Fort Ransom (2)
Fort Ransom (1867-1872) - Established 18 Jun 1867 by Capt. (Bvt Major) George H. Crosman of the 10th U.S. Infantry to keep the Sioux Indians in check and to protect the Dakota-Montana trail. Fort Ransom was named for Brig. Gen. Thomas E. G. Ransom who died 29 Oct 1864 while serving in the U.S. Civil War.
Fort Ransom History
Fort Ramsom was sited by Brig. Gen. Alfred H. Terry as a 200 man post designed to protect the Dakota-Montana trail. The fort was distinctive because of the 8' dry moat surrounding the breastworks. Resources were scarce at the fort and even water had to be hauled from a spring 600 yards away. The fort was abandoned on 31 Jul 1872 after Fort Seward was established (27 May 1872) and materials from the fort were used in the construction of Fort Seward. The military post was transfered to the Interior Department 22 Jul 1884.
Current Status
Although building locations and the dry moat, once eight feet deep, are still clearly discernible, nothing else remains of the original fort or its twelve-feet-high sod and log stockade except a marker on the site.
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Location: 1 Mile south of the village of Fort Ransom, North Dakota Maps & Images Lat: 46.518591 Long: -97.940374 |
Sources:
- Field, Ron, Forts of the American Frontier 1820-91: Central and Northern Plains, Osprey Publishing, Elms Court, Chapel Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 9LP, United Kingdom, 2005, ISBN: 1 84176 775 1
- Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 115
- Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 113
- 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 632
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