Fort de Cavagnial, French Garrison

In 1724, French army officer Etienne Veniard de Bourgmont traveled from Kaskaskia in the Illinois territory to explore the area that is now Kansas for likely areas to build trading posts. After establishing one near the Great Osage Village on the Osage River, he traveled north in hopes of forming a like arrangement with the Kansa Indians who lived in a wooded village not far from the mouth of the river bearing their name. The Kansa, meaning the Wind People, built oven-shaped houses covered with earth. They lived in tepees only when they went on the hunt for buffalo.

Eager to curtail British trade with the Indians, de Bourgmont abandoned building a garrison near the Kansa Village and continued his explorations into South Dakota. The French traders formed strong ties with the Indians and, in their quest for trade dominance over the British, supplied the tribes with guns and gunpowder.

Twenty years after de Bourgmont's exploration of Kansas, The Chevalier Pierre Rene Harpin de la Gautrais traveled to the area under orders of the French governor of Louisiana. He established a fort on the right bank of the Missouri River in the Salt Creek Valley in present day Leavenworth County Kansas. A Kansa village was located about a mile from the site and , after the garrison was built, was referred to as Fort Village by trappers and voyagers.

The French outpost was named Fort de Cavagnial in honor of the governor of Louisiana, Vaudreuil-Cavagnial. Construction began that spring. Trees were timbered for the two-story fort. by August 8, 1744 the outpost was completed and officially chartered. Within the 80 feet square stockade stood the commandant's house, guardhouse, powder house, trader's cabin and cabin for employees of the trader.

Besides the commandant, the garrison housed eight to ten soldiers, but Fort de Cavagnial was often manned by 12 to 20 French marines. Their presence helped regulate trade in the area and control Canadian voyagers and trappers traveling the Missouri River. At that time, the entire area was under the jurisdiction of Governor Vaudreuil-Cavagnial.

Although the fort was established to encourage trade with the Indians, the French had other reasons for taking stock of the area. France was hungry for riches and the governor hoped they might stumble across the fabled gold and silver the Spanish explorers had sought in the 1500s. They also were eager to discover a trade route to Santa Fe, and prove the Pacific Coast had an indentation similar to the Gulf of Mexico. They were sorely disappointed on all counts.

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