In 1864, there was an increase in skirmishes with
Native Americans from the Plains. As a result, in 1864 Camp Rankin was established near
Julesburg with a couple of sod huts. It was renamed for an
American Civil War hero, Major General John Sedgwick. It grew to a full-blown military installation. Fort Sedgwick and Julesburg were attacked on January 7, 1865, by about 1,000
Cheyenne and
Sioux men in retribution for the
Sand Creek massacre (November 29, 1864). There were further attacks in 1865 between Julesburg and
Fort Morgan, including burning down the town of Julesburg in February. The town was later rebuilt. Upon orders by General
William Tecumseh Sherman,
George Armstrong Custer and six companies of the
7th Cavalry Regiment came to Colorado in June 1867 to stop attacks along the
South Platte and
Smoky Hill Trails, searching near Fort Sedgwick and part-way to
Fort Wallace for Native Americans. A detachment was also sent to Fort Wallace on the Smoky Hill Trail to get supplies. On their return, they were able to defend themselves against an overwhelming force. In the meantime, 35 soldiers deserted upon hearing of newly discovered mines. Custer went in search of a group of men that were delayed in bringing a dispatch from General Sherman to him, and he found the evidence of the
Kidder Massacre (June 26, 1867) near the present-day
Bird City, Kansas. Records from the time show that due to the area's lifestyle and the mixture of peacemaking and instigating behaviors by the soldiers, life at the post was a "saga of fraud and corruption, bravery and daring-do…triumph and tragedy…where conditions were considered unlivable, pleasures were few and the nearest bath was the South Platte River." Sedgwick was included in Brevet General James F. Rusling inspection September 1866. He reported to the Quartermaster's Department, "The general character of post buildings was found to be bad, and is believed to be a fruitful source of discontent, desertions. One post inspected had lost 25 men by desertion in one month, with their cavalry horses, accoutrements, Spencer carbines, complete, and many instances of this kind were reported to me. In fact, no humane farmer east would think of sheltering his horses or cattle in such uncomfortable and wretched structures, huts, willow-hurdles, adobe shanties, as compose many of our posts in the new States and Territories now...The cost of wood, on hand was found to vary from $25 per cord at Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory, where timber abounds, to $75 and $100 per cord at Fort Sedgwick, Colorado Territory, where there is not a tree for 50 miles (80.5 km)." The post was abandoned in May 1871 Fort Sedgwick's history is told at the Fort Sedgwick Museum in Julesburg. In 1940, the Julesburg Historical Society established a monument on the eastern edge of Ovid on Highway 138. It is located 1.25 miles (2 km) north of the site of the fort. A historical marker was established along County Road 28. == Fictional and dramatic representations ==