USA > Iowa > Webster County > Fort Dodge > History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 19
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Kruml, Joseph, age twenty-one; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Bohemia ; enlisted, June 22, 1898; mustered, June 22, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Kudena, John, age twenty-eight; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Bohemia ; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Larrabee, William, Jr., age twenty-six; residence, Clermont ; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 14, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; discharged for promotion as captain and commissary in United States Volunteers, June 17, 1898, Chicka- mauga, Georgia.
Lundquist, Bernhard, age twenty-five ; residence, Stratford; nativity, Sweden ; enlisted, June 29, 1898; mustered, June 29, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Maage, John T., age twenty-three; residence, Thor; nativity, Norway; en- listed, June 21, 1898; mustered, June 21, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Magowan, Samuel N., age twenty-three; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898, as first corporal; mustered, May 25, 1898; pro- moted sergeant, September 14, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Maguire, Francis C. C., age twenty-seven ; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, June 27, 1898 ; mustered, June 27, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Mahart, John C., age nineteen; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, April 30, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Mavity, James A., age twenty-five; residence, Glidden; nativity, Iowa; en- listed, April 28, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Messerly, Louie H., age twenty-nine; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Mis- souri ; enlisted, April 30, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Metzner, Julius F., age twenty-five; residence, Humboldt; nativity, Illinois ; enlisted, April 30, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, July I, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Muller, Max, age twenty-eight; residence, Pomeroy; nativity, Germany ;
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
enlisted, June 22, 1898; mustered, June 22, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Mulroney, Edward C., age twenty-one; residence, Fort Dodge ; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, July I, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Nelson, George, age twenty-three; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Min- nesota ; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Nelson, Severt A., age nineteen; residence, Hardy; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 21, 1898; mustered, June 21, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Nelson, Thomas A., age tewnty-one; residence, Humboldt; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 21, 1898; mustered, June 21, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Nicholls, Albert D., age twenty-eight ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 30, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Norton, William M., age twenty-one; residence, Livermore; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, June 22, 1898; mustered, June 22, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Ort, Anton, age twenty-one; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Bohemia; enlisted, June 22, 1898; mustered, June 22, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Parker, Niles W., age nineteen ; residence, Pomeroy ; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, June 22, 1898; mustered, June 22, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Peterson, George F., age twenty-two; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, July I, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Peterson, Harry E., age eighteen; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Portz, Samuel H., age twenty-six; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 30, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Poyer, Claude B., age twenty-six; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Ohio; enlisted, April 26, 1898, as company quartermaster sergeant; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Pray, Louie C., age eighteen ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, April 26, 1898, as musician; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Prime, Arthur C., age thirty-five; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; eilisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, July 19. 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Pruess, John F., age twenty-four; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898, as third sergeant ; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Rasmussen, Soren, age twenty-four; residence, Humboldt; nativity, Den-
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
mark; enlisted, May 24, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Reid, John, Jr., age twenty-three; residence, Kalo; nativity, Pennsylvania ; enlisted, June 22, 1898; mustered, June 22, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Rhodes, Daniel, age twenty-seven; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; appointed second lieutenant, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted first lieutenant of Company D, September 1, 1898.
Richards, Sterling J., age twenty-four ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, Septem- ber 1, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Rifenbary, John W., age twenty-three; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, July 1, 1898; died of disease, August 26, 1898, Fort Dodge, Iowa ; buried in Oak- land Cemetery, Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Roberts, Middleton H., age twenty-three; residence, Rolfe; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 25, 1898; mustered, June 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Saul, Richard H., age twenty-one; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; died of disease, September 8, 1898, Fort Dodge, Iowa; buried at Mitchell, South Dakota.
Schleichhardt, Carl F., age twenty-one ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Senner, George F., age twenty-two; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Shaw, William E., age twenty-seven; residence, Dakota City; nativity, Illi- nois ; enlisted, June 21, 1898; mustered, June 21, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Sherman, Edward A., age twenty-six; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; transferred to Division Hos- pital Corps, June 17, 1898; mustered out, November 15, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Snook, Cassius A., age twenty-eight ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, April 26, 1898, as first sergeant ; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted sergeant major, July 19, 1898; second lieutenant, September 1, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Stephens, George J., age twenty-three; residence, Lehigh; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, June 27, 1898; mustered, June 27, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Storhew, Oliver, age twenty-six; residence, Hardy; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 21, 1898; mustered, June 21, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Strachan, Charley R., age twenty-one; residence, Humboldt; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 21, 1898; mustered, June 21, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Thomas, William H., age twenty-four ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Illi- nois ; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; transferred to Division
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
Hospital Corps, June 17, 1898; mustered out, November 15, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Toppings, Harry F., age thirty-one; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted corporal, July I, 1898; sergeant, September 9, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Townsend, Ernest B., age twenty-one; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Townsend, LeRoy J., age twenty-three; residence, Lehigh; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, June 24, 1898; mustered, June 24, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Townsend, William H., age twenty-eight ; residence, Lehigh; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 27, 1898; mustered, June 27, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Waldron, James F., age eighteen ; residence, Glidden ; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, June 25, 1898; mustered, June 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
WEBSTER COUNTY SOLDIERS IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
FORTY-NINTH REGIMENT, IOWA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Fredickson, Severene, age twenty; residence, Lehigh; nativity, Denmark; enlisted, May 4, 1898; mustered, June 2, 1898; mustered out, May 13, 1899, Savannah, Georgia. (Company B.)
Moore, Dwight M., age twenty-one; residence, Kalo; nativity, Nebraska; enlisted, May 4, .1898; mustered, June 2, 1898; mustered out, May 13, 1899, Savannah, Georgia. (Company B.)
Smith, Marion L., age twenty; residence, Lehigh; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 4, 1898; mustered, June 2, 1898; discharged, March 20, 1899, Lehigh, Iowa. (Company B.)
FIFTY-FIRST REGIMENT, IOWA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Crough, John W., age nineteen; residence, Gowrie; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, June 15, 1898; mustered, June 15, 1898; discharged, January 30, 1899, Gowrie, Iowa. (Company F.)
FIFTY-SECOND REGIMENT, IOWA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Non-commissioned Officers
Whittlesey, H. Clark, age twenty-six; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; appointed sergeant major, April 26, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; promoted second lieutenant of Company E, July 7, 1898.
Victor A. Blomgren, age thirty-two; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Illinois ; appointed regimental quartermaster sergeant, May 4, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
LOCAN HOUSE
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I.H.I,CO
LOGAN HOUSE IN 1897
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
· Regimental Band
Tremain, George W., age nineteen; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, April 26, 1898, as musician ; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa.
Baldwin, James P., age twenty ; residence, Fort Dodge; enlisted, July 5, 1898; mustered, July 5, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Barrowman, Charles, age nineteen; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, June 27, 1898; mustered, June 27, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Beem, Noble M., age thirty ; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, June 27, 1898; mus- tered, June 27, 1898; transferred to Company G, July 11, 1898.
Bender. George, age twenty-three; residence, Duncombe; enlisted, July 5, 1898; mustered, July 5, 1898 ; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Bricker, Ollie, age twenty-one; residence, Dayton; enlisted, June 29, 1898; mustered, June 29, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Curry, Roy J., age eighteen ; residence, Lehigh ; enlisted, June 29, 1898; mus- tered, June 29, 1898 ; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Com- pany B.)
Chase, Arthur C., age twenty-two; residence, Lehigh; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, May 20, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company C.)
Clark, Whittlesey H., age twenty-six; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa ; promoted second lieutenant, from sergeant major, July 7, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. Field and Staff. (Company E.)
Corey, Ernest L., age twenty-two; residence, Lehigh ; nativity, Iowa ; enlisted, May 14, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company F.)
Cuppitt, Clarence, age eighteen ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, West Vir- ginia ; enlisted, May 23, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company F.)
Eksell, Charles, age twenty-four; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, July 5, 1898; mustered, July 5, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Fairgrave, Andrew E., age twenty-three; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, July 1, 1898; mustered, July 1, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Galer, Clarence WV., age twenty-one ; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, July 5, 1898; mustered, July 5, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Gardner, Ross, age nineteen; residence, Gowrie; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 21, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company E.)
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
Gosnell, Harry, age twenty-two; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Ohio; enlisted, May 14, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company F.)
Hill, Edward J., age twenty-six; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; promoted second lieutenant from first sergeant of Company G, September 14, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company K.)
Johnson, John M., age twenty-seven; residence, Dayton; nativity, Kansas; enlisted, April 29, 1898: mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company K.)
Landreth, Clarence A., age twenty-two; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 24, 1898, as musician; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company H.)
McClosky, Benjamin, age nineteen ; residence, Kalo; enlisted, June 25, 1898; mustered, June 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Maguire, Francis C. C., age twenty-seven; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, June 27, 1898; mustered, June 27, 1898; transferred to Company G, July 11, 1898. (Company B.)
Murphy, John H., age thirty-four ; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, July 2, 1898; mustered, July 2, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Morphew, Eden L., age twenty-one; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 23, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company F.)
Reed, George E., age twenty-one; residence, Lehigh ; enlisted, June 27, 1898; mustered, June 27, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Rhodes, Daniel, age twenty-seven; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; promoted first lieutenant from second lieutenant of Company G, September I, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company D.)
Roscoe, Chester A., age twenty; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 25, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company K.)
Smitlı, Ira L., age twenty-one; residence, Lehigh; enlisted, June 29, 1898; mustered, June 29, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company B.)
Tour, Frank E., age twenty ; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Iowa; enlisted, May 14, 1898; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company F.)
Woolsey, William C., age nineteen; residence, Fort Dodge; nativity, Eng- land ; enlisted, May 14, 1898 ; mustered, May 25, 1898; mustered out, October 30, 1898, Des Moines, Iowa. (Company F.)
CHAPTER XI
REGULARS AND MILITIA
FORT CLARKE ESTABLISHED-COMING OF THE SOLDIERS-THE FIRST ENCAMPMENT-
WILLIAM WILLIAMS APPOINTED POSTMASTER-"GOOD ROADS" IN THE EARLY FIFTIES-NAME FORT CLARKE CHANGED TO FORT DODGE-TIIE MILITARY POST IS ABANDONED-MAJOR WILLIAMS BUYS THE TOWN SITE-MILITIA COMPANIES.
The establishment of a military post at this point was the result of a petition of the citizens of Boone county, Iowa, to the United States senate and house of representatives, praying that a post be established somewhere on the Des Moines river at or about the Lizard Forks, for their better security against the Indians, and for the encouragement of settlers. By general orders No. 19, war depart- ment adjutant general's office, May 31, 1850, it was ordered :
"For the protection of the frontier settlements of Iowa, a new post will be established under the direction of the commander of the Sixth department, on the east bank of the Des Moines, opposite the mouth of Lizard Fork; or pre- ferably, if an equally eligible site can be found, at some point twenty-five or thirty miles higher up the Des Moines. The post will be established by a company of the Sixth Infantry, to be drawn from Fort Snelling, which will for the present constitute its garrison." This order was supplemented by Orders No. 22, head- quarters Sixth military department, St. Louis, Mo., July 14, 1850, which directed that,
"In pursuance of General Orders No. 19, current series, from the war department, Brevet Major Woods, Sixth Infantry, will select a suitable site in the state of Iowa, near the mouth of the Lizard Fork of the Des Moines river, for the establishment of a military post; which with his Company E, Sixth Infantry, he will proceed to construct and garrison, without, however, with- drawing his personal attention from the duty of removing Indians, on which he is now specially engaged. A military reserve eight miles in length (four miles above the post, and four miles below), along the river, and two miles in depth on either side, will be marked off and appropriated exclusively to the present use of the government. The proper staff departments will forthwith provide the stores and the supplies necessary in the construction of the post on the Des Moines, and for the subsistence and temporary shelter of the garrison."
Immediately on receipt of this order at Fort Snelling, Capt. Samuel Woods, with his Company E, of the Sixth Infantry, two officers and sixty-six men who were then in the field, broke camp and proceeded to the point designated, where they arrived August 2, 1850, and established a post, which they named Fort Clarke, in honor of Brev. Brig. Gen. Newman S. Clarke, colonel of the Sixth
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
Infantry, then commanding the Sixth military department. According to Pro- fessor Tuttle (History Iowa, 1876), the first encampment was on the ground now lying between the Public Square and Walnut street, between Fourth and Fifth streets in the present town of Fort Dodge. Materials for building the necessary quarters for the troops were at once prepared, and their construction so rapidly pushed that by the first of December they were in condition for occupancy. Early in the spring of 1851, we find Major Woods urging upon the war department the necessity of establishing a postoffice at the fort, around which settlers were commencing to congregate, and recommending Mr. William Williams, the post- trader, as a suitable person to assume its charge. During the session of congress of 1850-51 we find the merchants of Dubuque petitioning for the building of a road from their town to Fort Clarke, but beyond an estimate of the topographical engineers of the approximate cost of such a road, no action seems to have been had in the matter during the lifetime of the post.
Correspondence between the fort and the authorities at St. Louis and Wash- ington appears to have been limited to mere requisitions for supplies, the rendition of statistical returns, and such formal reports as afford little information regard- ing the events of the occupation, none of which seem to have been at all removed from the ordinary events of an extreme frontier post. It was regarded at no time at more than a temporary post, although as was customary in all such estab- lishments, as set forth in the order already cited, a reservation was laid off with the flag staff of the fort as an initial point, with lines running four miles to the north and south, along the Des Moines river, and two miles to the east and west on either bank; but before this could be surveyed and properly laid out and declared, the courts had decided that the so-called "Des Moines grant" extended above Raccoon fork to the source of the Des Moines; which decision gave every alternate section to the state of Iowa for internal improvements ; thus throwing the post and its buildings beyond the limits of the public domain. There is evidence, however, that Major «Woods and his command, found few idle moments, in the routine of camp duty; in restraining the Indians from their inclination to commit depredations on the settlements, and in controlling their district, which embraced all the frontier of Iowa from the Des Moines to the Missouri.
June 25, 1851, by General Orders No. 34, from the headquarters of the army, the name of the post was changed to Fort Dodge, in compliment of the Dodges, father and son, who at that time were United States senators from the states of Wisconsin and Iowa, and who were among the pioneers of the northwest. At the same time there were several other forts, occupied by troops, named Clark or Clarke, the effect of which was to cause no little confusion in the forwarding of mail and supplies.
Several causes operated toward the breaking up of the post, which was con- templated at intervals during the whole period of its existence. It was urged that the necessity for the presence of troops in that vicinity was of less impor- tance than at a point further north, and that for all practical purpose's the troops at Crawford ( Prairie du Chien), were amply sufficient to protect that vicinity. The country was being rapidly settled up, and Indian incursions were becom- ing less frequent in this section, and more troublesome on the north line of the new purchase from the Sioux in the Minnesota country, where it had been
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LH.I.CO.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF PUBLIC SQUARE, FORT DODGE, IN 1896
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
AS: OD, LENOX AND TILD N FOUNDATION :
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
determined to locate one or more strong posts. It was not, however, until the spring of 1853 that plans were finally adopted by the war department for the building of the fort,-which was afterwards known as Fort Ridgeley,-on the Minnesota. Under date of March 16, 1853, General Clarke was charged with the construction of the new fort, which was directed to be simultaneous with the breaking up of Forts Scott and Dodge. General Clarke's, Order (No. 9), is dated Headquarters Sixth Military Department, Jefferson Barracks, Mo., March 30, 1863, and directs that :
"In pursuance of instructions from general headquarters, Forts Scott and Dodge will be broken up; the garrison of the former will be marched to Fort Leavenworth, and that of the latter by the most practicable route at the earliest moment the season will permit, to the new post on the Minnesota. The com- manding officer will take immediate measures for carrying this into effect, and for sending to the neighboring posts such of the public property as may be needed at them, and for selling the remainder."
Accordingly on April 18, 1853, Major Woods left the post with the larger part of the command for the new site on the Minnesota, leaving Second Lieutenant Corley with twenty men to dispose of the property. On June 2, 1853, Lieutenant Corley with the remainder of the troops, marched out of the camp, pulling down the flag from its staff, and before noon that day Fort Dodge as a military post, had been wholly abandoned. Such of the buildings as remained, including a steam sawmill, were disposed of at public sale, the principal purchaser being Mr. Win. Williams, the late post trader and postmaster, who remained at the site with a view of becoming its owner as soon as the lands could be surveyed and placed on sale. "On the 27th of March, 1854," says Prof. Tuttle "the first town plat was surveyed on the premises known as the fort site, the land having become the property of Major Williams, who had made the purchase in January, 1854."
. There had been no change in the garrison of the post, from its first occupa- tion until its final abandonment, Company E of the Sixth Infantry performing that duty during the whole period. Of the officers Brev. Maj. Samuel Woods, its first commandant, was also its last. A few years later that officer was transferred to the pay department, in which he subsequently reached the rank of colonel and assistant paymaster general, and was retired from active service January 24, 1881, at his own request, having been over forty years in active service. Colonel Woods died September 22, 1887, at Oakland, California.
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