Fort Reno also known as Fort Connor or Old Fort Reno, was a wooden

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 ...

established on August 15, 1865 by 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 ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

in present-day

Johnson County, Wyoming Johnson County is a county in the north central part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 8,447. The county seat is Buffalo. Kaycee is the only other incorporated town in the county. Johnson Cou ...

. The fort was built to protect travelers on the

Bozeman Trail The Bozeman Trail was an overland route in the Western United States, connecting the gold rush territory of southern Montana to the Oregon Trail in eastern Wyoming. Its important period was from 1863 to 1868. While the major part of the route us ...

from

Native American tribes In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in the United States. Modern forms of t ...

Establishment

One of the primary goals of the

Powder River Expedition :''This event should not be confused with the Big Horn Expedition during the Black Hills War.'' The Powder River Expedition of 1865 also known as the Powder River War or Powder River Invasion, was a large and far-flung military operation of the ...

of 1865 was to construct a fort on the Powder River in

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 ...

. The expedition's left, or western column of about 650 men under the command of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

James H. Kidd of the 6th Michigan Cavalry, accompanied by the expedition's overall commander Brigadier General

Patrick E. Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an Irish American soldier who served as a Union (American Civil War), Union General officer, general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for ...

, set out from

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (; founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte Rivers. They joi ...

on August 1, 1865. Army units with the column included Companies L, and M, of the 2nd California Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, four Companies of the 6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, Companies E, and K, of the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, Company F, of the 7th Iowa Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, a detachment of the United States Signal Corps, the

Pawnee Scouts Pawnee Scouts were employed by the United States Army in the latter half of the 19th century. Like other groups of Indian scouts, Pawnee men were recruited in large numbers to aid in the ongoing conflicts between settlers and the Native Americans ...

and a section of two Model 1841 Mountain

Howitzers The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

manned by 14 soldiers of the 2nd Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery Regiment. On August 15, 1865, Colonel Kidd's column selected the site of the fort on a bluff above the Powder River near the crossing of the

. Construction began the same day by the four companies of the 6th Michigan Cavalry that had recently been transferred from the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The new post was named Fort Connor in honor of Brigadier General

Patrick Edward Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an Irish American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans dur ...

, the overall commander of the

. That month, Fort Connor was the jumping-off point for the soldiers that fought at the

Battle of the Tongue River The Battle of the Tongue River, sometimes referred to as the Connor Battle, was an engagement of the Powder River Expedition that occurred on August 29, 1865. In the battle, U.S. soldiers and Indian scouts attacked and destroyed an Arapaho vi ...

on August 29, 1865 in present-day

Sheridan County, Wyoming Sheridan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 30,921. The county seat is Sheridan. Its northern boundary abuts the Montana state border. Sheridan County comprises the Sherid ...

. The left, right, and center columns of the Powder River Expedition all finally rendezvoused at Fort Connor on September 25, 1865. Army units that arrived in September included companies from the 2nd Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery Regiment, 12th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment,

15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment The 15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and American Indian Wars. Service The 15th Kansas Cavalry was organized at Leavenworth, Kansas on October 17, 1863. It ...

, and the 16th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, along with a second detachment of the U.S. Signal Corps. Most of these men marched south to

in October, 1865 to be mustered out of the army, leaving the four companies of Michigan cavalry under Colonel James H. Kidd to garrison the fort.

Renaming

The Bozeman Trail, built as a way around the Bighorn Mountains, crossed the Powder River at Fort Connor, offering emigrants traveling on it protection. Buildings constructed at Connor had sod-covered roofs and dirt floors. In October 1865, the 6th Michigan and Colonel Kidd turned the garrison of Fort Connor over to Captain George W. Williford, and Companies C, and D, of the 5th United States Volunteer Infantry Regiment, companies of the

Galvanized Yankees Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War denoting former Confederate prisoners of war who swore allegiance to the United States and joined the Union Army. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the United St ...

, and a company of Indian scouts. In November 1865, its name was changed to Fort Reno, in honor of Major General

Jesse Lee Reno Jesse Lee Reno (April 20, 1823 – September 14, 1862) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, in the Utah War, on the western frontier and as a Union General during the American Civil War from West Vir ...

, who had been

mortally wounded : A mortal wound is an injury that will ultimately lead to a person's death. ''Mortal'' refers to the mortality of a human: whether they are going to live or die."mortal_adjective." Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 2018. Oxford University ...

on September 14, 1862 at the

Battle of South Mountain The Battle of South Mountain, known in several early Southern United States, Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap, was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, while commanding the Union

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

at Fox's Gap. The name had no connection with

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer. He served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Great Sioux War a ...

, a member of the 7th Cavalry who fought in the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, 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 Si ...

. The garrison of the fort endured the harsh winter of 1865–1866, and during this time suffered 33 casualties from desertions, illnesses, one soldier killed by an accidental gunshot, and the death of its commanding officer,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

George W. Williford, who died of illness on April 29, 1866. Captain George M. Bailey became Williford's successor.

Reinforcement

On June 28, 1866

Henry Beebe Carrington and about 700 men of the

18th U.S. Infantry The 18th Infantry Regiment ("Vanguards") is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment currently exists with one active battalion, under the U.S. Army Regimental System; regimental designation is used only for historical trad ...

reached Fort Reno, relieving the

galvanized yankees Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War denoting former Confederate prisoners of war who swore allegiance to the United States and joined the Union Army. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the United St ...

. The 18th Infantry had moved into the

Powder River country The Powder River Country is the Powder River Basin area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming, United States. The area is loosely defined as that between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, in the upper drainage areas of the Powde ...

to begin construction of posts (

Fort Phil Kearny Fort Phil Kearny was an outpost of the United States Army that existed in the late 1860s in present-day northeastern Wyoming along the Bozeman Trail. Construction began in 1866 on Friday, July 13, by Companies A, C, E, and H of the 2nd Battalion, ...

and Fort C. F. Smith) on the Bozeman trail farther to the north. When Carrington reached the post, only 104 of the original 137 men of Companies C, and D, 5th U.S.V.I. remained, the rest having died mainly of illness and scurvy. Colonel Carrington left Companies B, E, and H of the 18th Infantry to garrison the post, and resumed his march north on the Bozeman trail on July 9, 1866, while the 5th U.S.V.I. traveled south to Fort Kearney,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

to muster out on October 11, 1866, "without a single regret." The newly arrived

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

soldiers of the 18th Infantry constructed a log stockade around the unprotected garrison buildings, complete with log bastions on the northwest and southeast corners. They also built a sturdy

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

commanding officer's quarters. In 1867, the post was renovated and expanded. The garrison ranged from 125 to a high of 300 soldiers. The second battalion of the 18th Infantry, which was renamed the 27th United States Infantry Regiment in 1867, endured the routines of garrison life and the harsh winters and hot summers, occasionally skirmishing with hostile Indians and keeping the southern end of the Bozeman Trail open and passable.

Abandonment

In 1868 the Fort Laramie Treaty ended

Red Cloud's War Red Cloud's War (also referred to as the Bozeman War or the Powder River War) was an armed conflict between an alliance of the Lakota people, Lakota, Cheyenne, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho peoples against the United States and the Crow ...

and essentially ceded the

Powder River Country The Powder River Country is the Powder River Basin area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming, United States. The area is loosely defined as that between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, in the upper drainage areas of the Powde ...

to the

Lakota Sioux The Lakota (; or ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (). Their current lands are in N ...

. Along with Forts C.F. Smith and

Phil Kearny Philip Kearny Jr. (; June 1, 1815 – September 1, 1862) was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He served in French Emperor Napoleon III's Imperial Guard at the Battle of ...

, Fort Reno was abandoned as a condition of the agreement. Shortly after the military left in August, the entire post was destroyed by fire ignited by

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

warriors. During the

Great Sioux War 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 ...

, Brigadier General

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. He is best known for commanding U.S. forces in the Geronimo Campaign, 1886 campaign that ...

's 883 men of the

Big Horn Expedition :''This event should not be confused with the Powder River Expedition (1865).'' The Big Horn Expedition, or Bighorn Expedition, was a military operation of the United States Army against the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in Wyoming Territory a ...

returned to Fort Reno in March, 1876, finding only some adobe walls and building debris. Nevertheless, Crook used the site as a supply base for 15 days, leaving the expedition's wagons and Companies C, and I, of the 4th United States Infantry Regiment, under the overall command of Captain Edwin M. Coates. On March 5 Crook's command fought Indian warriors in the Fort Reno Skirmish directly across the river from the abandoned post. Later that year, the army would again use the site as a supply base, eventually establishing the Fort Reno Depot several miles to the south. In the 1880s, soldiers buried in the post cemetery were reinterred in the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery near

Crow Agency, Montana Crow Agency () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment produced by the Real Bird family known as Battle of the Lit ...

Garrison

* August—October 1865 - 6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry (4 Companies): Colonel James H. Kidd * October 1865—April 1866 - 5th United States Volunteer Infantry (2 Companies): Captain George W. Williford; Company A, Omaha and Winnebago Scouts: Captain Edwin R. Nash * April—June 1866 - 5th United States Volunteer Infantry (2 Companies): Captain George M. Bailey * June—September 1866 - 18th United States Infantry (3 Companies): Captain Joseph L. Proctor * September 1866—August 1868 - 27th United States Infantry (3 Companies): Captain Joseph L. Proctor * March 1876 - 4th United States Infantry (2 Companies): Captain Edwin M. Coates

Fort Reno today

The parade ground and surrounding area has generally returned to a natural prairie sod cover. The site, approximately northeast of Sussex, Wyoming, was 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 ...

on March 28, 1970. There is a large stone monument and several interpretive signs marking the site that are accessible by a gravel road..

Other Fort Renos

Two other army posts were also named Fort Reno—one

Fort Reno Park Fort Reno Park is an urban park in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. It is named after Fort Reno, one of the only locations in the District of Columbia to see combat during the American Civil War. The park was establishe ...

in the defenses of

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

during the Civil War, and another frontier outpost called Fort Reno, built in 1874 in what is now

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

References

Photo gallery

File:Fort Reno Monument.jpg, Fort Reno Monument File:Fort Reno and Powder River near Kaycee, Wyoming.jpg, Fort Reno with Powder River in background File:Building at Fort Reno (Wyoming).jpg, Ruins of a building at Fort Reno {{NRHP in Johnson County, Wyoming Buildings and structures in Johnson County, Wyoming Red Cloud's War Pre-statehood history of Wyoming Dakota Territory

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

National Register of Historic Places in Johnson County, Wyoming 1865 establishments in Dakota Territory