Thirteen Ways to Think About Fort Fetterman

Quiz Yourself

Here are some questions to ask before you visit Fort Fetterman, while you’re there, and again after you return:

Who lived at Fort Fetterman?
Was there ever a wall around Fort Fetterman?
Who was it named for?
What was life like at Fort Fetterman for Indian, white and mixed-blood people during the Indian Wars?
What was the Bozeman Trail? What connection does it have with Wyoming? With Fort Fetterman?
Why did the U.S. Army build Fort Fetterman?
What other forts did the Army build on the Bozeman Trail? What were their names and where were they located? Did Fort Fetterman exist at the same time? Was it closed before the others or afterward?
What was Red Cloud’s War? What connection did it have with Fort Fetterman?
What river and creek are near Fort Fetterman? Why was its location close to these important?
What was life like for soldiers at the fort? For their officers? For the officers” wives and families?
What general made three marches from Fort Fetterman during the Indian Wars? When did he depart the fort, where did he take the troops each time and why? Did any battles result? If so, when and where were they fought? Who won?
Who could march faster, foot soldiers or horse soldiers? Where did the horse soldiers keep their horses? What did the horses eat?
When did the army leave? What happened to Fort Fetterman afterwards? What was Fetterman City? Does it still exist?

THERE ARE HUNDREDS of more good questions a person could ask about Fort Fetterman.

SEND US three interesting Fort Fetterman questions of your own. Be sure to identify your school and classroom teacher or note if you are home schooled when you send in questions. Contact editor@wyohistory.org for information on a 2014-2015 contest for submitting the most questions.

Note to Teachers

This lesson addresses a number of the Wyoming State Social Studies Standards detailed in the 2013 draft of Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards, benchmarked for the ends of grades 2, 5, 8 and 12. All are available at http://edu.wyoming.gov/sf-docs/publications/DRAFT_2013_Social_Studies_Standards.pdf?

More specifically, the lesson addresses Content Standard 4, Time, Continuity and Change, under which students analyze events, people, problems, and ideas within their historical contexts, and Content Standard 5, People, Places and Environments, under which students apply their knowledge of the geographic themes (location, place, movement, region, and human/environment interactions) and skills to demonstrate an understanding of interrelationships among people, places, and environment.

Under Content Standard 4, the lesson addresses standards SS5.4.4. SS8.4.4 and SS12.4.4, which call for students to discuss, identify or describe historical interactions between and among individuals, families, and cultural/ethnic groups, and standards SS5.4.5, SSD8.4.5 and 12.4.5, which call for students to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources, and how to use them in their research.

Under Content Standard 5, this lesson addresses the Human Place and Movement standards SS2.5.3, SS5.5.3 (which specifically mentions American Indians and the Oregon Trail), SS8.5.3 and SS12.5.3, and the Environment and Society standards SS2.5.4, SS5.5.4, SS8.5.4 and SS12.5.4, which call on students to understand how people in Wyoming adjust and have adjusted to their physical and geographical environment.