1 st Kansas Volunteer Infantry
Co. D
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History of Hort Harker
Established as Fort Ellsworth , this fort provided protection to the Kansas Stage Line and military wagon trains traveling the Fort Riley Road and Smokey Hill Route to Denver. In November 1866 the post was renamed Fort Harker. A three-day peace council in 1867 at Fort Harker failed miserably, with the Cheyenne vowing to drive the soldiers off the Plains.
In 1866 young Bill Cody took his first scouting job at the fort. The next year while hunting buffalo for the railroads, he became known as Buffalo Bill.
For three weeks in 1867 cholera swept through the fort. That experience led the post surgeon, Dr. George M. Sternberg, to become a leading authority on cummunicable deseases.
Fort Harker served as a supply depot and distribution point for all the forts in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Texas. Gen. Sheridan's winter compaign was developed here, and Col. George A. Forsyth's scouts were formed to seek out the enraged tribes. At the Battle of Beecher Island, Forsyth's scouts held off the main assault for eight days.
Today most of what was Fort Harker is private property. The Ellsworth County Historical Society manages the museum and grounds while overseeing ongoing improvement.
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This page is maintained by Margretta de Vries and was last updated on October 30, 2006.