Bed & Breakfast Inns and Ranches of Wyoming

Lieutenant William J. Fetterman had a Civil War reputation for bravery but no respect for the Lakota.  He was openly contemptuous of Fort Phil Kearny commanding officer Colonel Carrington's cautious stance toward engaging the enemy.  When a train of wagons loaded with wood was attacked on December 21, 1866, Carrington assigned Captain James Powell, who had successfully resolved a similar situation just three days before with no soldier casualties, to go to their defense.  Fetterman pulled rank, saying he should be allowed to lead the party and Carrington unwisely agreed.  He gave Fetterman explicit orders, however, saying, "Support the wood train, relieve it, and report to me.  Do not engage or pursue Indians at any expense.  Under no circumstances pursue over the ridge."

Fetterman rode out with about eighty men, almost one third the Fort's total soldiers, and quickly broke up the attack on the wood train.  Then, in blatant disregard of Carrington's orders, Fetterman allowed himself to be lured over the infamous Lodge Trail Ridge (click for map) into an ambush party of some two thousand Indians.  So great was his arrogance that he did not even have his men well deployed as the trap was sprung.  Within thirty minutes every white man had been shot, clubbed, speared, or hacked to death.

That night a blizzard blew in, dropping the temperature to 30 below zero and building ramps of drifted snow against the walls of the fort.  Carrington, short of soldiers and certain a direct attack on the fort was imminent, asked for volunteers to ride to Fort Laramie and alert the army there of Fort Phil Kearny's desperate straits.  A civilian scout named John "Portugee" Phillips stepped forward.

Click here to continue the story of Portugee Phillips' famous ride