Post Trader McKnight & Co 1885 Business Letter from Fort Shaw, Montana Territory

This is a frontier army / Indian traders letter on letterhead dated 1885, in reference to an officer’s accounts at Fort Shaw, Montana Territory. The officer concerned is Capt. Francis B. Jones, who had Civil War service with the volunteers, and twice wounded at Gettysburg and wounded again at Laurel Hill, Va., and remained in the army afterwards, during the Indian Wars with the 3rd U.S. Infantry. He had been the regimental quartermaster until August of 1885, then transferred to the Quartermaster Dept. He retired in 1901.

J.H. McKnight & Co. operated as post traders from 1870 to 1887. Joseph Hempstead McKnight began working as a clerk for the sutler at Fort Buford, DT. While in business at Fort Shaw, they did business with the army, citizens, Indians, and Indian agencies, trappers, Northwest Mounted Police, etc.

Scarce to fine post trader anything from this era.