Fort D.A. Russell (Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming)

Cheyenne, Laramie County · Wyoming · Indian Wars, Cold War

Quick BriefEstablished in 1867 to protect Union Pacific Railroad workers, this cavalry post was named for Civil War Brigadier General David Allen Russell, killed at the Battle of Opequon. Home to the famous Buffalo Soldiers regiments—the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th Infantry—it became one of the largest cavalry bases in the United States by the early 20th century.

Active base today

History & Significance

Rooted in the Railroad Act of 1862, Fort D.A. Russell was established in 1867 as a strategic outpost to protect Union Pacific Railroad workers from Native American attacks. Units of the 30th Infantry under Colonel John D. Stevenson built the fort beginning in August 1867, with the first cavalry—Company H of the 2nd Cavalry—arriving in September.

The post became home to three Black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th Infantry, the famous Buffalo Soldiers, for much of the late 19th century. The Third Cavalry from Fort Russell was activated in February to support Brigadier General George Crook's campaigns during the Great Sioux War of 1876.

Declared a permanent post by the War Department in 1885, the fort was enlarged to a brigade-sized post in 1906, with extensive brick construction replacing temporary structures. The last cavalry units left the installation in 1927, ending 60 years of cavalry history.

In 1930, it was renamed Fort Francis E. Warren, and in 1949 became Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. A portion of the base was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1975 for distinctively preserving the stages of its evolution from a frontier cavalry post to an Air Force base.