in service and may have no physical remains in the state.
Current installations
* Ekalaka Mini-Mutes R ...
References
External links
Old Forts Trail entryOfficial Montana state travel siteMHS Historic Sign TextsGuide to the Fort Assiniboine Records 1879-1906Fort's Official Homepage (maintained by Havre Chamber of Commerce)
{{Authority control
Government buildings completed in 1879
Great Sioux War of 1876
Assinniboine
1879 establishments in Montana Territory
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana
National Register of Historic Places in Hill County, Montana