Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Before you stand the remains of a six-unit apartment building constructed in 1884. Built for the fort's senior noncommissioned officers and their families, this new structure provided the best housing available for married enlisted men on post. The staff entitled to live here were the post ordnance, quartermaster, and commissary sergeants; chief musician; and regimental sergeant major. Often in their fortes and fifties with many years of service in the military, these senior NCOs were usually thoroughly professional and of high moral character.America's Longest-Serving Enlisted SoldierPost Ordinance Sergeant Leodegar Schnyder and his family occupied an apartment in this structure between 1884 and 1886.Schnyder, a Swiss immigrant and bookbinder, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1837 at the age of 23. He arrived here for duty as a first sergeant with the 6th Infantry Regiment in 1849. In 1852, post commander Richard Garnett enthusiastically endorsed Schnyder's application to become post ordinance sergeant, writing, "He has served a long time in the army and has always sustained . . . the highest character for honesty, fidelity, and intelligence, in the discharge of his duties. His great neatness, legibility and correctness as a clerk . . . would eminently fit him for the office . . . " Schnyder received the promotion.Schnyder's main duties entailed the care of the artillery, small arms, and ammunition on post. Yet he took on other tasks, such as assistant post librarian and spent 17 years as postmaster. While at Fort Laramie, Schnyder married twice and raised five children.After 37 years at Fort Laramie, Sergeant Schnyder transferred to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1886. The 7th Infantry Regimental Band serenaded the Schnyder family as they left the post. He retired from the army in November 1890, his career outlasting Fort Laramie by nine months. After 53 years of active service, he moved to Tobias, Nebraska, where he died in 1896. Post Ordinance Sergeant Leodegar Schnyder remains the longest-serving noncommissioned officer in the history of the United States Army.

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Show me all markers in:  Fort Laramie, WY  |  Goshen County  |  82212  |  Wyoming  |  United States of America

The Cavalry Stables
'Where's the Wall?'
The Rustic Hotel
The Post Hospital
Cavalry Barracks
The Rustic Hotel " . . . No Second-Rate Affair"
The Sutler's House
A Father's Grief . . . A Soldier's Honor
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Fort Laramie Historical

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