A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866, to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory.Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 824. The Department of Dakota was initially headquartered at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and then moved to Saint Paul in March 1867. The 18th Infantry Regiment (United States) would serve in Dakota several times. From 1869-1877 the 20th Infantry Regiment (United States) was posted to the Department. In 1879 the Department returned to the Fort until 1886 at which time it moved back to downtown Saint Paul. The department was discontinued in 1911.
Commanders Brevet Major General Alfred H. Terry (Sept. 18, 1866–May 17, 1869) Major General Winfield S. Hancock (May 17, 1869–Jan. 2, 1873) Brigadier General Alfred H. Terry (Jan. 2, 1873–1886) Major General Thomas Howard Ruger (1886–1891) Major General Wesley Merritt (1891–1895) Brigadier General John R. Brooke (1895–1897) Brigadier General James F. Wade (1897–1898) Brigadier General John M. Bacon (1898–1899) Brigadier General James F. Wade (1899-1901) Major General Elwell Stephen Otis (acting) (1901) Major General Frederick Funston (1902) Brigadier General William August Kobbé (1902–1904) Brigadier General Camillo C. C. Carr (1904–1906) Brigadier General John Wilson Bubb (1906–1907) Major General Adolphus W. Greely (1907–1908) Brigadier General Winfield Scott Edgerly (1908) Brigadier General Charles L. Hodges (1909–1910)
Forts Minnesota Fort Ridgely (1853–67) Fort Ripley (1849–77) Fort Snelling (1819–1994)
Dakota Territory Montana Fort Assinniboine (1879–1911) Fort Benton (1869–81) Camp Cooke (1866–70) Fort Custer (1877–98) Fort Ellis (1867–86) Fort Keogh (1876–1924) Camp Lewis (1874) Fort Logan (1869–80) Fort Maginnis (1880–90) Camp Merritt (1890) Fort Missoula (1877–1918, 1921–1947) Camp Poplar River (1880–93) Camp Porter (1880–81) Fort Shaw (1867–91)
North Dakota Fort Abercrombie (1858–77) Fort Abraham Lincoln (1872–91) Cantonment Badlands (1879–83) Fort Berthold (1864–67) Fort Buford (1866–95) Camp Hancock (1872–77) Fort Pembina (1870–95) Fort Ransom (1867–72) Fort Rice (1864–78) Fort Seward (1872–77) Fort Stevenson (1867–83) Fort Totten (1867–90) Fort Yates (1874–1903)
South Dakota Fort Bennett (1870–91) Fort Dakota (1865–69) Post at Grand River Agency (1870–75) Fort Hale (1870–84) Fort Meade (1878- ) Fort Randall (1856–1892) Fort Sisseton (1876–89) Fort Sully (1863–66) Fort Thompson (1864–71) Fort Wadsworth 1864-76 Post at Whetstone Agency 1870-72
Wyoming (Wyoming Territory became attached to the Department of the Platte on July 25, 1868) Fort Bridger 1858-1878, 1880–1890 Fort Caspar 1855-1867 Fort Fetterman 1867-1882 Fort Halleck 1862-1866 Fort LaClede 1863-1869 Fort Laramie or Fort John 1849-1890 Fort McKinney 1876-1894 Fort Phil Kearny 1866-1868 Fort Rawlins 1868-? Fort Reno 1865-1868 Fort Robinson 1874-1948 Fort David A. Russell 1867-1948 Fort Sanders 1866-1882 Fort Fred Steele 1868-1886 Fort Washakie 1878-1913 Fort Yellowstone 1886-1918
Citations
References Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. .
Bibliography Raphael P. Thian, Notes Illustrating the Military Geography of the United States, 1813-1880 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1881; reprinted Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1979). Francis Paul Prucha, A Guide to the Military Posts of the United States, 1789-1895 (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1964).