Camp Stambaugh (South Pass City and Atlantic City area, Wind River Range, Wyoming)

South Pass City and Atlantic City area, Wind River Range · Wyoming · Indian Wars

Quick BriefCamp Stambaugh was a U.S. Army outpost established in June 1870 in Wyoming's mining district near South Pass City and Atlantic City, named for First Lieutenant Charles B. Stambaugh who was killed in an Indian attack the previous month. The post was abandoned in 1878 as mining town populations plummeted.

History & Significance

Gold discovered in the South Pass region in 1867 prompted requests for military protection against Indian depredations. On May 4, 1870, First Lieutenant Charles B. Stambaugh of the 2nd Cavalry was fatally shot by hostile Native Americans while defending freighters carrying hay in the Sweetwater district.

Increasing native hostilities made clear that larger military presence was needed to protect miners and settlers in the Sweetwater mining district, and a new outpost was established in Smith's Gulch between the mining towns of Miner's Delight and Atlantic City in August 1870. Company B of the 2nd Cavalry from Fort Bridger established and manned the camp.

The camp featured enlisted barracks, officer's quarters, stables, hospital, bakery, grain house, blacksmith, carpenter shop, sutler's store, storehouses, parade ground, post office, telegraph office, and a church added later. In 1876, a Shoshone scout brought news of Custer's defeat at Little Bighorn to Camp Stambaugh, from which telegraph operator Robert Hall relayed the information to the world.

The camp closed in August 1878 as Native American hostilities decreased and the property transferred to the Interior Department. In the early 1880s, the Interior Department sold off Camp Stambaugh's buildings; some were relocated to Lander.