Fort Hays

Infobox Military Structure
name= Fort Hays
partof=
location= Hays, Kansas
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type=
code=
built=1865
builder=
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used= 1865-1889
demolished=
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ownership=
open_to_public=
controlledby=United States Army
garrison= 5th Infantry 7th Cavalry 10th Cavalry
current_commander=
commanders=
occupants=George Armstrong Custer Nelson Miles Philip Sheridan
battles=
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Fort Hays was an important frontier outpost of the United States Army located in northwestern Kansas between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were better known as buffalo soldiers. The fort was originally located about five miles south of present day Walker, Kansas.

History

At first called Fort Fletcher (after Governor Thomas C. Fletcher of Missouri), it became operational on October 11, 1865. The army garrisoned the fort to protect the stage and freight wagons of the Butterfield Overland Despatch traveling along the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver.

Fort Fletcher's troops spent much of their time away from their post, guarding stage stations and escorting travelers. Fort Fletcher was closed in early 1866. There are several reasons why it was closed. The army was shorthanded, needed funds to maintain the post were unavailable, and Indians temporarily had forced the stageline from the route. This abandonment was not permanent, however, and Fort Fletcher was reestablished in October 1866. Soon after its reoccupation the fort's name was changed. The Fort received the name "Fort Hays" from Civil War general Alexander Hays, who had been killed in 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness.

New Location

The troops at Fort Hays continued to aid the railroad crews, but the post's location proved to be unsatisfactory for two reasons: the railroad was following a route to the north of the old trail and the post was located in a floodplain that could be destructive. General Winfield Scott Hancock, made the decision to move the post nearer the railroad while visiting there in early 1867. He determined that the post could better serve the railroad if it were moved to a site near where the railroad crossed Big Creek. The new and final location of Fort Hays would be located just south of present day Hays, Kansas. The new Fort Hays site was officially occupied on June 23, 1867.

The new fort, like other Plains forts, was not a true fortification but appeared to be more like a frontier settlement. There was no wall around the post, and the only defensive structure was a blockhouse. The post was designed as a base for supplies and troops who could be dispatched into the field to protect vulnerable people and places when Indian resistance appeared.

Abandonment

Fort Hays was abandoned on November 8, 1889. A decade later, Congress transferred the original land to the State of Kansas to be used for a branch of the state agricultural college. Fort Hays State University, the only state university in the western half of Kansas, evolved from this.

Fort Hays State Historic Site

The Kansas Historical Society maintains several buildings as a museum known as the Fort Hays State Historic Site. Four of the original buildings can be visited: the 1867 stone blockhouse, 1872 stone guardhouse, and two of the frame officers' quarters, which have been outfitted with period furnishings. Also on exhibit are Native American artifacts.

Trivia

*In 1868 General Philip Sheridan reported seeing a herd of 300,000 buffalo near Fort Hays. He estimated the herd covered a territory 90 miles in length and 25 miles wide.
*Fort Hays has been featured in three movies: Dances with Wolves starring Kevin Costner, the CBS-TV movie Stolen Women, Captured Hearts, and the 1937 movie The Plainsman starring Gary Cooper.

Blue Light Lady

There is an often reported paranormal sighting known around Fort Hays. Known commonly as the 'Blue Light Lady,' the ghost is allegedly the spirit of Elizabeth Polly, who was a nurse during the time Fort Hays was an operational military fort. The sightings of a blue light center around Sentinel Hill, which was a supposed favorite spot of Polly's, who asked to be buried on top of it. Sentinel Hill has a burial marker on top of it, but reports are mixed as to whether or not she is actually buried there. Some contend that the grave found at the base of the hill was not Polly, but rather a Mexican cattleman, due to the marker's Spanish inscription. In fact the "Lonely Grave," as it is called, may not be an actual burial site at all as no remains were found in attempts to fulfill Miss Polly's wishes by moving her to the top of the hill. This is also refuted because the actual Sentinel Hill is completely made of bedrock, therefore making it a highly unlikely burial ground.

Notable and Temporary Residents

* Wild Bill Hickok
* Buffalo Bill Cody
* General Nelson Miles
* General Philip Sheridan
* Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer

References

* [http://www.kshs.org/places/forthays/history.htm Fort Hays history]
* [http://www.haysusa.com/./html/history___trivia.html Hays History and Trivia]
* [http://www.kshs.org/places/forthays/ Fort Hays Historic Site]
* [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-FortHays.html Kansas Legends-Fort Hays]