Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-07-18
FORT KEOGH TO
BE ABANDONED.
Custer County Post, Once the Pride
OF Western Military Men. Soon
to re FOrgOttcn..Built
by Gen. Nelson, \.
Miles in 80.

Old Fort Keogh, near Miles City,
which with Fort Missoula is the oldest
Montana fort now containing a garri-
son, is to be abandoned according to
the Independent. This is the only
conclusion than can be reached from
an order received by the quartermas-
ter at the post last Friday, and which
was published in the Independent the
following day. The order was from
the quartermaster general of the de-
partment's headquarters at St. Paul
and instructed the quartermastcr OF
the Custer county post to stop work on
all contracts which had been made for
the repair OF the post, to discharge All
Workmen engaged, and to ascertain
the value of all material on hand and
the amount it would be necessary to
pay contractors for a violation of the
government agreement with them.
This order came as a painful SUR
the opinion that the old post was to he
repaired and renovated in accordance
with an appropriation which was
made few years ago. when $+O, 900
was appropriated by the federal gov
ernment to be expended on the fort
Nevertheless it seems practically
certain that the order OF the depart
ment can mean nothing else. II is
! known that there is to be a general
shaking up among the army posts of
the country, and many are to be aban-
doned and others more thoroughly gar
risoned. The secretary of war is on a
tour of inspection of posts to be aban-
doned, and 'le is expected to visit Fort
Keogh in the near future. The mill.
tary authorities at the post expressed
themselves as positive that the order
just received means that the post ( to
be abandoned at once.
Notwithstanding that congress re
Gently appropriated money to repair
the old fort, the war department has
evidently reached the conclusion that
past. Keogh was built by General
Nelson A. Miles in 1877, to supply the
place of a fort dismanted IN 1880,
and to prove to the Indians. as it were,
that Uncle Sam was coming into Mon
tana to stay. The fort was immedi-
ately garrisoncd by the 5th United
States infantry and four companies of
the End cavalry. General Miles was
PLACED in command of the post and re-
manned there for several years. The
post did valiant service in the various
Indian wars of the state. In the his
tory of Montana, published in 1855,
Major McElrath is quoted as saying;
ITO the vigilance and bravery of
the commanding officer Of Fort keogh
-Gencral Miles more than any
other instrumentaity, the credit is due
for the cleansing of eastern Montana
of the hordes OF hostile savages, WHO
as late as 1877 rendered the Yellow
stone valley uninhabitable for whites.
1t may safely be claimed that the abo-
riginal bugbear has been exterminated
in that locality. There are, it is true,
as in all western territories, multi
tudes of Indians in the valley, but they
are either reconstructed attaches or
captive allies of Fort Keogh, or friend
ly tribes living on their special reser-
vations; but the so-called 'hostiles' no
longer threaten the Yellowstone valley,
nor need there be the slightest risk of
invasion by them SO long as Fort Ke-
ogh is effectively garrisoned and eff
cicntly utilized.
Fort Keogh was used as regimental
headquarters until the outbreak of the
Spanish American war in 1898, when
the entire garrison of the post, with
the exception Of a few men to do guard
duty, were ordered to the south to SER
vice in Cuba. At the close of the war
a troop of cavalry was stationed at
the post, and has been kept there ever
since.
Contracts for extensive repairs,
which were badly needed, were let
few months ago, and large force of
mechanics was at the post when the
order came to suspend work last week.
In case the contracts are annulled the
contractors will secure equitable relief
from the government.