Fort Abraham Lincoln
A quick two-night stop on my way to Theodore Roosevelt National Park turned out to be a real gem! Located in Mandan, North Dakota just outside of Bismark, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park sits on the shores of the Missouri River. I had never heard of Fort Abraham Lincoln, but it turns out that this region and fort played an important role in American history.
For over two hundred years (1575–1781), this area was the home of the Mandan Indians. They were a peaceful people who were skilled farmers often producing enough crops to trade for goods they needed. During the winter of 1805, the Lewis & Clark expedition stayed with the Mandan and unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a peace with their enemies, the Sioux. It wasn’t their enemies that led to the decline of the Mandan, but rather smallpox. The State Park has reconstructed six earthlodges at the On-A-Slant village to depict the lifestyle and culture of the Mandan people.
In 1872, President Ulyssis Grant established an infantry post here to provide protection for railway surveying crews against raiding Indians. Built on a high bluff overlooking the Missouri River, the fort was complete with blockhouses, barracks, officers’ quarters, mess hall, powder magazines, and a hospital. Soon the infantry found out that they were no match for the skilled horsemanship of the Sioux warriors. The Army requested and got approval in 1873 for calvary to be sent and the installation was renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln.
Stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln was the US Army’s 6th Cavalry and in 1874 a new commanding officer named Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer arrived. The original home of the commanding officer burned down and soon Custer used Army funds to build a luxurious home on the prairie frontier. In June 1876, the 6th Cavalry headed west on an expedition and a date with destiny. On the morning of June 26, 1876, Custer and his column of cavalry were attacked near the Little Bighorn River by Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors led by Crazy Horse. A total of 268 soldiers were killed including Lt. Col. George Custer, two of his brothers, his nephew, and his brother-in-law.
By 1881, there was no longer a military need for Fort Abraham Lincoln and the government decommissioned the fort. Wood was a precious commodity on the prairie and soon the residents of nearby bustling Bismarck salvaged the wood structures at the fort for their own construction projects. The structures that appear at Fort Abraham Lincoln today are all reconstructions based on original plans and photos. The state park has done a fine job with the Custer Home and barracks building which pays honor to the men who fought and died at Little Bighorn.
