Fort Laramie August 16, 2016

We traveled the short distance to Fort Laramie, Wyoming today.  The drive is about 53 miles and is not very scenic but was not a bad drive.  The Fort was used during the 1850's when all the pioneers were traveling toward the west and the US Army was sent here to protect them.  According to the history here there were not that many attacks on the wagon trains coming west.  As a matter of fact the Indians helped the settlers more than they attacked them.  However, when the Indian wars started it was a little different but again the Indians did combat with the calvary.  The Fort was abandoned by the US Army in the 1890s and they sold it to private parties who took the wood and metal and left some of the walls made of sandstone and other stuff.  

This is the enlisted men barracks which housed about 120 men.  60 upstairs and another 60 downstairs.  This made up one company of soldiers.  They had their bunks, a kitchen and storage for the upstairs and one for the downstairs.

This is a house of two stories.  It was the first building of its type in Wyoming and built of wood.  Visitors and dignitarys stayed here while they were at the Fort and and some Officers were allowed to stay that were not married.

This is the hospital or what is left of it.  They had some doctors that knew only a little medicine and had to refer to manuals that had little more information in them.

Married Officers Quarters

Front view of the same building.

This is one of the bridges built by the US Army to cross the North Platte river.  It was used by merchants delivering goods to the Fort and then after treaties, one in 1858 and another in 1868 with the Indians, they brought goods to trade with them.