In August 1868, the Army pulled out.

The garrisons marched south.

They left behind the buildings they had constructed, the supplies that couldn’t be moved, the physical infrastructure of two years of military presence.

Red Cloud sent scouts to verify that the soldiers were actually gone.

He needed to know before he committed his signature.

They were gone.

The forts were burning.

He traveled to Fort Laramie and signed the treaty in November 1868.