Across The Fence: 'Aunt Sally' and Dakota Gold

In June of 1872 a military post was built by two companies of the 6th U.S. Infantry under the command of Lt. Col. Daniel Huston, Jr. The new outpost was built at the confluence of the Missouri and Heart Rivers where, nearly three hundred years before, the Mandan Indian tribe had established their village. By the mid-1800’s the Mandan had abandoned the site when smallpox decimated their numbers.

The newly built post was named Fort McKeen and was located near Bismarck, Dakota Territory. Shortly thereafter, the small infantry post was renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln when in November of 1872 the...