Old Fort Snelling

ed within the walls of Old Fort Snelling seems to have left an account of what was included in the tasks and recreations of a day. Doubtless the routine duties repeated day after da

post; and the few fragmentary pages of Taliaferro's diary and letters, together with the stray

the rolls of the companies were called in front of the quarters; the quarters were put in order; the ground in front swept; and the horses fed and watered. At eight-thirty the sick in the barracks were taken to the h

shed sentinels to watch over the prisoners, the colors, the quarters of the commanding officer, and the arms of the regiment. Other soldiers were posted at the front and the

e, where various maneuvers were gone through and orders were read. After the parade, when the regiment was again in its quarters, the arms were placed in the ar

rter of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork; eighteen ounces of bread or flour; one gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy; and for every hundred rations were suppl

dered the transportation of supplies. The summer of 1829 was extremely dry. The average monthly rainfall was less than an inch, and steamboat navigation was impossible. Even keelboats found difficulty in ascending the river; sixty days were sp

o eat it, the troops almost mutinied, bringing it out upon the parade ground and throwing it down.230 Nor does it seem likely that the soup was more appetizing when one reads the following recipe which guided the company cooks: To make soup, put into the vessel at the rate of five pints of water to a pound of fresh meat; apply a quick heat to mak

of the post, and in order that his monopoly might not lead him to demand unreasonable sums for his wares, the prices were fixed by a council of administration composed of three officers. For every officer and enlisted soldier serving at the

urrants and a pound of raisins for fifty cents. Shoes, soap, and currants totalled $1.50 on April 7th; and on March 20th, two pounds of butter sold for thirty cents and a pound of cheese for forty-two cents. Private Ryerson had more varied needs. On March 7th, 1849, he purchas

there was purchased ten cents worth of cloves, ten cents worth of pepper, and ninety-five cents worth of cheese. Under the date of August 8th

oom for fifty cents; on August 30th, he purchased twenty-five cents worth of starch, and on October 19th, a large broom. Indulging in some luxuries, on August 2nd, 1855, he bought five cents worth of candy. Probably this was a treat for those two boys, his

ugust 20th, the same officer paid seventy-five cents for a bottle of cider. And the chaplain would have had an excellent illustration for his next sermon o

s. The following extract from Taliaferro's diary for March 22, 1831, is undoubtedly characteristic of many a forgotten episode: Nothing of importance transpired this day. Two drunken Soldiers in crossing the SPeters broke through the Ice & were near being drowned. They were exceeding alarmed & made a hedious No

rly severe in his treatment of offenders. He would take them to his room, wrote one who spent several years in the Snelling household, and compel them to strip, when he would flog them unmercifully. I have heard them beg him to spare them, for God's sake.236 This punishment by flogg

1836, the name Black Starvation might well have been applied. The negro servant, Hannibal, who clandestinely sold spruce beer to the soldiers was confined in the Black Hole for forty-eight hours; and Private Kelly, who refused to do his part in the fatigue party spent more than seventy-two hours in the Black Hole before the pan

ription, and the brief entry in Taliaferro's diary for February 3, 1831, leaves much to the imagination: Mutiny of Most of the Troops of the 1st Infantry, Stationed a

-one soldiers in 1823; three hundred and thirty-five in 1824; and two hundred and forty-six in 1825.242 Of these, six deserted in 1823, eight in 1824, and twenty-nine in 1825. In this total of forty-three desertions, fifteen left in their first year of service, seventeen in the second, eighteen in the third, one in the fourth, and two in the fifth. Interesting facts regarding the kind of men who

en-a military establishment. Indians were not afraid to injure those whom they knew to be deserters. A certain man by the name of Dixon who deserted was captured by Indians who brought him back to Fort Snelling and received a reward of twenty dollars. Dixon was court-martialed

d and twenty-nine men there were in the hospital one subaltern, one non-commissioned officer, one musician, and fifteen privates. That Fort Snelling was at a healthful locatio

e same rank as the deceased, carried the coffin to the little cemetery outside the fort. A salute was fired over the grave and the band played solemn music, the drums being covered with black crepe. The mounds in the cemetery, unmarked by any stones, w

ight. The bustle, excitement, and troubles connected with the departure of these expeditions are best described by

e of course always ready to go where glory waits them, but

a wife to leave; it will be weeks be

e has are in the wash. He will have to borrow of Selden; but here's the difficulty, Selden is going too, and

tors, for hard bread, though healthy, is never te

im for fear of measles; while the disciple of Esculapius, though he knows there will be better cooking i

will be his happy fate to find out there is danger near, and to give the alarm. Another vows, that if trouble wont come, why he will bring it by quarrelling with the first rascally Indian he meets. All is ready. Rations are put up for the men;-hams, buffalo tongues, pi

built, the soldiers began ploughing for the crop of the next summer.250 Major Long, in 1823, found two hundred and ten acres under cultivation-one hundred of wheat, sixty of maize, fifteen of oats, fourteen of potatoes, and twenty acres in gardens.251 All through the history of Old Fort Snelling the soldiers were employed as farmers. A visitor i

he military reservation. A group of men called the Hay Party were employed during the summer in cutting and stacking the long grass. But one offic

ven soldiers were acting as teamsters, five were performing carpenters' duties, two were quarrying stone, two men and a sergeant com

to the garrison.254 Swan, geese, and ducks were numerous about the lakes and swamps, and with the famous hunter H. H. Sibley as a guide, the game bags were soon filled

which are peculiar to the life of a remote garrison. The isolation was almost complete. There was no traffic upon the frozen river, and the traders were wintering in the Indian villages. Only through the mail was communication with the outside world

ned when a passing steamer overtook the rowing soldiers and picked up the canoe with its crew. In winter no such aid was possible. A hard

aw overtook the carrier from Prairie du Chien, who had proceeded beyond the meeting place because the messenger from the north was late. Suddenly the ice groaned and cracked, and the postman with difficulty found safety on a small island where, to his great surprise, he found th

Prairie du Chiens on the 2d of March-has now been Absent more than a Month & progressing in the Seccond. We have not had inteligence from Washington City-since the 6th of December last. Not until April 10th did the mail arrive. But even when the messengers were safe in the fort it was not certain that they brought what was so eagerly looked for, as the entry on February 27th clearly shows: Lieut Williams & Mr Bailly returned

Wood was used for fuel-to obtain which was a never-ending task in winter. When Captain Seth Eastman was in command at various periods from 1844 to 1848 the garrison had to go from eight to ten miles

ead a great deal, which has stood by me well; then there was of course much sociability among the officers, and a great deal of playing of cards, dominoes, checkers, and chess. The soldiers, too, would ge

his honor. And here, far from city streets and French barbers, on a rude stage, Jack Ardourly fell in love with the beautiful Adolphine de Courcy-who probably only a few hours

ladies and gentlemen of the garrison had a party at the fort. The room was tastefully decorated-- and the evening passed pleasantly. On Febru

e correspondence of Colonel Snelling shows that John Marsh received his board and seventy-five dollars for acting as tutor during the winter of 1823–1824. This schoolmaster als

w of buildings caught on fire in the room of Lieutenant Greenough on February 10th. On the next day a second fire broke out; and on February 24

on, & tattle is used as formerly. Indian Ball plays are coming in season. One comes off today in which stacks of property are to be invested. The Sioux have been hunting about Rum River this winter and have killed great numbers of Dear-Our winter has been mild

vied.271 Occasionally open encounters took place. One soldier stabbed another with a butcher's knife, and the victim died.272 In February, 1826, two officers of the garrison engaged in a duel.273 Even those in authority were not free from participation in these affairs of honor. A certain young officer challeng

vening of Sunday, March 27, 1831, that the weather was more pleasant-Wild geese seen this day-gentlemen generally [illegible] out and Walking-The Ladies also.275 It meant a speedy return of summer

those men and women