Fort Buford was named for Major General John Buford, a Union commander at the Battle of Gettysburg. Established in 1866, it safeguarded the territory around the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers and served as a supply depot for soldiers operating farther west. During the winter of 1866-1867, its garrison was repeatedly harassed by tribal warriors angered by the fort's establishment, and Post Surgeon James P. Kimball noted that the raids were led by the Hunkpapa leader Sitting Bull. After that first winter, the garrison was reinforced with additional troops. Over the next decade, the fort underwent two expansions and eventually housed six companies of soldiers. It also frequently served as a detention area for tribal leaders and their followers who had fought placement onto reservation, including Chief Joseph, Crow King, Rain-in-the-Face, Gall, and Low Dog. The last detained there was Sitting Bull in July 1881. In later years, soldiers there provided general security for the area and also guarded railroad construction crews, constructed telegraph lines, and guarded railroad property during the Pullman Strike of 1894. The fort was officially abandoned on October 1, 1895, after almost three decades of service.