Fort Halleck (Wyoming)
Encyclopedia
Fort Halleck was a military outpost that existed in the 1860s along the Overland Trail
and stage route in what is now the U.S state of Wyoming
. The fort was established in 1862 to protect emigrant travelers and stages
transporting mail between Kansas and Salt Lake City, Utah
and named for Major General Henry Wager Halleck
, commander of the Department of the Missouri
and later General-in-chief
of the Union armies.
The fort was located on the northeast side of Elk Mountain
at an altitude of about 7800 feet. At the time the area around the fort was well watered and well stocked with game . The fort was reasonably large with stables for 200 horses, company quarters, office quarters, and a hospital and surgeons on staff.
which was in use in the late 1840s by miners heading to California. In 1861 the government moved the official mail route to the Overland Trail from the Oregon Trail
due to threat of Indian attack and the mail contract was assigned to Ben Holladay
who established a stage line and stage stations along the Overland Trail. Pressure by white immigrants and shifting buffalo herds forced the Indian tribes to the Laramie Plains
where they came into conflict with travelers on the Overland. Soldiers from the Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry stationed in Camp Collins
in Colorado were dispatched north to build Fort Halleck to protect the trail from Camp Collins to the Green River
stage station in the west.
The trail was at its busiest in 1864 and 1865. During this time troops were often used as escorts and drivers for the stages. At times in 1864 and 1865 ongoing attacks caused the mail to accumulate at stations in Colorado and at Fort Halleck until it could be transported to Green River via government wagons.
The fort was abandoned in 1866 after Fort Sanders
was built near the present day city of Laramie
. Three years later the Transcontinental railroad
was completed (mostly along the same route as the Overland Trail from Laramie to Salt Lake City) and travel on the trail declined to nearly nothing.
The outlaw
L.H. Musgrove
was charged in 1863 with murder at Fort Halleck and taken to Denver, Colorado
, where he was lynched in 1868 by a vigilante
committee.
Today the site is located on private land. Only a single building (thought to be the blacksmith shop) remains standing. A marker is located on the cemetery.
Overland Trail
The Overland Trail was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail was most heavily used in the 1860s as an alternative route to the Oregon, California and Mormon...
and stage route in what is now the U.S state of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The fort was established in 1862 to protect emigrant travelers and stages
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
transporting mail between Kansas and Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and named for Major General Henry Wager Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck was a United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory, "Old Brains." He was an important participant in the admission of California as a state and became a successful lawyer and land developer...
, commander of the Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri was a division of the United States Army that functioned through the American Civil War and the Indian Wars afterwards.-Civil War:...
and later General-in-chief
General-in-Chief
General-in-Chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world.- France :In France, General-in-Chief was first an informal title for the lieutenant-general commanding over others lieutenant-generals, or even for some marshals in charge of an army...
of the Union armies.
The fort was located on the northeast side of Elk Mountain
Elk Mountain (Carbon County, Wyoming)
Elk Mountain is a northern most of the Medicine Bow Mountains. It is southwest of the town of Elk Mountain, Wyoming and roughly from Rawlins, Wyoming. The mountain is the area's most visible feature. It is located south of Interstate 80 in Carbon County. Elk Mountain is the 8th most prominent...
at an altitude of about 7800 feet. At the time the area around the fort was well watered and well stocked with game . The fort was reasonably large with stables for 200 horses, company quarters, office quarters, and a hospital and surgeons on staff.
History
The Overland Trail was established in 1860 following the same general path as the Cherokee TrailCherokee Trail
The Cherokee Trail was a historic overland trail through the present-day U.S. states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming that was used from the late 1840s up through the early 1890s. The route was established in 1849 by a wagon train headed to the gold fields in California...
which was in use in the late 1840s by miners heading to California. In 1861 the government moved the official mail route to the Overland Trail from the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
due to threat of Indian attack and the mail contract was assigned to Ben Holladay
Ben Holladay
Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...
who established a stage line and stage stations along the Overland Trail. Pressure by white immigrants and shifting buffalo herds forced the Indian tribes to the Laramie Plains
Laramie Plains
The Laramie Plains is an arid highland in south central Wyoming in the United States. The plains extend along the upper basin of the Laramie River on the east side of the Medicine Bow Range. The city of Laramie is the largest community in the valley...
where they came into conflict with travelers on the Overland. Soldiers from the Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry stationed in Camp Collins
Camp Collins
Camp Collins was a 19th century outpost of the United States Army in the Colorado Territory. The fort was commissioned in the summer of 1862 to protect the Overland Trail from attacks by Native Americans in a conflict that later became known as the Colorado War...
in Colorado were dispatched north to build Fort Halleck to protect the trail from Camp Collins to the Green River
Green River, Wyoming
Green River is a city in and the county seat of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 11,808 at the 2000 census....
stage station in the west.
The trail was at its busiest in 1864 and 1865. During this time troops were often used as escorts and drivers for the stages. At times in 1864 and 1865 ongoing attacks caused the mail to accumulate at stations in Colorado and at Fort Halleck until it could be transported to Green River via government wagons.
The fort was abandoned in 1866 after Fort Sanders
Fort Sanders (Wyoming)
Fort Sanders was a wooden fort constructed in 1866 on the Laramie Plains in southern Wyoming, near the city of Laramie. Originally named Fort John Buford, it was renamed Fort Sanders after General William P. Sanders who died at the Siege of Knoxville during the American Civil War. This was the...
was built near the present day city of Laramie
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
. Three years later the Transcontinental railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
was completed (mostly along the same route as the Overland Trail from Laramie to Salt Lake City) and travel on the trail declined to nearly nothing.
The outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
L.H. Musgrove
L.H. Musgrove
L. H. Musgrove was an outlaw of the American West who was sprung from jail in Denver, Colorado, and hanged by a vigilante mob. Over a number of years, he had been was charged with several murders and the theft of horses....
was charged in 1863 with murder at Fort Halleck and taken to Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, where he was lynched in 1868 by a vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
committee.
Today the site is located on private land. Only a single building (thought to be the blacksmith shop) remains standing. A marker is located on the cemetery.
External links
- Fort Halleck at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office