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years, construction of the fort and cultivation of the gardens took priority over military duties. Snelling recognized that the fort should strive toward self-sufficiency, especially since the government stopped paying for seed in 1821 and since the government often delivered spoiled food or starving cattle. By 1823, nearly 200 acres (0.81 km) were being cultivated, about half of which were used for growing wheat. Snelling established a
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distance from any other military posts would make assistance difficult to obtain if any battles would break out. On the other hand, the idea of a large, permanent fortress to rule over the entire territory may have been overkill, since the usual pattern of westward expansion was to build temporary fortresses ahead of the line of settlement, shifting soldiers along the way.
47:. He was responsible for the initial design and construction of the fort, and he commanded it from 1820 through 1827. He had a reputation for being tough and fair-minded, but also had a mean temper when he was drunk. His second wife, Abigail Hunt Snelling, extended hospitality to visitors to the fort. She also founded a
201:. Taliaferro built a council house west of the fort in 1823, and was able to exert his influence by carefully distributing supplies such as food, gunpowder, tobacco, and whiskey to Native Americans. Taliaferro's cooperation with the Native Americans ensured good relations and helped to avert open hostilities between the
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are available for research use. They include photocopied letters written by Josiah
Snelling, military commissions and related documents from his service in the Massachusetts militia (1803-1808) and the United States infantry (1808-1820), documents relating to the Connecticut state militia during the
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Colonel
Snelling located the fort on a bluff above the river junction, and with the aid of Lieutenant Robert McCabe, designed the fort as an elongated diamond. The western point of the diamond had a large round tower, about thirty feet high and thirty feet in diameter, with musket ports in the sides
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with his soldiers until supplies arrived in August, 1819, and then the expedition traveled upriver to the confluence with the St. Peter's River. His soldiers originally built a winter settlement, known as
Cantonment New Hope, two miles (3 km) up the St. Peter's River from the confluence. The
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The heavy limestone walls of the fort were constructed on a scale beyond many other frontier fortifications, suggesting
America's intentions toward westward expansion. Major General Brown had the opinion that a frontier fort of this nature should be built for permanency and independence since the
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The Army, recognizing the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables in a soldier's diet, made post commanders responsible for establishing gardens. Colonel
Snelling started cultivation in 1820, planting corn and potatoes in about 90 acres (360,000 m) of river bottomland. Over the next few
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which outlawed slavery in the area, Colonel
Snelling, Taliaferro, and others at the fort illegally employed slave labor. Snelling rented the labor of an enslaved man named William from Taliaferro, and purchased two enslaved women named Mary and Louisa. While enslaved at Fort Snelling,
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was originally chosen to locate the fortification at the mouth of the St. Peter's River (the prior name of the
Minnesota River) in 1819. His expedition started out in
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and a cannon on the top. The eastern point of the diamond was designed with a half-moon battery. Two smaller batteries on the north and south sides were built for
150:. Snelling was concerned about the unhealthy living conditions of the temporary quarters at Cantonment New Hope on the St. Peter's River. He traveled upriver from
87:, a mile up the Mississippi from the confluence of the rivers. Leavenworth was later relieved of his duty in August 1820 and succeeded by Colonel Josiah Snelling.
166:. Eight interior buildings of the fort were built from locally quarried limestone, while two other buildings were built from white pine, cut from around the
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142:, James, Marion, and Josiah. After the size of the army was reduced in 1815, Snelling spent about four years on the northern border of
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area. The fort had no formal architect. All of the manpower of designing and building the fort came from
Snelling's own troops.
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and arrived at the cantonment on
September 5, 1820, and immediately started the relocation and design of the new fort.
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next spring, in anticipation of flooding, he moved the troops to higher ground at a site known as
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Colonel
Snelling's health began to decline in early 1826, and the prescribed treatment of
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and following it downstream to its confluence with the Mississippi River at
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accelerated his alcoholism. He left the fort in October 1827 and died in
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98:(Snelling Avenue), in Minnesota's capital city, are named after him.
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from St. Louis. About 100 barrels of flour were produced in 1823.
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in the vicinity of the fort, Snelling partnered with Indian Agent
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Josiah Snelling in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia
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Reichardt, Mary R. (1999). "SNELLING, William Joseph",
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for the fort's children and assisted families from the
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baker. He married Elizabeth Bell and fathered a son,
429:. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
401:. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.
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Snelling, born in 1782, was the son of a well-to-do
448:. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
31:(1782 – 20 August 1828) was the first commander of
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324:"Dred and Harriet Scott in Minnesota | MNopedia"
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374:Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery's Frontier
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122:during the winter of 1811–12. on the
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446:Fort Snelling: Colossus of the Wilderness
348:"Snelling, Josiah (1782–1828) | MNopedia"
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371:VanderVelde, Lea (17 February 2009).
292:Terre Haute: Queen City of the Wabash
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421:Risjord, Norman K. (2005).
407:American National Biography
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214:Northwest Ordinance of 1787
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397:Gilman, Rhoda R. (1991).
275:Citadel in the Wilderness
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289:McCormick, Mike (2005).
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