Fort Morgan, Colorado: Troops at the Fort

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Troops at the Fort

In all, 26 companies of soldiers were stationed in and around the Fort Morgan area from 1864 until 1868.

The first troops were Companies C and H of the 1st Colorado Cavalry stationed at Camp Sanborn near Orchard. Later, Companies C and F of the 11th Ohio Cavalry were sent to the area to protect the Overland Mail route.

When Indians began raiding along the trail, troops (Companies F and L of the 3rd Colorado Cavalry) were moved to a more central location at the Junction (later Fort Morgan). When the "Bloody 3rd" was mustered out, a detachment of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry and Company D of the 1st Colorado Mounted Militia (Tyler's Rangers) began building a fort at the Junction.

The short-lived militia was replaced by more permanent troops: Company A of the 1st Colorado Cavalry, Companies G and H of the 3rd U. S. Volunteer Infantry (Galvanized Yankees), and Company B of the 6th U. S. Volunteer Infantry - the first federal troops in the area. Three additional companies of the 5th U. S. Volunteer Infantry would rotate to the fort.

Once the Civil War finished, four companies (B, C, E, & H) of the 13th Missouri Cavalry were deployed to the fort (called Fort Wardwell) to be replaced by Companies C, D, & E of the 21st New York Cavalry when the former were mustered out of service. The 21st NY were the last Civil War troops mustered out and the regular army would take command of the fort.

The first troops at the newly renamed Fort Morgan were Companies D & E of the 18th U.S. Infantry (formerly the 36th U.S. Infantry). The sole duty of the 18th was to protect the transcontinental railroad. When it became clear that the railroad would take a northerly course through Wyoming, the 18th was redeployed leaving only Company L of the 7th U.S. Cavalry stationed at the fort.

The last company stationed at the fort was Company G of the 4th U.S. Infantry. On May 18, 1868, the flag was lowered for the last time and the cannon fired a last salute. Captain Powell and the 4th U. S. Infantry marched to Fort Laramie.
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Photo Source:
Drawing by Frederic Remington "Protecting a Wagon Train" Published in The Milwaukee Journal, March 21, 1964 with the caption “Galvanized Yankees guard a wagon train crossing the plains in this Frederic Remington drawing”.

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Historic Overview

From my youth I brought with me only a vague impression of the history of the small town in which I was raised. Fort Morgan, Colorado, built on the site of a short-lived military fort in the heart of the great American desert; a fort that had never been attacked, never seen a battle. On little more than a whim I went in search of the fort’s operational dates (1864-1868), expecting this information would come readily to hand and that would end my curiosity - the fort once again fading into the midst of vague memory. To my surprise, I instead found a door opening to the history of the west.

The history of Fort Morgan will never rival that of Denver or glisten with the same gold dust of the mountain mining towns, but this little town on the plains of Colorado was central to the story of the Romantic west; it's story connecting with the major events of the age. Everyone has a history and every place is central to a story. What follows is the story from the land - of the land - on which Fort Morgan would rise.