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Tombstone 

Tombstone 

James A. Howard
Fort Fetterman Cemetery
Converse County, Wyoming.
(June 4, 1814 - Jan. 4, 1886)


There is no tombstone, this is a plaque placed at Fort Fetterman Cemetery


PIONEERS


Many civilians were buried here during the time of military occupation. After Fort Fetterman's abandoment in 1882 the cemetery continued to be used by local settlers up until the early 1900s.

Cemetery notes and/or description:

The Fort Fetterman State Historic Site is located east of Highway 93, 11 miles north of present day Douglas WY.

Fort Fetterman was established 19 July 1867 to become the primary protective post on the fringe of the disputed Indian territory and later a strategic supply base and headquarters. The Fort was abandoned in November of 1882. On 3 May 1883, the bodies of all soldiers buried at Fort Fetterman were reinterred in The Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell NE.

With the closing of the Fort, a civilian community sprang up, utilizing the vacated structures. Because of excessive drinking, gambling, robberies, shoot-outs, and hangings, Fetterman became known as a wild west cattle town, and the population of the cemetery grew.

Often, the vacated sites left by the 1883 military relocation were reused for civilian burials, which is why so few graves are observed, yet so many burials occurred.

Biographical information for the memorials was found in the U.S. Military Burial Registers-1768-1921, specifically the Record Book of Interments in Post Cemetery at Fort Fetterman, Wyoming Territory; Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916, specifically Fort Fetterman WY July 1867-April 1882; various U.S. Censuses; and the booklet "Fort Fetterman's Cemetery," written by Sharon Lass Field, 1970