Old Fort Snelling, 1819-1858

by Marcus Lee Hansen

Brigadier General John E. Wool inspected Fort Snelling on June 2nd, and in a letter on June 28th he urged that the settlers be driven off the reservation. “Such is the character of the white inhabitants of that country”, he wrote, “that if they cannot be permitted to carry on their nefarious traffic with the Indians, it will sooner or later involve them in a war with the United States.”[523]

Influenced by these letters and reports Secretary of War J. R. Poinsett determined to compel all the settlers to leave. It is, however, wrong to suppose that all were guilty of whiskey-peddling. In a letter in which he commented on the number of persons present at the Sunday services in the fort the chaplain wrote that “Some of the inhabitants also in the vicinity who were regular in their attendance have removed.”[524]

The instructions for the removal were made out on October 21, 1839, and sent to Edward James, Marshal of the Territory of Wisconsin. They stated that if force should prove necessary to compel the people to leave, the Marshal should call upon the commanding officer at Fort Snelling for such aid. In that case he was instructed to act “with as much forbearance, consideration, and delicacy as may be consistent with the prompt and faithful performance of the duties hereby assigned to you”.[525]

The orders were not received by Marshal James until February 18, 1840, and he immediately forwarded them to his deputy, Ira B. Brunson of Prairie du Chien. As soon as navigation opened in the spring he left for Fort Snelling. Notice was at once given to the settlers to move, and when they refused a detachment of soldiers was called out on May 6th and under the direction of a lieutenant and Marshal Brunson the household goods of the settlers were carried out and their cabins destroyed.[526]

These ejected settlers found new homes a few miles down the river. In the midst of their rude homes a log chapel was dedicated in November, 1841, to the Apostle St. Paul by the Reverend Lucian Galtier.[527] As the ceded lands were more and more occupied, the little village enjoyed a corresponding growth. Gradually the name of the chapel was adopted as the name of the settlement. In 1849 the Territory of Minnesota was organized with the seat of the legislature at St. Paul. The new community prospered, and the town swarmed with settlers, Indians, travellers, and adventurers who lived in tents or slept in barns in lieu of better accommodations. There were also capitalists, tradesmen, and officials who here made their homes.[528]

It was inevitable that between this new community and Fort Snelling close relations should exist. The Territorial government was weak; to enforce order it was necessary for the Governor to make requisition on the fort for troops.[529] The jail at Fort Snelling was also utilized for the punishment of many undesirable characters always drawn to a new region. James Higby who sold a promissory note which had already been paid, and Jacob Shipler who was arrested on a charge of assault and battery were both given terms in the jail at the fort. John R. McGregor, who became angry and threw his wife against a cooking stove, was separated from his help-meet for a period of three months while he languished in the fort.[530]

The soldiers, in return, visited the frontier town, conducting themselves in the eyes of one observer “with much dignity and sobriety”.[531] Not always, however, could their actions be thus described. Two soldiers who had just returned from an expedition to the Indian country, started for St. Paul on the evening of their return, carrying with them their blankets which they meant to sell for “refreshment”. But their birch canoe upset and before aid could reach them they were drowned.[532]

But relations of a more innocent and more desirable sort also existed. In the officials of the Territory the officers at the fort found congenial spirits. One of the popular pastimes of the little city was to ride out upon the frozen Mississippi in sleighs to Fort Snelling. “This command”, narrates an official report, “had the honor of receiving His Excellency W. A. Gorman Gov. of Minnesota and the Hon. James Shields late of the U. S. Senate, on the 9th inst. by whom the Command was reviewed &c. in presence of a large concourse of Citizens.”[533] The band of the Sixth Regiment which had paraded through the streets of Mexico City playing “Yankee Doodle” now found occupation in playing for the balls and parties of the frontier town. Even the inhabitants of Stillwater, twenty-five miles distant, called on the fort to furnish the music for the Valentine Ball on February 14, 1850.[534] During the same month a concert was given, the proceeds going to the Washington Monument Association. A year later the ladies who had arranged to give a tea party to raise money for the benefit of the poor children of the community changed their plans and accepted the offer of the band who volunteered to give a concert for the purpose.[535] The value of this association of citizens with the soldiers led to the remark of an editor that “We consider this band as well as the whole garrison, with its high intelligence—but especially the band, of infinite value to St. Paul—in fact, it is the most powerful element of influence amongst us, for our good, next to the pulpit and the press.”[536]

The tourists who for many years had been frequenting the upper Mississippi now increased in numbers. In the “Drive of All Visitors” were included the Falls of St. Anthony, Lake Harriet, Minnehaha Falls, and Fort Snelling.[537] From the lookout tower of the fort on the edge of the cliff, could be viewed the same scenery which had charmed Carver a hundred years before. Undoubtedly many thought as did the newspaper man who wrote: “In the contemplation of this scene from Ft. Snelling, one is ravished with a desire to get upon it; and to appropriate a little domain for his home. It has the look of home. How can the Sioux ever consent to part with these lands?”[538]

But two years later they did part with them. The two treaties in which the cession was acknowledged were brought about without military aid.[539] This was in itself prophetic of the new status of the fort. With the growth of the Territorial organization, one by one the duties connected with Indian affairs, liquor troubles, and the protection of life and property were taken over by the civil officers, with the military men as the executors of their laws only when the regular forces of administration were unable to handle the difficulties.