Fort Richardson

We got up early, and were on the road by 8. We stopped in Amarillo to pick up fuel and a generous supply of tourist information, and headed southeast.

By midday, we had concluded that we did not want to drive through Dallas-Fort Worth during the afternoon rush hour, and Marianne selected Fort Richardson State Park for the evening. This fort was one of the forts active during the indian war period. Colonel MacKenzie, the same colonel who fought the indians in Palo Duro Canyon, was the commanding officer here, and used it as a base for pursuing the hostile indians.

Pretty amazing that these stories keep tying together, between Palo Duro, Fort Richardson, and the book "Empire of the Summer Moon". At this rate, we might start to understand the indian wars in this area. One key part of that history was the decision by President Grant to end the "Quaker Peace Policy", and unleash the army on the indians. Up to that point, the indians were able to raid and then retreat to the reservations, where the army was not allowed to chase them. The indian raids soon ended after the army was able to work freely.