[6] William Clark recommended the high bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the United States government as a suitable location to build a fort.

The 6th US Infantry and 1st Rifle Regiments made up the military portion of the expedition, which arrived at the Council Bluff site on September 19.

The soldiers suffered widespread scurvy (due to poor nutrition and lack of vitamin C), which claimed the lives of over 200 of the 1,120 men that first winter.

Members of the Arikara tribe attacked a trading party led by William H. Ashley along the Missouri River in present-day South Dakota.

When the Mormons established Cutler's Park in the North Omaha area in 1846, some of their food for the harsh winter was provided from old provisions they found at the fort.

In the 1950s, Nebraska State Historical Society archeological crews determined the locations of buildings at the Fort Atkinson site.

Today, Fort Atkinson is a Nebraska state historical park, which includes a military museum.