Fort Francis E. Warren (Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming)
Cheyenne, Laramie County · Wyoming · Indian Wars, Cold War
History & Significance
Fort D.A. Russell was established under the Railroad Act of 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress planned the transcontinental railroad with a military installation on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains to protect Union Pacific Railroad workers from hostile Indians. On July 4, 1867, the railroad established its mountain region headquarters at Crow Creek Crossing, later known as Cheyenne.
The fort was named after Brigadier General David A. Russell, a Civil War leader who was killed at the Battle of Winchester, September 19, 1864. Detachments of the 30th Infantry and 2nd Cavalry formed the first garrison under Colonel John D. Stevenson; troops initially lived in tents but moved into wood frame quarters during the winter of 1867–68, built in a diamond shape to protect against harsh winds, measuring 800 by 1,040 feet.
The fort was declared a permanent post by the War Department in 1885, initiating an extensive building program. In 1927, the last cavalry units left, ending 60 years of cavalry history at Fort Russell.
President Hoover issued a proclamation in 1930 renaming the post "Fort Francis E. Warren," honoring Wyoming's territorial and first state governor. During World War II, Fort Warren was the training center for up to 20,000 of the Quartermaster Corps, with more than 280 wooden buildings constructed.
The facility came under the control of the United States Army Air Forces on June 1, 1947, and then of the United States Air Force on September 18, 1947. In 1958, the base joined Strategic Air Command and organized the nation's first wing dedicated solely to intercontinental ballistic missile operations; by July 1, 1963, the wing became the free world's largest ICBM unit, controlling 200 Minuteman I missiles across a tri-state, 12,600 square-mile area.
Key Facts
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_E._Warren_Air_Force_Base
- https://wyoshpo.wyo.gov/index.php/programs/national-register/wyoming-listings/view-full-list/643-fort-d-a-russell-national-historic-landmark-f-e-warren-air-force-base
- https://www.warrenmuseum.com/history/
- https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WY-01-021-0045
- https://historicforts.com/fort-francis-e-warren-wyoming/