| Story, Wyoming and the
surrounding region is characterized by many
historic attractions. Many of the local historical sites
were significant in the early days of the American
west, including several sites where Indian battles took
place. Below are some of the historical attractions you
will find in the area. |
|
|
Fort Phil Kearny
Fort Phil Kearny, named for a popular Union
General, was established by Colonel Henry B. Carrington
of the 18th U.S. Infantry in July, 1866, near
present-day Story, in Northeastern Wyoming. The largest
of three forts, including Fort Reno near Kaycee,
Wyoming, and Fort C. F. Smith near Hardin, Montana, it
was one of the three posts established to protect
emigrants traveling the Bozeman Trail north to the gold
fields of Montana, and also to prevent intertribal
warfare between Native American tribes. It later proved
useful to draw attention of Indian forces away from the
trans-continental railroad construction corridor to the
south. |
 |
|
|
 |
The Fetterman Fight Monument
Today an impressive stone monument and memorial plaque
marks the site of this tragic battle, one of the few in
American military history in which an entire command was
wiped out. A walking path has also been developed in
recent years along the ridge, with over 30 signs
interpreting the battle from both the military and
Indian points of view.
On December
21, 1866, Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho
warriors staged an ambush some three miles from Fort
Phil Kearny. Ordered to rescue a besieged wood-wagon
train, Captain William J. Fetterman and 80 men were
decoyed over Lodge Trail Ridge by a small number of
Indians led by the young Lakota Sioux warrior, Crazy
Horse, into a trap where over 1000 warriors waited in
hiding. Fetterman's pursuit over the ridge, in violation
of Carrington's orders, led to the death of the entire
command. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
Wagon Box Fight Historic Site
A remarkable battle in the early days in Wyoming.
One of the most unusual battles in the history of the
west was fought August 2, 1867 about five miles west of
Fort Phil Kearny. Here an estimated 1,000 Indians under
Chief Red Cloud, attacked a handful of soldiers and
civilians and suffered a defeat.
In the summer of 1867, Indian
forces, attempting to repeat the Fetterman victory,
attacked woodcutters and soldiers camped about five
miles from the Fort. During initial stages of the
battle, twenty-six soldiers and six civilians took cover
inside an oval of wagon boxes used as a stock corral.
Armed with new rapid-fire breech loading rifles the
soldiers and civilians, commanded by Captain James
Powell, held off the massed warriors until a relief
force arrived from the fort. Three men were killed and
two wounded inside of the corral, while Indian
casualties were estimated at from five to sixty or more
killed and five to one-hundred-and-twenty more wounded. |
|
|
|
 |
Hole-in-the-Wall Country
The infamous "Hole in the Wall", the hideout of
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid along with the rest
of the "Wild Bunch" is about a 1½-hour drive south
from
Story, Wyoming. |
|
|
Little Big Horn Battlefield
The Little Big Horn Battlefield, where General
George Armstrong Custer was defeated and killed, is less
that a 1½-hour drive north from Story, Wyoming. |
 |
|
|
|
Contact Bill & Renay Bailey
Telephone: (307)
461-0885 (Cell)
e-mail:
bbrb2@vcn.com |
|
|
