Editing Fort Riley (section)

===Origins===
[[Image:Bennett Riley, 1852 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|[[Bennet C. Riley]], the namesake of Fort Riley]]
The early history of Fort Riley is closely tied to the movement of people and trade along the [[Oregon trail|Oregon]] and [[Santa Fe trail]]s. These routes, a result of the then-popular United States doctrine of "[[manifest destiny]]" in the middle of the 19th century, prompted increased American military presence for the protection of American interests in this largely unsettled territory. In the 1850s, the United States established several military posts at strategic points to safeguard these emigration and commerce routes.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=History of Fort Riley and 1st Infantry Division |url=https://home.army.mil/riley/about/history |website=U.S. Army  |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529113350/https://home.army.mil/riley/about/history |archive-date=May 29, 2024}}</ref>

In the fall of 1852, a surveying party under the command of [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] [[Robert H. Chilton]], [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)|1st U.S. Dragoons]], selected the junction of the [[Republican River|Republican]] and [[Smoky Hill River]]s as a site for one of these forts. This location, approved by the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] in January 1853, offered an advantageous location from which to organize, train, and equip troops to protect the overland trails. The site was named Camp Center because surveyors believed it was near the center of the United States. In late spring, three companies of the 6th Infantry occupied the camp and began construction of temporary quarters.<ref name="History" />

[[Image:First Territorial Capitol of Kansas.jpg|thumb|right|The [[First Territorial Capitol of Kansas]] was built in 1855 at present-day Fort Riley.]]
On June 27, 1853, Camp Center became Fort Riley&nbsp;— named in honor of Major General [[Bennet C. Riley]], who had led the first military escort along the Santa Fe Trail in 1829. The "fort" took shape around a broad plain that overlooked the Kansas River valley. The fort's design followed the standard frontier post configuration: buildings were constructed of the most readily available material&nbsp;— in this case, native limestone. In the spring, troops were dispatched to escort mail trains and protect travel routes across the plains. At the fort, additional buildings were constructed under the supervision of Capt. Edmund Ogden. Anticipating greater utilization of the post, [[United States Congress|Congress]] authorized appropriations in the spring of 1855 to provide additional quarters and stables for the Dragoons. Ogden again marshaled resources and arrived from Leavenworth in July with 50 6-mule teams<ref name="History" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lowe |first=Percival |title=Five Years a Dragoon |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-8061-1089-9 |page=144}}</ref> loaded with materials, craftsmen, and laborers.<ref name="History" />

Work had progressed for several weeks when [[cholera]] broke out among the workers. The epidemic lasted only a few days but claimed 70 lives, including Ogden's. Work gradually resumed, and buildings were prepared for the arrival in October of the 2nd Dragoons. As the fort began to take shape, an issue soon to dominate the national scene was debated during the brief territorial legislative session that met at Pawnee in the present area of Camp Whitside,<ref name="History" /> named for Colonel [[Warren Whitside]].<ref name="Driving tour">{{cite web |title=Fort Riley Driving Tour |url=https://history.army.mil/museums/fieldMuseums/fortRiley_1stInfDiv/docs/fortRiley_drivingTour.pdf |publisher=US Army |access-date=September 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701013824/https://history.army.mil/museums/fieldMuseums/fortRiley_1stInfDiv/docs/fortRiley_drivingTour.pdf |archive-date=July 1, 2024 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The first territorial legislature met there in July 1855. Slavery was a fact of life and an issue within the garrison just as it was in the rest of the country. The seeds of sectional discord were emerging that would lead to "[[Bleeding Kansas]]" and, eventually, Civil War.<ref name="History" />