Army Architecture in the West: Forts Laramie, Bridger, and D. A. Russell, 1849-1912

During the nineteenth century, the U.S. military built numerous forts across the country as it stationed more and more troops west of the Mississippi. When most people think about military forts in the American West, they imagine imposing strongholds, meccas of defense enclosed by high, palisaded walls. This popular view, however, is far from reality. In Army Architecture in the West , Alison K. Hoagland dispels the myth that all western forts were uniform structures of military might churned out according to a master set of plans authorized by army officials in Washington, D.C. Instead, by examining three exemplary Wyoming forts, Hoagland reveals that widely varying architectural designs were used to construct western forts. With more than 120 illustrations, Army Architecture in the West offers a new way of using architecture to gain insight into the role of the army in the American West. By focusing on the tangible remains of the army’s presence in the West, Hoagland presents a new vision of American military history. During the nineteenth century, the U.S. military built numerous forts across the country as it stationed more and more troops west of the Mississippi. When most people think about military forts in the American West, they imagine imposing strongholds, meccas of defense enclosed by high, palisaded walls. This popular view, however, is far from reality. In __Army Architecture in the West__, Alison K. Hoagland dispels the myth that all western forts were uniform structures of military might churned out according to a master set of plans authorized by army officials in Washington, D.C. Instead, by examining three exemplary Wyoming forts, Hoagland reveals that widely varying architectural designs were used to construct western forts. With more than 120 illustrations, __Army Architecture in the West__ offers a new way of using architecture to gain insight into the role of the army in the American West. By focusing on the tangible remains of the army’s presence in the West, Hoagland presents a new vision of American military history. By examining the three exemplary Wyoming forts of Laramie, Bridger, and D. A. Russell, the author explains how widely varying architectural designs, rather than standardized plans, were used to construct western American forts. When beginning this study of military architecture in the American West, I assumed that I would be writing the story of imposing structures that commanded attention and evoked brute power. Title from e-book title screen (viewed on July 11, 2005).