This was the ending point for John “Portugee” Phillips’s great 236-mile ride from Fort Phil Kearney to Fort Laramie. After the attack by Red Cloud on Fort Kearney, the fort was low on men and military equipment. U.S. Colonel Henry B. Carrington had been in charge of the fort. He asked for a volunteer to make a ride to request reinforcements from the nearest fort – which was Fort Laramie.
The ride was not easy. There was a blizzard, and it was extremely cold. Yet, Phillips managed to successfully make the ride in two days and get to Fort Laramie on Christmas night. Phillips’s horse died from exhaustion.
Read this for a full background on the massacre and the ride it inspired.
Historical Marker Inscription
Here on December 25, 1866
John (Portugee) Phillips
finished his 236 mile ride
to obtain troops for
the relief of Fort Phil Kearny
after the Fetterman Massacre.
Dedicated by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming
1940
Location
42° 12’ 9.660” N, 104° 33’ 29.430” W
Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Fort Laramie, WY 82212, United States
Historical Markers of the World 