Forts.—As the white man pushed his way westward from the first settlements along the Atlantic coast, a chain of military posts marked the line of demarcation between civilization and savagery. The rifle and the stockade led the advance into the wilderness and paved the way for the home and the husbandman. Sometimes these forts were erected by the great fur companies—great for that day, at least; sometimes by a detachment of soldiers as temporary quarters while on a march or a campaign; sometimes by order of the war department; probably more frequently by the pioneer settlers as a place of shelter and defense in the event of an Indian attack. Usually they were of the stockade or palisade type, constructed of stakes set upright, close together, and sharpened at the top to make the attempt to scale the walls more difficult. The form was generally that of a square or a rectangle, with a blockhouse at each corner, though often the blockhouse feature was ommitted.[sic]

Much of the history of the country centers about these military establishments. Where is the school boy who does not feel a thrill of patriotism as he reads of Washington's march through the unbroken wilds and his founding of Fort Necessity, the valiant deed of Sergeant Jasper in nailing the flag to the mast under fire at Fort Moultrie, or the gallant defense of Fort Sumter by Maj. Anderson and his little band of heroes at the beginning of the Civil war? Some of the principal cities of the country owe their origin to the establishment of a military post. Pittsburgh, Pa., had its beginning in the founding of Fort Duquesne, and the great city of Chicago, Ill., grew up around old Fort Dearborn.

As the red man retired before the advance of a superior race, the necessity for the stockade and the blockhouse no longer existed, and the frontier forts gradually fell into decay. A few have been maintained by the government as permanent institutions, not so much as a means of defense against hostile aborigines as for quarters of detachments of the regular army and schools for the soldier. These permanent army posts are usually elaborate affairs, equipped with approved modern appurtenances for the comfort and convenience of the garrison. Two of them—Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley—are located in the State of Kansas. Following is a brief sketch of each of the principal military posts in the state, and each of which in its day played its part toward making Kansas a great commonwealth.