Fort Shaw - Fort Shaw, MT - Military Installations on Waymarking.com

Fort Shaw

Barring fur trading posts, the first important white settlements in Montana were the mining camps in the western mountains. Every thing to the east belonged to the plains Indians and was buffalo range. To protect the miners and settlers from possible incursions of hostile tribes a series of military posts was established around the eastern border of the mining camps and settlements. Fort Shaw established in 1867 was one of these. It also protected the stage and freight trail from Ft. Benton head of navigation on the Missouri to the Last Chance Gulch placer diggings at Helena. Every thing north of the Sun River was Blackfeet Indian territory at that time. The Fort was built by the 13th U.S. Infantry under Major Wm. Clinton.

Gen. Gibbon led his troops from here in 1876 to join Gen. Terry and Gen. Custer on the Yellowstone just prior to the latters disastrous fight with the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

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