Wyoming is known for its national parks, wildlife, and beautiful scenery. But this place has a darker side as well. There are many stories about ghosts, curses, and bad spirits. Another well-known place in Wyoming is the Fetterman Battlefield, the site of a terrible killing in 1866.
The Fetterman Massacre
There is a military outpost called Fort Phil Kearny close to the Fetterman Battlefield. It was built to protect the Bozeman Trail, which farmers and miners used to get to Montana’s gold fields. The trail went through the land of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, who fought hard to keep it from being used by others.
Captain William J. Fetterman led a group of about 80 troops and civilians as they left the fort on December 21, 1866, to go after a small group of Native American warriors who had attacked a wagon train. It is said that Fetterman told his men that he could “ride through the whole Sioux nation” with them if they had to fight an enemy.
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Fetterman and his men were led into a valley by thousands of Native American fighters led by Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and other chiefs. There, they fell into a trap. There were 81 troops and civilians killed in the battle, which lasted less than an hour. Fetterman was one of them. Native Americans only lost a few people, and they were proud of their win, which was the biggest loss for the US Army by Native Americans until the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.
The Haunted Battlefield
People from both the US Army and Native American groups come to the Fetterman Battlefield to remember the dead. It is now a National Historic Landmark. People can see the graves of the soldiers who died, the monuments that the tribes built, and the markers that show where the fight happened.
However, some tourists say they have heard gunshots, screams, and war cries, seen apparitions of soldiers and Native Americans, felt cold spots and touches and smelled smoke and blood at the site. There are people who think that the battlefield is cursed by the anger and sadness of the past and that the dead still haunt it.
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In Summary
The Fetterman Battlefield is a scary and mysterious place with a lot of historical importance. It makes me think of the terrible conflict between cultures that happened in the American West and the people who died in it. It’s also a spot where the supernatural and the natural seem to mix, and the present and the past meet. In fact, it is one of the scariest places in the United States.