Fort Assiniboine (Mont.)
Description
Scope and content: This collection consists of the records generated through the normal activities of a military post. Included are letters to the commanding officer re the Riel Rebellion, Canadian Indians, and other topics re the Fort and military business [copies of original letters on MF 54]. The largest portion of the materials is bound volumes, including correspondence registers; orders; morning reports; court records; and other miscellaneous volumes and records.; Fort Assiniboine, at one time the largest active military post in the United States, was first garrisoned in 1879. It was located near the present town of Havre, Montana, on Beaver Creek, some six miles from the Milk River. Originally, the fort was established to control the Indian tribes north of the Missouri by keeping them on their reservations; to guard against the incursion into the United States of hostile Sioux who had earlier sought refuge in Canada; and to force roving hunting bands of Canadian Indians back across the border.; However, by the time of its completion in the mid-1880s, it had become obsolete. As its active role diminished, service at the fort became more and more routine, as was the case with most peacetime military establishments. Compounding the boredom and drudgery were the extremes of weather encountered on the high plains.; Units which served at Assinboine, either completely or as smaller detachments, included the First, Second, Third, Ninth, Tenth, and Thirteenth Cavalry regiments; and the Seventh, Twelfth, Eighteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-fourth Infantry regiments. Of interest in the history...
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