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To build the stockade and buildings of Fort Phil Kearny, the soldiers needed thousands of tree trunks. These were cut at some distance from the fort and transported by wagon. This was always a dangerous task, and after the Fetterman Massacre it became even more dangerous. In the summer of 1867, Indian forces, attempting to repeat the Fetterman victory, attacked woodcutters and soldiers camped about five miles from the fort. The soldiers had taken some wagon boxes off wagons and arranged them in an oval as a stock corral. Twenty-eight soldiers took cover behind the boxes and tried to defend themselves against more than 1,000 Indians. Luckily, the soldiers had just been issued new rapid-fire rifles, and they were able to hold off the Indians until relief arrived from fort. Only three soldiers were killed, while the Indians suffered many casualties. |
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