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Right after the Civil War ended, the
U.S. Army began to expand its presence in the West.
One of the "hot spots" at that time was the Bozeman
Trail, which ran north from Fort Laramie, Wyoming into the newly opened
goldfields in Montana. Since the
trail took settlers and gold seekers right through the middle of prime
hunting grounds that a treaty had promised "forever" to the
Sioux and Cheyenne, there
was a great deal of violent Indian resistance to the passage of wagon
trains, and the Army decided to build a series of three forts along the
trail to protect travelers. Largest
of these was Fort Phil Kearny (pronounced "Carney"), which was erected
near the present site of Story, Wyoming. |
