Let’s go visit Ft. Riley. Sounds great except we are not military. That does not matter, anyone can visit the Fort. Off we go. Sure enough we showed our driver’s license and were allowed on the post. In this time of extreme security, we were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to visit this historic fort. The fort is a tribute to the U.S. Cavalry; not only the men yet also the horses that were a necessary and important component of the Cavalry.
Fort Riley began in 1852 and was used as a staging area for the expanding frontier – westward. The 7th Cavalry was organized at Fort Riley under George Armstrong Custer. The Custer House is the only surviving officer’s quarters constructed of native limestone and built in 1855. When we visited the house we were transported back to the 1880s and saw how military officer families lived at Fort Riley. The soldiers were on campaigns
during the summer and spent the winters at Fort Riley. Custer did not live in the house we visited; the house Custer lived in burned in the 1940s.
Fort Riley is also home to the U.S. Cavalry Museum which offers the rich and colorful history of the U.S. Cavalry. The museum took us from the beginnings of the Cavalry to the present day. The museum honors man and horse and shows the evolution from mounted cavalry to present day armored cavalry. “Chief”,the last Cavalry mount registered on the government roles, is buried at Fort Riley. His gravesite is marked with the Old Trooper Monument.
Fort Riley brought home just how important the U.S. Cavalry was and is in our country’s freedom.
