The pending release of Foundry's mountain men line, coupled with J&T Miniature's release of their trapper's post, gave me reason to e-mail Mike and ask him if he would like an article on forts and trading posts of the early West. He said he would like one, so I started making notes. I was simply going to list some forts and their construction, but I figured not everyone knows about the fur trade, nor is aware of the skirmish gaming possibilities that exist within this time period, so I wrote a longer article than anticipated and turned it into a mini history lesson in order to provide some basic background knowledge that is required to explore this period of history.

The fur trade started to some degree when the first white man set foot on North America. As time passed, the exploitation of these natural resources became organized and sanctioned by various governments. The trade was dominated by the French in the 1600s, the English in the 1700s, and the United States in the 1800s. And what was the major export during this period of time? The beaver. Why? Because beaver fur has a physical characteristic that makes it ideal for the felting process, and felt hats were in high demand during this period of time. Not only the gentleman dandy, but all those bicornes and tricornes your troops wear were beaver felt (when possible). Now you can understand the high demand for these critters. Beaver furs were considered so valuable that a Spanish exploration party found gold deposits in a mountain chain and passed them up to search for beaver, because a load of beaver pelts was more valuable than gold!

Companies and Trappers

As with everything else, the traders and trappers organized to be more efficient. The Hudson Bay Company was formed in 1670, and the North West Company formed in 1784. By the early 1800s the North West Company had 117 trading posts in North America. The American Fur Company was established in 1808. A congressional act of 1816 forbade foreigners from trading on U.S. soil. This year also marked the beginning of a border war between members of the NWC and AFC. Rival brigades were the enemy, and many trappers were killed by other trappers.

Trapping parties were organized into "brigades." A brigade could be as small as half a dozen men to as large as 300 people. Most brigades were around 30-40 men. Most trappers were company men, that is they were paid a wage and all of their equipment was supplied by a fur company. The coveted "free trapper" was not a company man, he owned his own traps and kit, and was basically a free agent, although he might sign a contract with a fur company for a season. The very large brigades, particularly among the French-Canadians, were family affairs, and a brigade would have many "non-combatants" in the form of wives and children, similar to nomadic Indian tribes. These dependents were not just hangers on, they made camp, cooked the meals, skinned the animals, etc.

Most portage was done by horses, carts, keel boats and canoes. There were also times when goods had to be physically carried by men. The typical canoe was 24-27 feet in length, carried 1 1/2 tons of supplies, as well as 4-6 men and all their gear. The largest canoes were 32-36 feet long, carried 3 1/2 to 4 tons of goods, plus 7 - 12 men and all of their gear. Most keel boats had a 1 or 2 pounder swivel gun mounted on the bow.

Forts

Now to the forts. Most forts/trading posts had a barracks, store, fur press (used to press furs into 90 lb. bundles for ease of transport), warehouse and various farm animals running around inside. Most of the posts were built near major waterways to facilitate the transport of furs. The posts could be simple affairs made for one season, or they could be quite substantial and intended to last for a long period of time. The most common building material were cottonwood trees, adobe, sod and limestone. Obviously, the most available material at hand was used. The walls of the forts could be anywhere from 8 to 30 feet high, and they may or may not have firing platforms and/or loopholes. Most forts had two bastions or blockhouses at diagonal opposite corners of the fort, allowing covering fire down all sides of the fort. A small fort might have only one bastion, while a large fort could have four or more. Most forts had 1 or 2 pound swivel guns mounted on the stockade or in the blockhouses. Some swivel guns were put on carriages to make small cannons. Some brigades actually had 4 or 6 pounder artillery pieces. Some trading posts were nothing more than single, fortified, isolated buildings. The following are a few examples of actual fur trade forts.

• Fort Pierre: A cottonwood stockade 20'-30' high, each side 80 paces long, with two bastions.
  
• Fort Platte: Described as being approximately 103' x 144'.
  
• Fort St. Vrain: Adobe construction, 109' x 128', with two bastions 19' in diameter.
  
• Fort Vasquez: 100' x 125', 12' high adobe walls, with a footpath and loopholes every 16'-17'.
  
• Fort Union: Made of cottonwood and enclosing 52,800 square feet, with limestone bastions.

  Some forts were as small as 25' x 20' and had a single blockhouse.

These forts and posts could be attacked and/or rescued by Indians. There are several recorded cases in which a friendly tribe rescued a trading post being attacked by a hostile tribe.

The year 1840 is considered to be the end of the fur trade. It was in that year that the last rendezvous (annual drunken resupply debauchery) was held. Some men continued to trap, others became buffalo hunters, army scouts, business men, wagon train guides or they simply faded into obscurity. Most mountain men died violent, premature deaths. Those who lived to be old men frequently died penniless. The trappers who survived and made it rich were the exception, not the rule.

This period of time offers many skirmish gaming possibilities. Trappers vs. other trappers, Indians, wild animals (bear attacks probably being the most common) or the Spanish authorities. New Spain jealously guarded her natural resources in order to conduct business. This was seldom done, however, some licenses were granted (and frequently revoked without warning). Capture by authorities meant confiscation of all your goods and a month or two in jail.

Arming the participants: Most mountain men carried fusils of about .69 caliber, however, there were some rifles in use, generally about .52 caliber. A pistol or two would not be out of order. Most arms were flintlocks. Your characters can also be festooned with an assortment of knives and tomahawks.

I hope this brief rambling has given a few of you something to think about and provided you with an idea or two for this neglected period of American History.