Fort Mitchell (Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska)

Scotts Bluff County · Nebraska · Indian Wars

Quick BriefFort Mitchell, established autumn 1864 by Company H, 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry under Captain J. S. Shuman, was named for General Robert B. Mitchell and garrisoned to protect the Great Platte River Road and Scott's Bluff stage station. The post was abandoned after the Fort Laramie peace conference of 1867.

History & Significance

Fort Mitchell operated from 1864 to 1867 in present-day Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Originally constructed as Camp Shuman northwest of Mitchell Pass, it was manned in autumn 1864 by Company H of the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry under Captain J. S. Shuman.

Brigadier General Robert Mitchell established the post to ensure the overland roads would not be at the mercy of hostile forces by fortifying stage stations and building two new forts at strategic Platte River sites. Colonel William Collins of Fort Laramie designed Fort Mitchell as an outpost to supplement Fort Laramie's limited troops.

The 180-by-100-foot sod and adobe fort comprised barracks, shops, and a horse corral. Fort Mitchell's cavalry were first to respond to the Mud Springs siege of February 1865, arriving before reinforcements from Fort Laramie.

Throughout 1865, soldiers chased Indians who tore down telegraph lines and attacked wagon trains and stagecoaches. No trace of the sod structure remains at the site west of the North Platte River bend northwest of Scott's Bluff.