"Lewis and Clark's Fort Claptrap" Topic

What a wonderful design! They (the gubmint? rebuilt the fort, BTW. Would love to visit it)

A fort and home for a small unit of troops (they had about 35 in their party, I recall).

GREAT idea for gaming. Easy to scratchbuild, it takes up small space, and is perfect for any frontier/American gaming, and with some imagination, is a great design in stone/mud/adobe for ANY gaming in Africa, NW Frontyier, etc.

Easy, and a 20 man unit can try their luck against hordes of bad guys in a TSATF game.

FIW, AWI, TWI, Plains Wars, 1812, Darkest Africa, South America, ANYWHERE your unit needs a fort. THIS is a weener!

link

i want a Rorke's Drift for my home I'm gonna build. But barring a windfall of cheap Chinese concrete (Concrete mealie bag perimimeter is like 20,000 yards of concrete, or over 200,K in money. ) This fort would be a 2nd choice! How cool would it be to live in?

I visited the Fort two years ago. Great visit in the middle of the woods near the river.

The original replica was built in the 50's, all volunteer labor. That replica burnt down just before the big bi-centennial celebration in 2005. The fort that stands now…don't remember who rebuilt it. I live 10 minutes away and visiting it is quite an experience, though the new fort still doesn't have the same "lived in smell" that the old one did.

Lloyd, you live near there?

That is cool! I can't get over the amount of game back then. The amount they killed (Elk, deer, bear by the dozens) just to survive seems incredible.

Even back then, hunting was a poor basis for long term survival. A day or two of poor hunting, and it was berries and roots or nothing (and fish closer to the mouth of the Columbia during season).

Even buffalo hunting was limited to a few powerful tribes in 1804.

Also amazed at the calorie intake. Ambrose estimated a daily 6,000+ calorie intake for the party, and even that was often inadequate. LOL! Thats a LOT of food. 12lbs of meat a day for some Indians? Damn!