Fort Harker, located in Kanopolis, Kansas, was an active military installation of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from November 17, 1866, to October 5, 1872. The

fortification 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 Lati ...

was named after General Charles Garrison Harker, who was killed in action at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Fort Harker replaced Fort Ellsworth, which had been located from the location of Fort Harker and was abandoned after the new fortifications at Fort Harker were constructed. Fort Harker was a major distribution point for all military points farther west and was one of the most important military stations west of 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 ...

History

Fort Ellsworth was established in August, 1864 at the junction of the Fort Riley-Fort Larned Road and the Smoky Hill Trail, near the Smoky Hill River. Fort Ellsworth was established as the command headquarters for the District of the Upper

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Soldiers at the fort patrolled the overland trails to protect wagon trains from any resistance from the Native American tribes in the area. The fort also served an important role in distributing supplies to other United States Army outposts further west. Fort Ellsworth connected supply lines from

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

and

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

to the east with Fort Zarah, Fort Larned, Fort Dodge, Fort Hays, and Fort Wallace to the west.Guerns, J. (2002)
"Welcome to Fort Harker"
Retrieved August 10, 2006. After two years of rapid growth, the fort was badly in need of better facilities and more space.

Construction

Military orders for the construction of a new fort to replace Fort Ellsworth were issued by General Winfield S. Hancock, commander of the Division of the Missouri, on November 17, 1866. The new fort would be located approximately northeast of Fort Ellsworth. Construction may have begun before the official order, as Fort Ellsworth had a master carpenter, a master mason, five carpenters, and fourteen masons on staff as early as September, 1866. Based on the number of civilian contractors on the fort's payroll, major construction of the facility was likely completed by the summer of 1867. In June 1867, the remainder of the buildings at old Fort Ellsworth were ordered torn down.Mix, Larry and Mix, Carolyn (2006)
"Fort Harker"
. Santa Fe Trail Research Site. St. John, Kansas. Fort Ellsworth was sold to land developers and became the town of Ellsworth, Kansas. Soon after the completion of major construction, the railroad arrived at Fort Harker. The Union Pacific Eastern Division completed a line to Fort Harker in July 1867. The rail line ran through the fort, and a depot was established just outside the fort. Two large

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

s were built next to the line, which became the principal resupply route for the fort. By the end of 1867, the fort supported a four-company garrison, the supply depot and over 75 buildings.

Cholera epidemic of 1867

In the summer of 1867, an Asiatic cholera outbreak began amongst the soldiers of the four companies of the 38th Infantry stationed at the fort. The disease may have arrived with the 38th, who traveled to the fort from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where a cholera outbreak was also occurring. The first case of cholera at the fort was diagnosed on June 28. Within days, one civilian and one soldier had died from the disease, and the epidemic had spread to other soldiers and civilians at the fort, as well as settlers in the surrounding area. The Post Quarter Master reported that 58 citizens were buried during the month of June. The epidemic continued through the remainder of 1867, and by the end of the year the official report tabulated 392 cases with 24 deaths among the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

troops and 500 cases with 22 deaths among the

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

troops stationed at or near the fort.

Indian War campaigns

Although no battles were ever fought at the fort itself, troops stationed at Fort Harker were involved in the ongoing

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 ...

between the United States Army and the natives of the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

. The troops stationed at Fort Harker in 1867 performed more escorts of

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

s in one year than troops stationed at any other frontier fort in the post-Civil War era. Once the railroad arrived at the fort in 1867, the need for escort patrols began to shift to the west, and by 1868 the primary role of Fort Harker was changing to that of a supply depot and troop staging site. Philip Sheridan 1

In the fall of 1868, General Philip Henry Sheridan moved his command headquarters from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Harker, from where he commanded the campaigns against the Native Americans in the winter of 1868/1869. On August 25, 1869, Brevet Colonel Joseph G. Tilford was sent to Fort Harker, where he commanded two troops of General

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

's 7th Cavalry. After wintering at the fort, Tilford and the cavalry set out on a campaign in February 1870. In May 1870, General Custer and the remaining troops of the 7th Cavalry passed through Fort Harker on their way from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Hays to engage the Native Americans further west.

Closing

By 1871, Fort Harker had declined in importance in the Indian Wars. Native Americans living in the area of the fort had been displaced by white settlers, and the scene of conflicts had shifted to the west. An expanding railroad network diminished the importance of the fort as a distribution point for supplies. In March 1872, the 15th Infantry stationed at Fort Harker redeployed to Fort Union. On April 5, the remaining companies of the 5th Infantry departed from the fort as well. Official orders to abandon Fort Harker were received on April 8, 1872. Soldiers of the 5th Cavalry left Fort Harker on May 7, leaving behind a small garrison of two officers and five enlisted men from the 5th Infantry. The base was completely abandoned by October 5, 1872.

Geography

Fort Harker was located at the site of the present-day community of Kanopolis, Kansas.

Fort Harker Museum

The Ellsworth County Historical Society maintains three of the original buildings of Fort Harker as a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

commemorating both Fort Ellsworth and Harker. These include the Fort Harker Guardhouse and the Fort Harker Commanding Officers' Quarters, which are each separately 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 ...

, and also the Junior Officer's Quarters. The museum also features a train depot with salt mine and later 19th/early 20th Century exhibits.Smith, Mary (2005).
"Welcome to Ellsworth County Museums"
. Retrieved August 10, 2006. A second Junior Officer's Quarters is owned as a private residence.

References

;General References Oliva, Leo E. (2002). ''Fort Harker, Defending the Journey West''. Kansas State Historical Society.

External links

Ellsworth County Historical Society Facebook site
- operates Fort Harker Museum & Hodgden House Museum
Santa Fe Trail Research Site

- review and photos at Travel Kansas {{Ellsworth County, Kansas 1864 establishments in Kansas Military and war museums in Kansas Harker Museums in Ellsworth County, Kansas Buildings and structures in Ellsworth County, Kansas Harker National Register of Historic Places in Ellsworth County, Kansas