Place

1866 Jail Cells at Fort Laramie

California National Historic Trail, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, Oregon National Historic Trail, Pony Express National Historic Trail

A brick pillar in the center of small white room with blank walls — Present day 1866 guardhouse jail cells.
NPS

“The prisoners are all kept in the basement room, which contains no furniture. The basement is not warmed. The prisoners have no light.” – Post Surgeon H. S. Schell

In winter, temperatures in this guard-house jail could reach twenty below. Inmates had only their blankets, and a bucket for sanitation. Soldiers were incarcerated for disobedience, fighting, drunkenness, and criminal conduct. Other punishments included fines, extra duty, and a dose of pain and humiliation. Flogging had been abolished only recently, but a few deserters were tattooed.

“December 3rd, 1868: The Commanding Officer directs that you have Privates John Wright, …George Smith, … and Lewis A. Gordon, … to be indelibly marked on the left hip with the letter ‘D’ one and one-half inches in length.”

In the corner are two tiny cells for solitary confinement. Violent or refractory prisoners stayed in these cells for days, wearing iron shackles that a blacksmith riveted around their ankles.