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THE SNOWY RANGE/ASPEN ALLEY TOUR: DAY 1

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Fort Phil Kearny: Before there was George Armstrong Custer, there was William Judd Fetterman. They both lost Everything!

Day One: Tuesday, September 17, 2019

As I left on my trip to the Snowy Range, in southern Wyoming, on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, I had a rude awakening. I could not start this journey with a Hardee’s Country Fried Steak Biscuit. I was informed they no longer served them.

Though disappointed, I once again, left Billings by way of I-90 at exit 443 This time, however, I was heading east. Just past the outer edge of town, I came to the junction of Interstates 90 and 94. Traveling northwest on I-94 would have taken me to Miles City and then into North Dakota. That jaunt, though, would have to wait for another time. I stayed in the right lane to continue on I-90. Forty miles later found me coming into the small town of Hardin, Montana, on the outskirts of the Crow Nation Reservation. As I passed Hardin, I-90 took a sharp turn south.

Exit 510, which is about 10 miles past Hardin, is the way to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield, but I would not be stopping at this hallowed ground on my first fall trip. There would be another time. After all, it is only sixty miles from Billings. Around an hour later, I was crossing the state line into Wyoming.

Although my final destination on the first day would be a motel in the city of Rawlins, in southern Wyoming; my first stop was a place which is dear to my heart, the Fort Phil Kearny Historic Site near the small town of Story, Wyoming. This historical place is about forty-five minutes south of the Montana border. I am writing a novel based, in no small part, on events in and around that Wyoming fort during the tumultuous years of 1866-67. Along the way, as you drive south, the Big Horn Mountains rise in the distance to the west.

That’s the Big Horn Mountains in the distance.
The Big Horn Mountains

In June of 1866, the United States government sent emissaries west, to Fort Laramie, Wyoming Territory to sign a peace treaty with Native American tribes who occupied the land east of the Big Horn Mountains in the Powder River Valley. In addition, they sent an army force, the 18th Infantry Regiment. This unit, under the command of Colonel Henry B. Carrington, a nominal commander of the regiment throughout the Civil War, which had ended the previous year with a Union victory, was to build and garrison a series of forts through the prime hunting grounds of the Lakota (Sioux) and Cheyenne nations.

Unfortunately, those who did sign the treaty were not members of the tribes that lived in the disputed country to the east of the Big Horn Mountains. Those Indians, the ones that were ultimately deemed hostiles, had no intention of leaving peacefully. The United States government made three critical mistakes during that ill-fated summer. They sent one body of peace-talkers while, also, sending a group of armed soldiers to the peace conference. This created dissension among the various tribes gathered to conduct negotiations. The man they sent, to enforce their will, had no combat experience and was out of his league on the flanks of the Big Horns. And, perhaps most important of all, they sent infantry, foot soldiers, to fight what some historians have referred to as the “finest light cavalry in the world.” Add to that, most of Carrington’s command were raw recruits, who had not even received the most rudimentary training necessary to be a soldier.

Many of Carrington’s officers did not respect him, and although he built a great fort, perhaps the best ever built in the western lands, Native Americans, under Red Cloud, for all practical purposes had surrounded and were besieging the beleaguered body of United States soldiers at Fort Phil Kearny by December 21, 1866. The stage was set for a disaster. All it needed was a spark. An officer, under Carrington’s command, provided that light.

Those pine-covered tall hills to the left are Lodge Tail Ridge. Jim Bridger tried to warn the soldiers not to follow the Sioux warriors over that ridge. They didn’t listen to him. For 81 men, it was their last mistake.
Looking down from the site of Fetterman’s demise, you see that road heading to the northwest. Fetterman’s command was following decoys, led by Crazy Horse, when Red Cloud sprang his trap.
In 1908, this marker was erected to remember the 80 men who died with their commander, Captain (brevet Lieutenant Colonel) William Judd Fetterman on December 21, 1866. Looking at the map to the left, you see the spot marked ‘infantry’. The marker stands at the spot where Captains Fetterman and Frederick Brown along with most of the infantry retreated to, and died. About 1,000 yards to the northwest is where the men of C Company 2nd U.S. Cavalry made their stand. Even further were the rocks that several NCOs (sergeants and corporels) plus the two civilians (Fisher and Wheatley) met their demise.

You have all probably heard about the Battle of the Little Bighorn, commonly known as Custer’s Last Stand. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 212 men of the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry Regiment were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne forces under the combined command of Sitting Bull, Gall and Crazy Horse on June 25, 1876. Many, however, do not know about a battle between Native American forces and 81 soldiers and civilians at a place called Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. Quite a few of the same warriors, such as Crazy Horse, who would have such a pivotal role in the defeat of Custer ten years later, met and defeated another Civil War hero much earlier. Just as was the case with Custer’s command, all 80 fighting men under Captain William Judd Fetterman were annihilated on a cold December day in 1866.

This article is not about that battle, nor is it about history. This is the story of my journey through part of Wyoming and the pictures I took. It is the first of a series of blogs on my journeys through Montana and Wyoming last fall. My story of history will be left for another day.

The Native Americans called it the Battle of the Hundred in the Hand. For the United States army, it went down as the Fetterman Massacre
Grummond and his cavalry died just over that rise.
The civilians, Fisher and Wheatley met their fate, along with a few non-coms (non-commissioned officers) at these rocks. But they took a lot with them. Carrington said he counted sixty spots of blood around the slain soldiers and civilians. If you look at the map above, you will see that their were three separate groups of whites in the fight for their lives. None of them could see each other.

After walking the length of Massacre Ridge, as the site of battle is known, and visiting the fort and visitor center, I returned to the interstate and continued my southward journey. Buffalo, a small city of around 4,600, is about twenty miles south of Phil Kearny. Just shy of Buffalo, you reach another junction of two interstate highways. I-90 turns due east at this point, while continuing south, finds you on I-25. Following this thoroughfare, it is about 110 miles from Buffalo to Casper, Wyoming. With a population of over 57,000 this metropolis, situated along the North Platte River at the base of Casper Mountain, is the second largest city in Wyoming. It was named for Lieutenant Caspar Collins, an officer in the United States army, who was killed, in 1865, by Native Americans while leading a relief column during the Plains Indian Wars. During the summer of that year, Collins and his small command were attacked by overwhelming forces. Most Native Americans, particularly the Cheyenne, were still smarting from the senseless slaughter of helpless non-combatants at Sand Creek, Colorado Territory, the previous year. When the young lieutenant was sent from Platte Bridge Station, on July 26, 1865, to help an incoming wagon train; it was with the knowledge of hostiles in the vicinity. No one knew, however, just how many there were. Collins and his twenty-five cavalrymen quickly found themselves overwhelmed by more than a thousand, some sources say as many as three thousand, combative warriors of the Sioux and Cheyenne nations in what became known as the Battle of Platte Bridge. Collins and four of his soldiers were killed, though the others were able to make it to safety. The post, originally named Platte Bridge Station was renamed Fort Caspar to honor the slain lieutenant. His “given” name was used sense there was already a Fort Collins in Colorado, named after his father, Lieutenant Colonel William O. Collins. The city is named Casper instead of Caspar due to a typo when the town’s name was officially registered.

I-25 takes an abrupt 90 degree turn to the left, or due east, at Casper. This is where I left the interstate. Not wanting to travel toward Nebraska, I turned right at the fork, which is exit 189. This is U.S. Highway 26/Wyoming State Highway 257, and it took me to WY 220 a few miles southwest of Casper. The next 70-something miles saw me pass the Independence Rock State Historic Site, quite possibly the most talked about landmark along the Oregon Trail. Wyoming 220 merged with U.S. 287/Wy 789 coming in from the northwest at a place called Muddy Gap. From here, a scant three quarters of an hour later saw me pulling into the small city of Rawlins, Wyoming on I-80 approximately half-way through the state. If you want to travel across the Snowy Range from the west, this is the perfect jumping-off point.

This map, inside the Fort Phil Kearny Visitor Center, shows where Fort Phil Kearny was and the Fetterman Fight. As you can see, those 81 unfortunate souls were on the far side of Lodge Trail Ridge. Once they went down into the Peno Creek Valley, their fate was sealed.
A beautiful and well-detailed diorama of Fort Phil Kearny on the rd day of November, 1866. This was the day that Captain (brevet Lt. Colonel Fetterman arrived at the head of C Company 2nd U.S. Cavalry (seen coming in from the right, through the main gate.
This diorama is accurate. At the time of Fetterman’s arrival there were four companies at the fort. He brought a fifth company, the cavalry, and in early December, a fifth infantry company arrived. Note the four completed barracks; two on each side of the square. The large structure in the center, at the bottom of the fort was the Colonel’s Quarters. The four white buildings behind it, were Officer’s Quarters. That flag was huge. Carrington might not have known much about fighting, but he built the best fort anywhere in the west.
Colonel Carrington brought a battery of artillery with him. The Native Americans quickly learned to respect them. That is why it was imperative to lure the soldiers beyond Lodge Tail Ridge.
These are the weapons that Fetterman’s men had on that ill-fated December day in 1866. The officers had their sabers and each carried a pistol. The two civilians, Fisher and Wheatly had the 16-shot Henry repeating rifle. The infantry had the musket (shown on wall between the sabre and the Henry repeating rifle. The cavalry were given the Spencer carbine (laying on floor). These weapons had initially been given to members of the regimental band. The tragedy of all this was that by the end of the Civil War, nearly a third of all Union forces had been outfitted with the Spencer, a 7-shot repeating rifle. Yet, the war department sent a mostly infantry group out to the plains to fight some of the best cavalry forces, on their own ground, and they gave them muzzle-loading muskets, which in the best of hands could only fire 2 to 3 shots per minute.
The .52 caliber Spencer carbine
How would you like to get hit with that War Club?
Although the spear could be used both for thrusting or throwing, the primary weapon of many Native Americans was the bow (seen in the center behind the spear). A skilled warrior could fire six arrows faster than most whites could fire a six-shot revolver and still be sending arrows down range while the revolver had to be reloaded. In the background, mounted on the wall is a war club. On the left wall is an old musket. Very few Indians had firearms of any kind at the Fetterman Battle. By the time of the Custer fiasco in 1876, many of Crazy Horse’s warriors were armed with Henry repeaters.
The feathers, to the left, and the pictures from above were in the Fort Phil Kearny Visitor Center.
As you can see, Native Americans had their own form of recognizing battle honors. The eagle feather to the extreme left, with the red spot, signifies this warrior “killed an enemy.” The third one, with the top cut off, says this one “cut an enemy’s throat.
“Ribbons starting at the top row left to right: Army Commendation, Army Achievement. Second row: Army Good Conduct, National Defense Service, Southwest Asia with two bronze stars. Third row: Korea Service, Army Service, Overseas Service. Fourth row: Reserve Overseas Training, Saudi Arabia Liberation of Kuwait and Kuwait Liberation of Kuwait.”

I wanted to show Indian honors, as seen in the Fort Phil Kearny Visitor Center/Museum compared to the ribbons I wore on my Dress Uniform when I served in the United States Army. This was a free image I found online. Although I do have the top two ribbons, I don’t have all of those. Throughout history, various civilizations had their own way to honor their warriors. The Roman Empire, for example, would issue various awards for battlefield deeds. The Torc, Armillae and Phalerae were gold, silver or bronze items issued for bravery. Crowns were issued for extraordinary valor. The Grass Crown was considered the highest award given. Kind of like the Medal of Honor that is awarded to a United States service member for services “above and beyond the call of duty.”

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