Fort Laramie, Wyoming Letters 1886-1887

(FORT LARAMIE, WYOMING). This archive consists of two letters written from Henry Blanchard Freeman to General John Gibbon. a) ALS. 5 pg. 7” x 10”. November 17. 1886. Fort Laramie, Wyo. An autograph letter signed “H.B. Freeman” to “Genl John Gibbon Esq”: “I returned from the La Bonte a few days since having closed operations on the 3rd last. We turned the water into the ditch and it ran through into full head…It is seen that its united and one and a half in defaults and will carry water, of which there is an ample supply for these thousand acres and as there is considerable land outside of our claims, which can only have water for us. I think we will before long have our water without cost…” b) ALS. 3 pg. 7” x 10”. January 31, 1887. Fort Laramie. An autograph letter signed “H.B. Freeman” to “My dear General”: “…I organized the ‘Darlington Ditch Co’ in which my name does not appear…and the D.D. Co. is the sole owner of the ditch, as bult by myself…” Freeman also indicates that he will successfully bought out the La Bonte Ditch Company using the charter to become sole owner directly or indirectly, whichever is necessary. Both letters reflect the logistics behind running a Western fort in the Nineteenth Century. General Gibbon, as Commander of the Department of Columbia, was tasked with overseeing all United States installations in the Pacific Northwest. This includes Fort Laramie in Wyoming, in which Freeman served. Introducing an irrigation system to Fort Laramie, which would have included running water, was a costly and time-consuming endeavor with limited natural water sources and continued fears of Native American attacks. The latter letter reveals that funding such a project was a mostly private endeavor, and a good opportunity for soldiers like Freeman to profit off of their service with public-private business deals. However, Freeman’s long-term profits were non-existent, as the government decommissioned Fort Laramie in 1890. With the transcontinental railroads inaccessible and Western settlement deemed safe enough, an Army presence was no longer required. Gibbon was sent back East to command the Department of the Atlantic. Both letters are in excellent condition.