The mission of the Fort Phil Kearny garrison was to guard travelers on the Bozeman Trail, but it soon became apparent that the guards would also need protection. Therefore, on July 13, 1866, Captain Tenador Ten Eyck began building a fort which had been designed by Colonel Henry Carrington before they left Fort Stephen Kearny. The fort's 800 by 600 foot long walls were made of 11" by 12" logs buried three feet in the ground. There were firing notches cut along the banquet at every fifth log, and blockhouses or gun-bastions on two opposite corners to provide enfilading fire along the walls. The main gate was located on the east wall, and smaller five foot wide officer's gates were originally located on each of the other walls. Each gate was provided with a locking mechanism. Five guard stands were located to provide 24 hour surveillance of the grounds both inside and outside the post.Before you is a reproduction of the stockade, guard stand, officer's gate and artillery bastion as originally built at Fort Phil Kearny. From this position we know Col. Carrington fired artillery at the Native Americans who opposed the fort.At the time of construction few military forts in the West had stockades. Would it have been better to train the raw recruits to protect the travelers? Was the time used to build the 2,800 feet of stockade wasted?
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