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Fort Meade was established in 1878 as a cavalry fort to protect the new settlements in the northern Black Hills, especially the nearby gold mining area around Deadwood. Several stage and freighting routes passed through Fort Meade en route to Deadwood. For most of the past 120 years, there has been some military presence at Fort Meade, near Sturgis, South Dakota. Many cavalry and infantry units were stationed here, including the 7th U.S. Cavalry after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, and the 4th U.S. Cavalry which saw the transition from horses to mechanization. Fort Meade still serves as a training site for the South Dakota National Guard and an Army National Guard Officer Candidate School. It is also home of Fort Meade National Cemetery. ==Established== By order of Gen. Sheridan, issued in response to numerous appeals of the settlers of the Hills for military protection against persistent Indian depredations, a temporary United States military camp was established in August, 1876, on Spring creek a little north of Bear Butte (known to the Cheyenne as ''Náhkȯhévóse'', not to be confused with the sacred Cheyenne mountain ''Nóávóse/Nóvávóse''—″Gift Butte″ or ″Offer Butte″, the Bear Butte northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, where Sweet Medicine received the covenant of the Sacred Arrows, and where Cheyennes go to pray and fast), and named Camp Sturgis, in honor of the gallant Lieut. J. G. Sturgis, or "Jack Sturgis," as he was familiarly called by his comrades, who fought and fell with Custer on the hills overlooking the Little Big Horn. During the occupation of this camp, the present site of Fort Meade, situated just outside the eastern foot-hills of the Black Hills, and on the south side of Bear Butte creek, was selected and located as a permanent United States military post, which was established and garrisoned on the 31st of August, 1878.〔Tallent, Annie D., ''The Black Hills, or, The last Hunting Ground of the Dakotahs: A Complete History of the Black Hills of Dakota, from Their First Invasion in 1874 to the Present Time'', Nixon-Jones, 1899.〕 The new post replaced Camp J.C. Sturgis, started in July 1878, about two miles northwest of nearby Bear Butte, was first named Camp Ruhlen for Lt. George Ruhlen, 17th U.S. Infantry quartermaster officer who supervised the building of the post. It was established by Major Henry M. Lazelle, 1st U.S. Infantry, and companies D and H of the 11th U.S. Infantry on a site selected by Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan, on the east side of Bear Butte Creek, in the Black Hills, fourteen miles northeast of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. General Order No. 27, issued at Department of Dakota Headquarters, announced that the Secretary of War had designated the post "Fort Meade" in honor of Major George G. Meade, of Civil War fame. The first commander was Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis, 7th Cavalry. The work of building the post, for which an appropriation of $100,000.00 had been made, was begun on August 28, 1878, and completed in August, 1879. The original appropriation not proving sufficient to meet the cost of the necessary buildings an additional appropriation of $11,000, and later a special appropriation of $13,000, was made for post hospital.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fort Meade (South Dakota)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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