Long before white men settled Kansas, traffic over the Santa Fe Trail was so heavy that troops were assigned to protect it from Indians. Established in 1827 by Col. Henry Leavenworth, Fort Leavenworth was for thirty years the chief base of operations on the Indian frontier. In 1839, Col. S.W. Kearny marched against the Cherokees with the largest U.S. mounted force yet assembled, ten companies of dragoons. In 1846, Col. A.W. Doniphan departed on his Mexican expedition, and throughout the war with Mexico the fort served as the outfitting post for the Army of the West. During the 1850s, wagon teams hauled supplies over the Santa Fe, Oregon, and other trails to forts, posts, and military camps across the West, some as far as the Pacific. When Kansas Territory was organized in 1854, Gov. Andrew Reeder established executive offices at Fort Leavenworth. In 1881, Gen. William T. Sherman established the school that later became the Command and General Staff College, the highest tactical school in the Army educational system combining all arms and services. Maj. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a 1926 graduate, finished with the highest honors in his class.