Carrington prepared for an attack on the fort the evening after the Fetterman Fight, ordering all his men to stand watch, three to a porthole. All extra ammunition and explosives were deposited in a powder magazine ringed with wagons. If the Indians attacked, the 10 women and children at the fort were ordered to get into the magazine. Soldiers were told that in the last extremity they were to retreat to the magazine. Carrington would blow up the magazine to ensure that no Americans remained alive to be captured by the Indians.