News – Sheridan Media
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On Friday, July 19, there was a character walk held at Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site. Park Rangers Katie Singleton and Olivia Shelton led the hike. The walk began at the Interpretive Center, and the attendees walked around the fort grounds.
Each participant at the hike was given a badge with the name of some of the historic persons who were at the fort during 1866-1868. On the back of the card was a quote from that person. There was Jim Bridger, Colonel Carrington, Captain Ten Eyck, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse and Margaret Carrington to name a few.
The rangers took the group to various sites on the fort grounds, and at the appropriate site, the group read the quote from their historic person, and the ranger added more information about each of them.
The first stop was the officer’s quarters, and ‘Col. Carrington’ read the quote from the card.
Singleton talked about when Carrington came to the fort in 1866.
Another person who was at the fort during that time was Mountain Man Jim Bridger, who was a scout for the army. Scouts were very important to the army at that time, and Singleton said that Bridger was the ‘least expendable member’ at the fort. Bridger was the chief interpreter in the Army’s Mountain District, and he was paid $300 per month, “Almost double what the officers were paid and a lot more than the soldiers, who were only paid $16 per month,” Singleton added.
The hike continued briefly into the lower stockade area, where Singleton pointed out Pilot Knob and Lodge Trail Ridge, and talked about the Fetterman Fight, which happened on December 21, 1866.
The men that were killed were about a quarter of the defenders at the fort.
Another man at the fort was Captain Ten Eyck, who was a commanding officer there. At the time of the Fetterman fight, the troops at the Fort heard the firing, and Carrington gathered together about 75 men under Captain Ten Eyck and sent them out on foot to search for Fetterman. He was too late to help Fetterman’s men,
The walk was about a mile around the upper stockade area of the fort. It was an interesting look at the fort and that time in history through the eyes of those who were there.
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Last modified: July 22, 2024