This week, Krista asks us to feature something that signifies security. You can read Krista’s entire challenge post here. In the 19th Century, settlers traveled across the great plains territories and eventually settled in small communities throughout the upper midwest. Government troops provided security in forts built near these communities. Stockades, large fences, typically surrounded the forts and guard houses with high vantage points were constructed to provide an observation platform for the cavalry and foot soldiers to keep watch for Native Americans who weren’t always happy with their new neighbors. The guardhouse above is part of the 6th and 17th Infantries stationed around 1874 at Fort Abraham Lincoln. Of greater historical interest, probably, Fort Abraham Lincoln was also the home of the 7th Cavalry, commanded by General George Armstrong Custer. It was from Fort Abraham Lincoln that Custer and his army headed for destruction at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana, a distance of over 400 miles (640 km).

As I mentioned above, in addition to guard houses, security fortifications often included stockade fences. These large fences were very tall and typically ringed the forts in the area, though not always. In areas where relations with the Native Americans were more peaceful, the fences were not constructed. Forts were equipped like small cities with the capacity to accept and protect the nearby settlers within their secure walls. Views from the guard houses were commanding and their placement on higher terrain allowed for plenty of warning of any enemy approaching. The view above was captured from one of the second-floor gun ports that were provided on every wall of the enclosure. The view includes the Missouri River on the left and the stables and barracks of the 7th Cavalry in the clearing on the right just above the trees.

John Steiner

Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota

George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln, just south of Mandan, North Dakota. They were not the first residents of the fort, however. Originally constructed by two companies of the Sixth Infantry, Fort McKeen, as it was called then, was renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln when the Seventh Cavalry took up residence. The cavalry was stationed at the fort with the task of protecting the workers expanding the Northern Pacific Railway. The infantry built high on a bluff with commanding views of the Missouri River and surrounding areas. On the other side of the river was then the city of Bismarck, Dakota Territory. A couple of weeks ago, we featured a tour of the Custer House, home for the General and his wife until his death in 1876. You can visit that post here.

The opening image above features one of the blockhouses reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. At the time of the blockhouse reconstruction, the CCC also marked cornerstones where each of the original buildings were located. The image below features a set of markers. A small signpost identifies the function of each of the over 70 buildings located on the fort. Through the years, other buildings were reconstructed, the most recent being the Custer House in 1989, a historical addition for the North Dakota State Centennial.

The fort was a self-contained city housing most services needed to support nine companies, including a post office and even a theater. The population of the fort was around 500 military personnel and support staff. In 1891, the fort was no longer needed and the buildings were disassembled for the lumber and hardware to build the growing cities of Bismarck and Mandan. Eventually the land was given to the State of North Dakota by President Theodore Roosevelt for the creation of a state park.

The image above is a view of the Missouri River from one of the blockhouse ports. The views from the blockhouses provided soldiers with plenty of warning of approaching attackers. If you look closely just left of the center in the photograph, you can see Bismarck’s only skyscraper, the North Dakota Capitol Building. You can view some shots of the Capitol taken on the statehouse grounds here. The gallery of images below feature views of the surrounding countryside as seen from the vantage point of the soldiers stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

More about Fort Abraham Lincoln’s Custer House and the On-A-Slant Village can be found here and here.

John Steiner

Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota

Last week we visited the Custer House, last residence of George Armstrong Custer. If you missed that post, you can read about it here. For this week’s Travel Tuesday, we travel north inside the state park to visit the On-A-Slant Indian Village. The opening photo features the entrances to three earth lodges, replicas that depict the lifestyle of the Mandan Indians. The Mandan people lived on this site for about 200 years, starting around 1575. The lodges were built into natural depressions in the ground, built up from the plentiful wood supplies along the Missouri River. Built on somewhat sloping ground, the location for the village was well protected by natural barriers on three sides. A deep ravine to the south, high bluffs to the west and the river to the east meant attackers would most likely come from the north.

In the Mandan culture, the woman of the family was responsible for building and maintaining the dome-like structures. Layered with earth and tree trunks, a layer of thatch and finally covered in a layer of earth. A small opening was left at the top center for smoke from the cooking and heating fire to escape. The image above depicts the interior of one of the reconstructed single family lodges. At the left in the photo is a wall of wood covered with an animal skin. This short wall provided some privacy and a windbreak from the open entrance behind. The park charges a $6 per person for the interpretive tour. The tour fee also includes an interpretive tour of the Custer House and is well worth the cost for the narratives as you visit several lodges including the largest community lodge.

The image above shows the exterior construction of a lodge. During inclement weather, the opening in the ceiling would be covered by a bullboat, the small craft doing double duty when not used for fishing in the nearby Missouri River. The most plentiful wood along the river is cottonwood. The soft wood weathers and breaks down easily requiring the rebuilding of a lodge every six to eight years.

My wife, Lynn, and I are not tall people, even so, we needed to duck our heads a bit to get under the lowest beam at the interior of the doorways. In the photo above, we are standing in front of the community lodge, the largest of the reconstructed lodges. More about the history of On-a-Slant Village and the Mandan Indian history can be found here.

Next week’s Travel Tuesday will take us to part 3 of our visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln. High on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, companies B and C of the U.S. Army Sixth Infantry built the first buildings in the fort. Eventually, the Seventh Cavalry buildings were constructed south of the Infantry buildings. More on this story in the final installment of our visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln in Morton County, North Dakota.

More about Fort Abraham Lincoln’s Custer House can be found here.

John Steiner