We recently visited Fort Snelling which is located in St. Paul, Minnesota.Fort Snelling is a historical landmark and was originally built in theearly 1800s. It was the first settlement in Minnesota. Here was thefirst school, first hospital, first store, etc. in the state. This pagedescribes some of our experiences during our visit there.
Basically one wanders around the fort to get a feeling of what life might have been like for the residents at that time. People in costume inhabit the fort, going about their daily business and answering any questions that you might have. At one point I had the opportunityto try on a soldier's cap. Well, what do you think? Do I look likesoldier material? ;)
Judging from the stories we were told, it must have been an experience tolive at the fort during those early frontier days. I was surprised to findthat not many battles were actually found at the fort. I was told thatthe main purpose of this fort was to stop folks from coming down fromfurther up north that might want to trade with the Indians living in theregion. Despite the lack of combat, real soldiers were stationed therenone-the-less and they were trained in the art of combat. Over the years,the fort had been used to serve various military desires. Fort Snellingis situated along the Mississippi River. In those days, the river was thelifeblood of travel and setting up a defense along it must have beena natural.
At one point during our visit, a group of soldiers showed us whatit took to man and operate a field cannon. A team of approximatelyseven men were required to properly handle a cannon of this kind.During a battle, the actual gunpowder and such were kept slightlybehind where the cannon was located. The reason for this wasto reduce losses if the gunpowder was hit by enemy fire. The jobof one of the enlisted men was to bring the necessary supplies upto the cannon each time they were needed.
Soldiers showed us the proper use of a field cannon.This particular cannon had large wagon wheels and would have been used as a mobileweapon on a battlefield. The cannon could either be pulled byhorses or by people. Each soldier around the cannon is assignedspecific duties that must be followed exactly for the cannonto be successfully fired in the direction of a target. Two volunteerswere chosen from the group of onlookers to help with the cannonfiring demonstration. The sticks you see near the man on the right wereused to light the cannon. The two men in front of the cannon werecharged with the duty of loading the gunpowder, and cannonball intoit. The young girl (one of the volunteers from the audience) in the center of the picture is holding a pad over a hole at the base of the barrel. This prevents air from entering the end of the cannon barrel that my might cause an "ember" from a previous round to glow. One wouldnot want to put some gunpowder into a barrel that has a glowingember at the end!!! She also served the role of giving orders to the person aiming the cannon. The cannon is aimed by picking up the handles in the lower right corner of the picture and rotating itin an effort to hit the desired target. The man at the left of the picture was explaining how all of this worked and was also overseeing and giving orders to the entire group of men that were operating this particular cannon. In some cases, this person would have the responsibility of overseeing and commanding several cannons simultaneously on a battlefield.
This picture shows Cole, Andrea and Julia having some funplaying the parts of some Fort Snelling characters. In thoseearly frontier days there were children living at thefort, but they were officer's children. I noticed that the bunk beds for the enlisted men had two names on eachbed. Out of curiousity I asked why this was so and I wasa little surprised to find out that in those days, theenlisted men doubled up, two to each bed! I guess it couldbe argued that it saved space and helped to keep the mena little warmer during the cold winters...
A tour of the jail gave us an idea of how soldiers were disciplinedin those by-gone days. They would be forced to wear signs to advertise their wrongs. Julia
just had to try out a "deserter" sign. I read the statistics of whathappened to soldiers in those days and was surprised to find that outof every four soldiers: one deserted, one was wounded, one was killedin battle and one lasted his entire "tour of duty."
Medicine in those days was very primitive compared to what we havetoday. In the hospital there was a good amount of brandy to helppatients deal with any discomfort.
This is a picture of a doctor of thetime. The black band he wears around his neck is for ornamentalpurposes. The jar on the table near his left hand contains somegastly mixture (jet black) that was used to brush one's teeth.As you can see in the picture they had toothbrushes in thosedays as well! What you really can't see well in the pictureis a nastly little device that was used to pull out ailing teeth!You will have to trust me on this one... sometimes you are better off notknowing all of the details. (It reminds me of the old saying, "You will always have your teeth,it's just a question of where you will keep them!)
The hospital was not lavishly furnished for the patients. Near both endsof a plainly decorated, yet functional room, a wooden latrine chair was located.I guess privacy was not a big concern for the patients when they had toanswer "nature's call" since these toilets were out in the open in plainview for all to see. Cole just thought it was a chair I guess because he sat down and smiled as he looked around the room!
Julia got the chance to pose with one of the officers after a marchingdrill. Officers quarters were fairly fancy compared to those of theenlisted men. It consisted of two stories with a sitting room and bedroomupstairs and a kitchen/eating area downstairs. During my visit at the fort,I met one of the officer's wives who told me about their life.She and her husband and son lived in the officer's quarters. They hada hired hand who helped cook and clean. Seeing that she wasn't wearingany makeup, out of curiousity I asked if women of those days wore any makeup. She said that she was a "lady" and that ladies did not wear makeup. (For one, where would they have gotten it?)
Remember when I told you that I tried out a soldiers cap? Well, Andreahad to try on a dress for size. There was an area where people couldrelax and where kids could just play for a bit, trying on clothing ofthe era and arranging a scale model of the fort. The day that we visited, itwasn't particulary busy in that kid's area, but I'm sure that kids nevermiss a chance to play...
Fort Snelling is definitely a place where you find your own fun.One can wander around the grounds and get some idea of whatit must have been like to live and work during those days at thefort. By asking the inhabitants about what they are doing andwhat life was like in those days is where one learns the mostabout the past.
The "pecking order" at the fort was obvious. From the meager living spaceof the enlisted men to the relatively lavish home of thecommanding officer it was clear who was giving the orders andwho was expected to follow them.
There were approximately 40 enlisted men that performed the workof carpenters. Another ten or so would fill the need of blacksmiths.A few more men would repair shoes and other things made out of leather.Most of the work performed by these men was repair work.A simple school house is on the grounds and it was used to teach themen the three R's (reading, writing and arithmetic). Many of theenlisted men did not know how to read and write. By learning toread and write, one could improve one's standing and maybe becomean officer. The only problem would be finding a teacher!!
Fort Snelling, for the most part, was a little city in the wilderness.It's inhabitants worked together to provide a recognizable landmark for travelers along the river and a sense of securityto the land.
For further information about the fort and it restoration, refer to the Minnesota Historical Society info aboutFort Snelling.
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