12 Facts About Fort Laramie

Fort Laramie was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers.

Fort Laramie William was founded by William Sublette and his partner Robert Campbell in 1834.

The name "Fort Laramie" gradually came into use, likely as a convenient shortening of "Fort John at the Laramie River".

Fort Laramie went out alone to trap in 1819 or 1820 and was never seen again.

Fort Laramie was located near the confluence of two rivers, so it commanded a broad plain with water on two sides; these formed a partial natural moat.

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In 1845 the nearby Fort Laramie Bernard was established about 8 miles east, farther down the North Platte River, in hopes of getting some of the growing Emigrant Trail trade with western bound wagon trains.

Fort Laramie was purchased from Bruce Husband, a member of the American Fur Company, for $4,000 in June 1849 by US Army Lt.

Fort Laramie was taken over by the Army largely to protect and supply emigrants along the emigrant trails.

In 1851, the first Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed, resulting in relatively peaceful relations between the whites and the Native Americans during the 1850s, though troops from the fort made up the small force that was killed during the Grattan massacre of 1854 under the command of Second Lieutenant John Lawrence Grattan.

Fort Laramie was never seriously threatened by Indian attacks during the quarter-century of intermittent warfare sparked by the Grattan massacre.

On Christmas night in 1866, John "Portuguese" Phillips ended his historic horseback ride at Fort Laramie after riding 236 miles from the Powder River Country.

Fort Laramie served as a major staging point for supplies and troops.