Fort Wallace

Fort Wallace
near Wallace, Kansas
Officers at Fort Wallace in 1867, including Theophilus H. Turner, who discovered Elasmosaurus in the area the same year, second from the left
Fort Wallace is located in Kansas
Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace is located in the United States
Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace
Coordinates38°54′18″N 101°33′34″W / 38.90500°N 101.55944°W / 38.90500; -101.55944
TypeMilitary base
Site information
Controlled byUnited States
ConditionDismantled
Site history
Built1865
Built byU.S. Army
In use1865-1882
Demolished1886
Garrison information
Garrison2nd Cavalry Regiment
5th Infantry Regiment
6th Infantry Regiment
7th Cavalry Regiment
9th Cavalry Regiment
OccupantsGeorge Custer
George Forsyth

Fort Wallace (c. 1865–1882) was a US Cavalry fort built in Wallace County, Kansas to help defend settlers against Cheyenne and Sioux raids and protect the stages. It is located on Pond Creek, and it was named after General W. H. L. Wallace. There were accommodations for 500 men and the troops were scattered between Fort Hays and Fort Denver.[1]

All that remains today is the cemetery, but for a period of over a decade Fort Wallace was one of the most important military outposts on the frontier.

Fort Wallace Museum

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Today, Fort Wallace is represented by a privately operated museum nearby in the town of Wallace, with relics from the fort as well as photos, reproduction items, and literature covering the post's history and the settlement of the Great Plains. A casting of the plesiosaur discovered by Turner and Scout William Comstock is also on display. Facades of some of the buildings from Fort Wallace and from the Old Town of Wallace are featured in the Milford Becker Addition opened in 2017.

Location

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The old Fort Wallace cemetery still exists, and is located next to the Wallace Township Cemetery at 38°54′23″N 101°33′36″W / 38.90639°N 101.56000°W / 38.90639; -101.56000.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "INDIAN DEPREDATIONS.; Attack on Fort Wallace, Kansas--The Indians Repulsed with a Loss of 20 Killed. Railroad Engineers Attacked--One White Mlan and Several Indians Killed". NY Times. 22 June 1867. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Fort Wallace, Kansas Cemetery". Santa Fe Trail Research. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
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