The railroad doomed Fort Ransom in 1872. Here’s what happened to the soldiers.

Major Crosman’s 10th Infantry Endures Five Years at Fort Ransom

Fort Ransom stood tall on Grizzly Bear Hill in 1867 when Major Crosman and 200 men of the 10th Infantry built it from scratch. Life was hard there.

Soldiers hauled water from distant springs, chopped ice holes in winter, and fought swarms of grasshoppers that ate their gardens in hours. The harsh Dakota winters killed two mail carriers on the trail.

For five years, they lived in rough log buildings behind earthworks and a deep moat until 1872, when the Army packed up and left.

The story of these frontier soldiers comes alive at Fort Ransom State Park in North Dakota, where history waits around every corner.

Soldiers Marched to Grizzly Bear Hill in 1867

Major George Crosman led 200 soldiers and 7 officers of the 10th U. S.

Infantry to Grizzly Bear Hill on June 17, 1867. The troops walked from Fort Wadsworth to build a new outpost in Dakota Territory.

They camped on the hill while their leaders planned the fort’s layout.

The Army picked this spot to watch nearby Native American trails and protect settlers moving into the area. The men knew they faced months of hard work before proper shelter would be ready.

Log Buildings Formed a Square Fortress

The men built Fort Ransom as a 350 by 400-foot square filled with strong log buildings. Two blockhouses stood at opposite corners, giving guards clear views of the surrounding prairie.

The soldiers dug an 8-foot-deep dry moat around the entire fort by hand. They piled the dirt into walls for extra protection.

The design created a self-contained community that could defend against attacks.

Barracks and Buildings Rose From Raw Materials

Workers built barracks big enough for all 200 soldiers. The hospital offered basic medical care for sick or hurt men.

A guardhouse held troublemakers, while a separate building stored ammunition safely. The men built storehouses for food, a granary for grain, and stables for horses.

Indian scouts who worked with the Army lived in separate housing outside the main walls.

Water Became a Daily Struggle

Getting water was always hard for the fort’s men. Soldiers carried every drop of drinking and cooking water from a faraway spring.

In summer, men bathed in the nearby river and enjoyed being clean for a while. Winter made things worse – they had to chop through thick ice just to get water.

Many skipped bathing during cold months, making the packed barracks smell terrible as winter dragged on.

Grasshoppers Devoured Months of Garden Work

The soldiers planted big vegetable gardens to add fresh food to their basic army meals. Men spent hours tending crops that promised better meals.

Then the grasshoppers arrived. Huge swarms darkened the sky before landing on the gardens.

The bugs stripped entire fields bare within hours, ruining months of work. The soldiers replanted many times, but the grasshoppers kept coming back year after year.

Mosquitoes Made Summer Miserable

Summer brought a different pest to Fort Ransom – mosquitoes. The bugs bred in nearby wetlands and attacked in endless waves.

Guards suffered through shifts of constant swatting and slapping. Sleep became nearly impossible as the buzzing insects found ways into every building.

The men tried smoke pots and covering their skin, but nothing fully stopped the tiny pests that made outdoor work unbearable.

Winter Turned Deadly on the Prairie

Cold weather trapped the soldiers in frozen isolation for months each year. Temperatures dropped far below zero, making even short walks outside risky.

The men burned through firewood quickly just to avoid freezing.

The harsh weather killed people – two mail carriers froze to death while traveling between Fort Ransom and Fort Abercrombie.

The soldiers counted days until spring, stuck inside during the worst storms that roared across the open prairie.

Mail Service Cost Lives on Frontier Routes

Getting letters to and from Fort Ransom meant taking big risks. Regular mail service connected the fort to St.

Paul, taking eight days in good weather. Winter storms blocked trails with deep snow, while spring brought flooding that cut off routes completely. Contact with the outside world often stopped for weeks or months.

The soldiers waited anxiously for news from home or orders from their bosses.

Inspectors Found Unfinished Buildings in 1869

A military check in 1869 showed the tough reality of life at Fort Ransom. Most buildings remained unfinished after two years of work.

Walls had gaps that let in wind and weather. Many structures had dirt floors instead of wood.

The report called conditions primitive compared to eastern posts. The soldiers made do with what they had, but comfort stayed out of reach at this remote outpost.

Railroad Tracks Spelled the End for Fort Ransom

The Northern Pacific Railroad reached Jamestown in 1872, changing everything for the isolated fort. Trains brought faster travel, better supplies, and quicker troop movements.

Military planners realized Fort Ransom wasn’t important anymore in this new connected world. The Army decided the remote post served no further purpose.

Leaders got orders to leave the position and move resources to more useful places.

Everything Vanished From Grizzly Bear Hill

The Army officially abandoned Fort Ransom on May 27, 1872, just five years after its creation. Soldiers took apart every building board by board and log by log.

They loaded the materials onto wagons for transport to the site of the new Fort Seward. Nothing remained of the structures that had housed 200 men through years of frontier hardship.

The hill returned to its natural state, with only disturbed earth marking where the fortress once stood against the Dakota sky.

Visiting Fort Ransom State Park, North Dakota

Fort Ransom State Park at 5981 Walt Hjelle Parkway tells the story of 200 frontier soldiers who lived here from 1867 to 1872. The 10th U.S. Infantry faced brutal winters, water shortages, and grasshopper swarms that destroyed their crops before the fort was abandoned.

You can rent canoes for $8/hour or $50/day and visit Historic Sunne Farm’s annual Sodbuster Days. Winter visitors can rent cross-country skis at the Visitor Center.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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