Fort Hartsuff Stables
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
A blueprint of the Fort Hartsuff Guardhouse & Quartermaster Stable
Stables
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Even though Fort Hartsuff never housed cavalry other than an occasional visiting detail, there was still a need for horses and mules both to ride and to pull wagons. Typically thirty mules and ten horses were housed in this building. The company saddler sergeant had his quarters in a corner room. The saddler was responsible for the health of the animals as well as the maintenance and repair of the harness and leather goods on the post. Though normally exempt from field duty, the saddler could volunteer for hazardous field service.
This was the case on April 28, 1876, when company saddler, Sergeant William H. Dougherty, and several other members of Company A, 23rd U.S. Infantry charged a band of entrenched Lakota Sioux Indians northwest of present-day Burwell at what has become known as the “Battle of the Blowout”. Sergeant Dougherty died instantly when he was shot in the heart. Two other enlisted men and one officer were later awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action.
Sources
Domeier, Jim. "The Guide to Fort Hartsuff (1874-1881)." . .
History Nebraska