Cantonment Martin, the first military post in Kansas under the authority of the United States government, was established on Isle au Vache, or Cow island, in Oct., 1818, when Capt. Wyly Martin, with a detachment of the Third rifle regiment, reached the island as the advance guard of Maj. Long's expedition and went into winter quarters. A fort of cottonwood logs was erected and named "Cantonment Martin," for the commander of the detachment. John O'Fallon, afterward a prominent citizen of St. Louis, was the post sutler. It was Capt. Martin's intention to vacate the cantonment early in the spring of 1819 and continue his march westward, but his supplies failed to arrive as expected, and he remained at the post until the arrival of the main body of the expedition under Maj. Long in July. A council was held here with the Kansas Indians. (See Long's Expedition.)