through the fort, and a depot was established just outside the fort. Two large warehouses were built next to the line, which became the principal resupply route for the fort. By the end of 1867, the fort supported a four-company garrison, the supply depot and over 75 buildings. Cholera epidemic of 1867 In the summer of 1867, an Asiatic cholera outbreak began amongst the soldiers of the four companies of the 38th Infantry stationed at the fort. The disease may have arrived with the 38th, who traveled to the fort from St. Louis, Missouri, where a cholera outbreak was also occurring. The first case of cholera at the fort was diagnosed on June 28. Within days, one civilian and one soldier had died from the disease, and the epidemic had spread to other soldiers and civilians at the fort, as well as settlers in the surrounding area. The Post Quarter Master reported that 58 citizens were buried during the month of June. The epidemic continued through the remainder of 1867, and by the end of the year the official report tabulated 392 cases with 24 deaths among the white troops and 500 cases with 22 deaths among the black troops stationed at or near the fort. Indian War campaigns Although no battles were ever fought at the fort itself, troops stationed at Fort Harker were involved in the ongoing Indian Wars between the United States Army and the natives of the Great Plains. The troops stationed at Fort Harker in 1867 performed more escorts of wagon trains in one year than troops stationed at any other frontier fort in the post-Civil War era. Once the railroad arrived at the fort in 1867, the need for escort patrols began to shift to the west, and by 1868 the primary role of Fort Harker was changing to that of a supply depot and troop staging site. In the fall of 1868, General Philip Henry Sheridan moved his command headquarters from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Harker, from where he commanded the campaigns against the Native Americans in the winter of 1868/1869. On August 25, 1869, Brevet Colonel Joseph G. Tilford was sent to Fort Harker, where he commanded two troops of General George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry. After wintering at the fort, Tilford and the cavalry set out on a campaign in February 1870. In May 1870, General Custer and the remaining troops