Military Posts

To control the Plains tribes after the Civil War, the government established a chain of forts from the Dakotas to Texas. In the Indian Territory the new western outposts were Fort Sill, Fort Reno, and Camp Supply. From these bases of operation, troops tacked and battled elusive Indians, chased and arrested horse thieves, and found and drove out the persistent armies of boomers led by David L. Payne and William Couch. In 1889 troops from Fort Reno supervised the land run.

Five Civilized Tribes-Continued

The first removals of the Indian tribes to the West began in the 1790s when groups of Cherokees moved to the Arkansas River Valley. As Americans swept into their homelands, pressure on the tribes increased. During the 1830s more than 49,000 members of the Five Tribes were forced west over what became known as the Trail of Tears.
General Winfield Scott served as the person in charge of this forced move. Fort Scott, Kansas located in South-east Kansas, derived its name from this general. Established in 1842, it served as a protector for settlers against Indian attacks. The fort has been restored and is a National Historical Site. It is open to the public year round.