Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Fort Laramie


After Rawlins, we took a short trip down to Longmont, CO to see how the city had changed since we left 25 years ago.  Then it was back to Wyoming and on to Fort Laramie.

The enlisted men's barracks was a large two story building with a large porch out front.






Sleeping quarters were upstairs and eating areas and other rooms downstairs.










 
 
The officers had individual houses furnished with elegant furniture.

















 
The most heavily populated structure was probably the stockade (jail).  Amusements were scarce so drinking and gambling were frequent pastimes.  The offices were on the main floor and the cells were in a walkout basement.








 
The cells were narrow and dark - not too bad in the summer, but it must have been very uncomfortable during the long Wyoming winter without heat. An earlier stockade had cells that were four feet wide, four feet deep and only four feet high. The idea being that the soldier could not stand or lay down the whole time he was incarcerated.




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