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Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings
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FORT DOUGLAS
Utah
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Location: Salt Lake County, on the Fort Douglas
Military Reservation, northeastern edge of Salt Lake City.
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This fort was founded in 1862 in the foothills of the
Wasatch Mountains on a rise overlooking Salt Lake City by Col. Patrick
E. Connor and his California Volunteers. Commanding the Military
District of Utah, Colonel Connor supervised Army operations in Utah,
Nevada, and part of Wyoming. The garrison protected the overland mail
and transcontinental telegraph lines from the Indians; kept the Mormons
under surveillance; guarded the transportation routes crossing Utah in
all directions; and aided road-surveying parties. One of the few
instances in which the troops saw action in the Indian campaigns was
Colonel Connor's 300-man campaign in the fall and winter of 1862-63
against marauding Shoshonis, Snakes, and Bannocks, in northern Utah; in
January 1863 he dealt a severe defeat to the Shoshoni Chief Bear Hunter
in the Battle of Bear River. Once the Civil War ended, Regulars replaced
the Volunteers. The Army inactivated the post in 1967, but retained
about 100 acres for Reserve training and the Deseret Test Center
headquarters. The State of Utah has since acquired a large portion of
the remainder of the acreage.
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Officers' quarters at Fort
Douglas in the 1890's. (National Archives) |
The modern military installation of Fort Douglas grew
up around the old fort and has changed its historical appearance.
Remaining stone structures, which replaced the original log and frame
buildings and date from the 1880s, are grouped around the parade ground.
They consist of a number of officers' quarters, the old headquarters
building, post office, stables, and chapel. The post cemetery includes
the bodies of soldiers killed in the Battle of Bear River.
NHL Designation: 05/15/75
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/soldier-brave/siteb34.htm
Last Updated: 19-Aug-2005
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