Fort Riley

Fort Riley. . , Here where the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers unite to form the Kansas, Fremont's expedition of 1843 camped and reported great numbers of elk, antelope and Indians. In 1852 the army selected the site for a Western outpost, temporarily called Camp Center. Next year, when construction began the post was named for Col. Bennett Riley., New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, jolting across Kansas in a stagecoach in 1859, wrote approvingly of the location, saying "the barracks are comfortable,...the officers' quarters spacious and elegant, and the stables most extensive and admirable.", Fort Riley was a major outpost on the Indian frontier, defending the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. The storied 7th Cavalry was organized here in 1866 with Lt. Col. George A. Custer second in command. A cavalry school, recommended earlier by Lt. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, was established in 1892 and became the world's largest., Training centers on the post have included Camp Funston, established in 1917 and rebuilt in 1940, and Camp Forsyth, established in 1940. Since World War II the 1st, 9th and 10th Infantry divisions and numerous nondivisional units have trained here.