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[Illustration: Book Cover]



OLD FORT SNELLING

From a painting by Captain Seth Eastman, reproduced in Mrs. Eastman's
_Dahcotah; or, Life and Legends of the Sioux around Fort Snelling_

[Illustration: OLD FORT SNELLING]



OLD FORT SNELLING

1819-1858


BY
MARCUS L. HANSEN

[Illustration: Publisher's Logo.]

PUBLISHED AT IOWA CITY IOWA IN 1918 BY
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA



THE TORCH PRESS
CEDAR RAPIDS
IOWA




EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION


The establishment in 1917 of a camp at Fort Snelling for the training of
officers for the army has aroused curiosity in the history of Old Fort
Snelling. Again as in the days of the pioneer settlement of the
Northwest the Fort at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi
rivers has become an object of more than ordinary interest.

Old Fort Snelling was established in 1819 within the Missouri Territory
on ground which later became a part of the Territory of Iowa. Not until
1849 was it included within Minnesota boundaries. Linked with the early
annals of Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the
Northwest, the history of Old Fort Snelling is the common heritage of
many commonwealths in the Upper Mississippi Valley.

The period covered in this volume begins with the establishment of the
Fort in 1819 and ends with the temporary abandonment of the site as a
military post in 1858.

BENJ. F. SHAMBAUGH

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT AND EDITOR
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY IOWA




AUTHOR'S PREFACE


The position which the military post holds in western history is
sometimes misunderstood. So often has a consideration of it been left to
the novelist's pen that romantic glamour has obscured the permanent
contribution made by many a lonely post to the development of the
surrounding region. The western fort was more than a block-house or a
picket. Being the home of a handful of soldiers did not give it its real
importance: it was an institution and should be studied as such. Old
Fort Snelling is a type of the many remote military stations which were
scattered throughout the West upon the upper waters of the rivers or at
intermediate places on the interminable stretches of the westward
trails.

This study of the history and influence of Old Fort Snelling was first
undertaken at the suggestion of Dr. Louis Pelzer of the State University
of Iowa, and was carried on under his supervision. The results of the
investigation were accepted as a thesis in the Graduate College of the
State University of Iowa in June, 1917. Upon the suggestion of Dr. Benj.
F. Shambaugh, Superintendent of The State Historical Society of Iowa,
the plan of the work was changed, its scope enlarged, many new sources
of information were consulted, and the entire manuscript
rewritten.

Connected with so many of the aspects of western history, Old Fort
Snelling is pictured in accounts both numerous and varied. The reports
of government officials, the relations of travellers and explorers, and
the reminiscences of fur traders, pioneer settlers, and missionaries
show the Fort as each author, looking at it from the angle of his
particular interest, saw it. These published accounts are found in the
_Annual Reports_ of the Secretary of War, in the _Annual Reports_ of the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and in the works of travellers and
pioneers. Many of the most important sources are the briefer accounts
printed in the _Minnesota Historical Collections_. The author's
dependence upon these sources of information is evident upon every page
of this volume.

But not alone from these sources, which are readily accessible, is this
account of the Old Fort drawn. A half-burned diary, the account books of
the post sutler, letter books filled with correspondence dealing with
matters which are often trivial, and statistical returns of men and
equipment are sources which from their nature may never be printed. But
in them reposes much of the material upon which this book is based. The
examination of all the documents which offered any prospect of throwing
light upon the subject was made possible for the author as Research
Assistant in The State Historical Society of Iowa. And in this
connection I wish to express my appreciation for the many courtesies
which I have received from those in whose custody these sources are
kept. To Dr. Solon J. Buck, Superintendent of the Minnesota Historical
Society and the members of the library staff of that Society I am
indebted for many kindnesses. Dr. M. M. Quaife, Superintendent of the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin,