Garrison Dam Archaeology: 32ML1 – Fort Stevenson

By Lotte Govaerts

 

This post is part of a series on the historical archaeology of the River Basin Surveys (RBS). In this installment I discuss site 32ML1, Fort Stevenson. The site was a military post from 1867 until 1883. After its abandonment by the military, the buildings were used as an Indian school until 1894. Now submerged below the waters of Lake Sakakawea in present-day McLean County, Fort Stevenson was built on a level terrace that almost formed an island, between Garrison and Douglas Creeks, on the north side of the main channel of the Missouri, which at that point flowed eastward. The site is approximately 89 miles north of Bismarck (Mattison 1951, p. 53; Smith 1960, p. 168). As we’ve discussed previously, Garrison Creek was named for the garrison stationed at Fort Stevenson (Mattison 1951, p. 54).

I did not study this site for my dissertation; therefore, I do not have detailed information to share about its artifact assemblage, as I did for the other historical sites in the Garrison Dam area I discussed here. However, the excavation report (Smith 1960) includes a list of all excavated materials. A link to a digital version is included in the reference section below.

Figure 1: Some of the buildings at Fort Stevenson in an undated photo taken by an unknown photographer between 1870 and 1890 and labeled "Fort Stevenson, Dakota territory" in the photographic print collection of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. SHSND B0357.

History of the Site

Ray H. Mattison (1951) wrote a history of Fort Stevenson early in the Missouri Basin project; it was mainly based on archived documents, including letters sent from Fort Stevenson and records from the Surgeon General’s office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Another primary source regarding the history of Fort Stevenson consulted in the writing of this history was the journal of Philippe Regis de Trobriand, a French aristocrat who moved to the United States and later served in the US military. He oversaw the fort from 1867 until 1869 and kept a journal during his time there (and elsewhere in the American West); he also made sketches of Forts Stevenson and Berthold (de Trobriand 1951).

Figure 2: Fort Stevenson Winter Quarters, by de Trobriand. State Historical Society of North Dakota SHSND 12470

As we previously discussed, US military presence in the northern plains increased in the second half of the nineteenth century. The growing number of US settlers passing through the area led to increased conflict with Indigenous populations. Fort Stevenson was one of many forts built during this period. After a conflict between the US and the Dakota in Minnesota in 1862, some of the Dakota left Minnesota and headed west. In 1863, the US government sent Generals Sibley and Sully to pursue them. They fought several other groups of Native people, but not did not find the Dakota they were after. Sully was sent on a second expedition in 1864. During this second expedition, he visited Fort Berthold, where he left the 6^th Iowa Cavalry. Fort Berthold was a trade post, operated by a private company, not a military establishment. However, 19^th century traders on the Upper Missouri had close ties to the government and regularly interacted with Indian agents and military personnel. Troops moved into Fort Berthold on September 3rd, but due to disagreements, moved outside the fort in April 1865 (Mattison, 1951, p. 56).

A suitable location was sought for a new fort, which was originally going to be called New Fort Berthold. Several factors were considered when deciding the new fort’s location: it was to be a link in the chain of forts from Minnesota to the gold mining areas to the west, it should be approximately midway between Fort Rice and Fort Buford, and it should be close enough to Fort Berthold to provide military assistance to the Three Tribes, but not close enough to cause conflict. The fort was also meant to serve as a base of supplies for Fort Totten. The most convenient location for that purpose would have been where the Missouri bends to the south, 5.5 miles from the eventual site of Fort Stevenson, but a lack of timber prevented those plans from being realized (Mattison 1951, p. 57–58).

In July 1867, departmental commander General Terry arrived to survey the site and start construction of the fort. He changed its name to Fort Stevenson, after the late Brigadier General Thomas G. Stevenson, a Union general killed in 1864 (Mattison 1951, p. 53, 58). It took until January 3, 1868, before the troops were completely housed. On June 10, 1868, the Fort Stevenson reservation was declared, measuring 71.7 square miles, 45,585.75 acres (Mattison 1951, p. 58, 61).

Figure 3: Stereograph of Fort Stevenson, 1870–1873 (State Historical Society of North Dakota 00670-036)

Fort Stevenson was a two-company infantry post, built for a maximum of 238 men. It appears that at no time the garrison was at its maximum strength, averaging approximately 110 men over the course of its lifetime (Mattison 1951, p. 75).

In his October 16, 1882 report, General William T. Sherman wrote that Fort Stevenson had become obsolete and recommended its abandonment. By this time, the region had changed. The Great Sioux Reservation had been created after the second Fort Laramie Treaty in 1868. Several bands of Indigenous people continued to resist the reservation life the US government tried to force on them, and the two sides continued to battle in the 1870s. However, due to large-scale US settlement and overhunting of the buffalo, these bands were no longer able to feed themselves. With the tribes confined to reservations and dependent on annuities, the US government no longer felt a need for a military presence in the region. Fort Stevenson was officially abandoned on August 31, 1883. The buildings were transferred to the Fort Berthold Agency, and the troops moved to Fort Buford. The Indian Agency continued to use the buildings until 1894, when a new school was built within the reservation, at Elbowoods. On February 14, 1894, the War Department formally transferred the land and the buildings to the Interior Department for disposal. Both were sold at public auction later that year (Mattison 1951, p. 77).

Archaeology

When the Missouri Basin Project undertook archaeological surveys in the area in the 1940s and early 1950s, they were very interested in locating Fort Stevenson, because they considered it an important site (Smith 1960, p. 163–164). This is reflected in its site number, 32ML1; the site of Fort Stevenson was the first archaeological site to receive a number in McLean County according to the Smithsonian’s trinomial system for assigning site numbers.

The area surrounding the site was under cultivation in 1951 and had been plowed and cultivated likely for over 40 years at that point. Field work started in early June of 1951, under the supervision of G. Hubert Smith, and lasted through late October of that same year.  The main aim was to obtain “a more detailed record of the surviving physical evidence of the post and its use” (Smith 1954, p. 128) The archaeologists were also interested in obtaining samples of objects left behind, through the use of systematic field methods (Smith 1954, p. 129).

Figure 4: Photos taken during the excavation of the Commanding Officer's Quarters at 32ML1 (Smith 1960, PL 47)

Certain buildings were completely excavated: the post hospital, a portion of one of the barracks, a portion of the commissary storehouse, and two of the officers’ quarters, including the commander’s quarters. The archaeologists found the documentary evidence to be largely accurate, though they did note some errors. In particular, the location of the post on the ground plan drawn December 10, 1879, was incorrect (Smith 1960, p. 167–168). In addition, while the measurements of individual buildings are accurate, the distance between them is not represented accurately on this plan (Smith 1960, p. 175–177).

The archaeologists investigating Fort Stevenson cataloged 6,099 specimens under 2,134 catalog numbers (Smith 1960, p. 211). Many of these objects are described in some detail in Smith’s 1960 report (p. 211–230). The report also includes an appendix written by Carlyle Smith, detailing the cartridges and bullets recovered from the site (p. 232–236) as well as several black and white plates depicting some of the recovered artifacts (PL. 50–54; see also fig. 5 below).

Figure 5: Some of the artifacts recovered from 32ML1 (Smith 1960, PL 50)

State Park

Although the site of Fort Stevenson was inundated by the waters of Lake Sakakawea, in 1974, Fort Stevenson State Park was established on the shore of the lake, in the town of Garrison (Conrad, 2014). The park includes facilities for camping, boating, hiking, and other activities. Visitors can also learn about the history of Fort Stevenson and the region via interpretive signs and events.

Figure 6: Interpretive signs at Fort Stevenson State Park. Photo by Mark Goebel, via Wikimedia Commons

A replica of the fort’s guardhouse was built at Fort Stevenson State Park in 2003. It houses an interpretive center where visitors can view records and artifacts related to military history.

Figure 7: The guardhouse replica at Fort Stevenson State Park. Photo: North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation

Moving away from Garrison Dam

This brief overview of the history and archaeology of Fort Stevenson is the last post on the historical archaeology of the Garrison Dam area. We will continue our series about the historical archaeology of the Upper Missouri Basin by moving south to the Oahe Dam area. Stay tuned!

References and further reading

Conrad, Marc. 2014. “Historical Overview North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department”. North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department. Accessed Via Internet Archive WayBack Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20171208003914/http://www.parkrec.nd.gov/50th/depthistory.html. Accessed March 10, 2023.

Mattison, Ray H. 1951. “Old Fort Stevenson, a Typical Missouri River Military Post.” North Dakota History 18 (2–3): 54–91.

North Dakota Parks and Recreation. Nd. Fort Stevenson State Park. https://www.parkrec.nd.gov/fort-stevenson-state-park. Accessed March 10, 2023.

Smith, G. Hubert. 1954. “Excavations at Fort Stevenson.” North Dakota History 21: 127–35.

Smith, G. Hubert. 1960. “Archaeological Investigations at the Site of Fort Stevenson (32ML1), Garrison Reservoir, North Dakota.” In River Basin Survey Papers 15 - 20. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 176. Washington D.C. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/22114/bae_bulletin_176_1960_15_1-23.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2023.

Thompson, Clive. 2017. “Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality”, Smithsonian Magazine, October 2017.  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/. Accessed March 10, 2023.

Trobriand, Régis de. Military Life in Dakota; the Journal of Philippe Régis de Trobriand. Translated by Lucille M. Kane. Mississippi Valley Historical Association. Clarence Walworth Alvord Memorial Commission. Publications, v. 2. St. Paul: Alvord Memorial Commission, 1951.

 

Previous posts in this series

What is Historical Archaeology?

How the River Basin Surveys Shaped Historical Archaeology

The Upper Missouri River Basin in the Nineteenth Century: Fur Trade 

The Upper Missouri River Basin in the Nineteenth Century: Military Frontier

The Upper Missouri River Basin in the Nineteenth Century: Indian Agencies

Garrison Dam

Lake Sakakawea and the Woman it was Named After

Garrison Dam Archaeology: Village Sites

Garrison Dam Archaeology: 32MN1 - Fort Floyd

Garrison Dam Archaeology: 32ML2 – Like-A-Fishhook Village and Fort Berthold