Explore Fort Randall

Explore Fort Randall. . "Imagine yourself standing on a plain on which your eye can see no bounds. Not a tree, not a shrub, not a tall weed. Imagine then countless herds of buffaloes. If you can imagine all this, then you will know what Fort Randall is like, and the wilderness that the soldiers came to conquer." , , Independent, Fort Randall, Dakota Territory, Wednesday, December 20, 1885, At one time, Fort Randall was the largest and most important post on the Upper Missouri River. During its time as an active military post from 1856 to 1892, Fort Randall witnessed the westward migration of European-American settlers, the Civil War, and the Indian Wars., Today, little evidence of the fort remains except for a few crumbling stone foundations., We invite you to walk the half-mile trail around the parade ground and learn about life on a frontier fort during a pivotal time in our nation's history., Caption: , The soldiers of Company A, 15th Infantry, stand in front of the enlisted men's barracks, around 1886., Book pages: , Private Augustus Meyers was a musician with the 2nd U.S. Infantry. He enlisted in New York in 1854 when he was 12 years old. He served with the Union during the Civil War and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. He was stationed at Fort Randall from 1857 to 1859., At the time few enlisted men could read and write. Private Meyers was a notable exception. In 1914, he published his memoir, Ten Years in the Ranks, U.S. Army. Much of what we know about daily life at Fort Randall just before the Civil War comes from his book., My narrative of ten years' service in the US Army on the frontier and during the Civil War was written mainly from memory after an interval of more than half a century. I have endeavored to describe in a simple manner the daily life of a soldier in the ranks while serving in garrison, camp, and field.