Fort Sisseton

Fort Sisseton (1864-1889) - First established in 1864 as Fort Wadsworth (2) by Major John Clowney and named after Brigadier General James S. Wadsworth, who was mortally wounded, 8 May 1864, in the Battle of the Wilderness, in Virginia, during the U.S. Civil War. Renamed Fort Sisseton, 29 Aug 1876, after the local Sisseton Sioux Indian Tribe. Abandoned in 1889. Fort Sisseton Doctor's Quarters. Fort Sisseton Hospital. Fort Sisseton Officer Quarters from the Parade. Commander's quarters on the right. Fort Sisseton North Barracks. History Established 1 Aug 1864 as Fort Wadsworth by Maj. John Clowney, 30th Wisconsin Infantry, after the 1862 Sioux Indian uprising. Strategically located atop a tableland called Coteau des Prairies, the fort was built to control the hostile Indians and to protect travel routes to the goldfields in Idaho and Montana. Fort Sisseton Blockhouse Exterior. Fort Sisseton Blockhouse Interior Upper Floor. Fort Sisseton Powder Magazine. Fort Sisseton Powder Magazine Interior. Fort Sisseton Commanding Officer Quarters. Fort Sisseton Officer's Quarters. Fort Sisseton Adjutants Office and Commanders Office. Fort Sisseton Adjutants Office Interior. Fort Sisseton North Barracks. Fort Sisseton North Barracks Interior. Fort Sisseton South Barracks. Fort Sisseton Commissary NCO Quarters. Fort Sisseton Guardhouse. Fort Sisseton Guardhouse Interior. Fort Sisseton Library and Schoolhouse. Fort Sisseton Stables. The post was renamed Fort Sisseton, 29 Aug 1876, after the local Sisseton Sioux Indian Tribe, when it was discovered that the original name conflicted with a Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, New York, also named for BG James S. Wadsworth. By the 1880s the need for the fort had disappeared and the post was turned over to the Interior Department for disposition 22 April 1889 and abandoned by the Army on 9 Jun 1889. Current Status Fort Sisseton Model 1857 Napoleon Bronze Cannon, original to the Fort. Fort Sisseton Post Flag in Visitor Center. Must See! Fort Sisseton State Park, National Historic Landmark. Restoration of the fort was begun in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, WPA, and carried on to date. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Fort Sisseton State Park, Marshall County, South Dakota. Maps & Images Lat: 45.65773 Long: -97.53037 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,831' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 733. Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2. page 148. Fort Sisseton Historic State Park Walking Tour Guide, 2020. Links: North American Forts - Fort Sisseton Visited: 5 Jul 2020