Fort Hays
Encyclopedia
Fort Hays was an important frontier
outpost of the United States Army
located in Hays, Kansas
between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry
, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were better known as buffalo soldiers. The fort was originally located about five miles south of present day Walker, Kansas
.
), it became operational on October 11, 1865. The army garrisoned the fort to protect the stage and freight wagons of the Butterfield Overland Despatch traveling along the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver.
Fort Fletcher's troops spent much of their time away from their post, guarding stage stations and escorting travelers. Fort Fletcher was closed in early 1866. There are several reasons why it was closed. The army was shorthanded, needed funds to maintain the post were unavailable, and Indians temporarily had forced the stageline from the route. This abandonment was not permanent, however, and Fort Fletcher was reestablished in October 1866. Soon after its reoccupation the fort's name was changed. The Fort received the name "Fort Hays" from Civil War
general Alexander Hays
, who had been killed in 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness
.
, made the decision to move the post nearer the railroad while visiting there in early 1867. He determined that the post could better serve the railroad if it were moved to a site near where the railroad crossed Big Creek. The new and final location of Fort Hays would be located just south of present day Hays, Kansas
. The new Fort Hays site was officially occupied on June 23, 1867.
The new fort, like other Plains forts, was not a true fortification but appeared to be more like a frontier settlement. There was no wall around the post, and the only defensive structure was a blockhouse. The post was designed as a base for supplies and troops who could be dispatched into the field to protect vulnerable people and places when Indian resistance appeared.
, the only state university in the western half of Kansas, evolved from this.
maintains several buildings as a museum known as the Fort Hays State Historic Site. Four of the original buildings can be visited: the 1867 stone blockhouse, 1872 stone guardhouse, and two of the frame officers' quarters, which have been outfitted with period furnishings. Also on exhibit are Native American
artifacts.
, who was a nurse during the time Fort Hays was an operational military fort. The sightings of a blue light center around Sentinel Hill, which was a supposed favorite spot of Polly's, who asked to be buried on top of it. Sentinel Hill has a burial marker on top of it, but reports are mixed as to whether or not she is actually buried there. Some contend that the grave found at the base of the hill was not Polly, but rather a Mexican cattleman, due to the marker's Spanish inscription. In fact the "Lonely Grave," as it is called, may not be an actual burial site at all as no remains were found in attempts to fulfill Miss Polly's wishes by moving her to the top of the hill. This is also refuted because the actual Sentinel Hill is completely made of bedrock, therefore making it a highly unlikely burial ground.
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
outpost of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
located in Hays, Kansas
Hays, Kansas
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry
5th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 5th Infantry Regiment is the third-oldest infantry regiment of the United States Army, tracing its origins to 1808...
, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were better known as buffalo soldiers. The fort was originally located about five miles south of present day Walker, Kansas
Walker, Kansas
Walker is an unincorporated community in Herzog Township, Ellis County, Kansas, United States. Walker has a post office with ZIP code 67674. -Geography:...
.
History
At first called Fort Fletcher (after Governor Thomas C. Fletcher of MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
), it became operational on October 11, 1865. The army garrisoned the fort to protect the stage and freight wagons of the Butterfield Overland Despatch traveling along the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver.
Fort Fletcher's troops spent much of their time away from their post, guarding stage stations and escorting travelers. Fort Fletcher was closed in early 1866. There are several reasons why it was closed. The army was shorthanded, needed funds to maintain the post were unavailable, and Indians temporarily had forced the stageline from the route. This abandonment was not permanent, however, and Fort Fletcher was reestablished in October 1866. Soon after its reoccupation the fort's name was changed. The Fort received the name "Fort Hays" from Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
general Alexander Hays
Alexander Hays
Alexander Hays was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, killed in the Battle of the Wilderness.-Early life and career:...
, who had been killed in 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
.
New Location
The troops at Fort Hays continued to aid the railroad crews, but the post's location proved to be unsatisfactory for two reasons: the railroad was following a route to the north of the old trail and the post was located in a floodplain that could be destructive. General Winfield Scott HancockWinfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
, made the decision to move the post nearer the railroad while visiting there in early 1867. He determined that the post could better serve the railroad if it were moved to a site near where the railroad crossed Big Creek. The new and final location of Fort Hays would be located just south of present day Hays, Kansas
Hays, Kansas
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
. The new Fort Hays site was officially occupied on June 23, 1867.
The new fort, like other Plains forts, was not a true fortification but appeared to be more like a frontier settlement. There was no wall around the post, and the only defensive structure was a blockhouse. The post was designed as a base for supplies and troops who could be dispatched into the field to protect vulnerable people and places when Indian resistance appeared.
Abandonment
Fort Hays was abandoned on November 8, 1889. A decade later, Congress transferred the original land to the State of Kansas to be used for a branch of the state agricultural college. Fort Hays State UniversityFort Hays State University
Fort Hays State University is a public, co-educational university located in Hays, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with an enrollment of approximately 11,200 students .- History :FHSU was founded in 1902 as the...
, the only state university in the western half of Kansas, evolved from this.
Fort Hays State Historic Site
The Kansas Historical SocietyKansas Historical Society
The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas.Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Kansas State Archives and Library, Kansas State Capitol...
maintains several buildings as a museum known as the Fort Hays State Historic Site. Four of the original buildings can be visited: the 1867 stone blockhouse, 1872 stone guardhouse, and two of the frame officers' quarters, which have been outfitted with period furnishings. Also on exhibit are Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
artifacts.
Trivia
- In 1868 General Philip SheridanPhilip SheridanPhilip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
reported seeing a herd of 300,000 buffalo near Fort Hays. He estimated the herd covered a territory 90 miles in length and 25 miles wide. - Fort Hays has been featured in three movies: Dances with WolvesDances with WolvesDances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
starring Kevin CostnerKevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
, the 1997 CBS-TV movie Stolen Women, Captured Hearts starring Janine Turner and Michael Greyeyes, and the 1937 movie The PlainsmanThe PlainsmanThe Plainsman is a 1936 American Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The film presents a highly fictionalized account of the adventures and relationships between Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody, and General George Custer, with a...
starring Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
. - Fort Hays is also featured in the 17-week ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
military-western series CusterCuster (TV series)Custer, also known as The Legend of Custer, is a 17-episode military-western television series which ran on ABC from September 6 to December 27, 1967, with Wayne Maunder in the starring role of then Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. During the American Civil War, Custer had risen to the...
, which aired during the fall of 1967. It starred Wayne MaunderWayne MaunderWayne E. Maunder is a retired actor, originally from Canada, who starred in three American television series between 1967 and 1974.-Three television series:...
in the title role.
Blue Light Lady
There is an often reported paranormal sighting known around Fort Hays. Known commonly as the 'Blue Light Lady,' the ghost is allegedly the spirit of Elizabeth PollyElizabeth Polly
Elizabeth Polly was the young wife of Ephriam Polly, the Hospital Steward or male nurse during the cholera epidemic at Fort Hays in 1867. Elizabeth was the hospital matron that helped sick and dying soldiers deal with what was for many, the final hours of their lives...
, who was a nurse during the time Fort Hays was an operational military fort. The sightings of a blue light center around Sentinel Hill, which was a supposed favorite spot of Polly's, who asked to be buried on top of it. Sentinel Hill has a burial marker on top of it, but reports are mixed as to whether or not she is actually buried there. Some contend that the grave found at the base of the hill was not Polly, but rather a Mexican cattleman, due to the marker's Spanish inscription. In fact the "Lonely Grave," as it is called, may not be an actual burial site at all as no remains were found in attempts to fulfill Miss Polly's wishes by moving her to the top of the hill. This is also refuted because the actual Sentinel Hill is completely made of bedrock, therefore making it a highly unlikely burial ground.
Notable and Temporary Residents
- Wild Bill HickokWild Bill HickokJames Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
- Buffalo Bill Cody
- General Nelson Miles
- General Philip SheridanPhilip SheridanPhilip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
- Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
- General, then Captain Louis H. CarpenterLouis H. CarpenterLouis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars....
, Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
winner for 1868 action, Civil War, Indian Wars and Spanish-American War. Some times Commander of Fort Hays.