Editing Fort Riley (section)

===Post-Civil War and the Custer Era===
[[Image:Custer Bvt MG Geo A 1865 LC-BH831-365-crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[George A. Custer]]]]
The conclusion of the Civil War in 1865 saw Fort Riley again assume an important role in providing protection to railroad lines being built across Kansas. The summer and fall of 1866 witnessed the mustering in of the [[7th Cavalry Regiment]] at Riley and the arrival of the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] at the fort. In December, Brevet Major General [[George Armstrong Custer|George A. Custer]] arrived to take charge of the new regiment. Soldiers from the Kansas Volunteer regiments, "Jenison's Jayhawks," that were wounded in the [[Battle of Westport]] were brought to Fort Riley for recovery.<ref name="History" />

The following spring, Custer and the 7th left Fort Riley to participate in a campaign on the high plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado. The campaign proved inconclusive but resulted in Custer's court martial and suspension from the Army for one year—in part—for returning to Fort Riley to see his wife without permission. As the line of settlement extended westward each spring, the fort lost some of its importance. Larger concentrations of troops were stationed at [[Fort Larned National Historic Site|Fort Larned]] and [[Fort Hays]], where they spent the summer months on patrol and wintered in garrison.<ref name="History" />

Between 1869 and 1871, a school of light artillery was conducted at Fort Riley by the 4th Artillery Battery. Instruction was of a purely practical nature, and regular classes were not conducted. Critiques were delivered during or following the exercise. This short-lived school closed in March 1871 as the War Department imposed economic measures, which included cutting a private's monthly pay from $12 to $9.<ref name="History" />

During the next decade, various regiments of the infantry and cavalry were garrisoned at Riley. The spring and summer months usually witnessed a skeletal complement at the fort while the remainder of the troops were sent to Forts Hays, [[Fort Wallace|Wallace]], and Dodge in western Kansas. With the approach of winter, these troops returned to Riley. Regiments serving here during this time included the 5th, 6th, and 9th Cavalry and the 16th Infantry Regiment. The lessening of hostilities with the Indian tribes of the Great Plains resulted in the closing of many frontier forts. Riley escaped this fate when Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan recommended in his 1884 annual report to Congress to make the fort "Cavalry Headquarters of the Army".<ref name="History" />