USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II > Part 90
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Fort, James L., lawyer and judge of the Twenty-second Judicial Circuit, was born in Johnson County, Illinois, February 18, 1854, and was educated in the common schools of his native county. Later he studied law, and in 1880 removed to Dexter, Stoddard County, Missouri, where he com- menced the practice of his profession. In 1887-8 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Stoddard County. In 1895 he was a mem- ber of the Democratic State central com- mittee, and in May, 1895, was a delegate from the Fourteenth Congressional District to the Memphis Silver Convention. In May, 1898, he was nominated by acclamation for judge of the Twenty-second Judicial Circuit, and was elected by a large majority, receiving 6,994 votes out of a total of 11,414 votes cast for three candidates.
Fort Bellefontaine. - This was the name of the fort established by General Wil- kinson, at the mouth of Coldwater Creek, or St. Ferdinand River, in 1806. It was occu- pied by United States troops until the estab- lishment of Jefferson Barracks, in 1827, and
was for many years one of the most impor- tant of the frontier military posts of the United States, from five hundred to a thou- sand soldiers being quartered there at all times. The buildings appropriated to the use of the American troops by General Wilkin- son were those which had belonged to "Fort St. Charles the Prince," erected by Captain Rios, who came with the first Spanish troops to St. Louis. This fort long since disap- peared.
Fort Carondelet. - See " Vernon County, Indian and French Occupation of." 1
Fort Clark .- See "Adair County."
Fort Kincaid .- See "Howard County."
Fort Orleans .- A fort established on an island in the Missouri River, above the mouth of the Osage, in the year 1724, by Chevalier M. de Bourgmont, who was sent out from Mobile with an expedition. It was four years after the destruction of the Span- ish Caravan, and the fort was established as an outpost to protect the French settlements in Missouri against Spanish incursions from Santa Fe. It had a tragic fate. After the departure of Bourgmont, the garrison was attacked by hostile Indians-it was never learned what tribe-and all killed.
Fort Osage .- A name given to an old fort, known also as Fort Clark and Fort Sib- ley. It was built on a bluff, a mile from Sibley, on land bought from the Osage In- dians, known as the "Six Mile Tract," and now included in Fort Osage Township, Jack- son County.
Fort Prudhomme .- Established by LaSalle as a trading post, at the first Chicka- saw Bluffs, in 1682.
Fort St. Charles, The Prince .- This was the name of the first Spanish fort built in St. Louis, and was so named in honor of Prince Charles, afterward Charles IV, of Spain. The fort was built by Captain Fran- cisco Rios, who was sent up the Mississippi River from New Orleans by Count Ulloa in 1767, to establish the Spanish authority in Upper Louisiana. When he arrived at the little settlement, founded three years earlier
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by Laclede, he could find no place to quarter the twenty-five troops who accompanied him, owing to the scarcity of dwellings in the town and a somewhat unfriendly feeling on the part of the French settlers. He, there- fore, withdrew to an elevated bluff, on the south side of the Missouri River, near its junction with the Mississippi, and there be- gan the erection of a fort designed to serve as quarters for his men, and also as a defense against Indian attacks. The fort was par- tially completed in 1768, and was occupied by the Spanish troops until they were with- drawn by Captain Rios, in 1769.
Fortifications at St. Louis .- Prior to 1780, St. Louis had no fortifications, but the imminence of an Indian attack in that year aroused the village to a sense of its in- security. The authorities recognized the urgent need of public defenses. Accord- ingly, Auguste Chouteau, at the request of Lieutenant Governor Cruzat, designed a sys- tem of fortifications. The proposed plan con- templated the erection of a central garrison, two bastions and four half-moons, all built of stone, and connected by a loop-holed line of strong palisades. Four gateways served the convenience of travel. The entrances were located as follows: The first at the northern end of Main Street; the second on the St. Charles Road; the third between Myrtle and Spruce, and the fourth at the southern end of Second Street. Of the de- fensive works planned by Chouteau, the northeast half-moon was situated a little north of the foot of Cherry Street; the north- west bastion on the northwest corner of Block 68, near the intersection of Cherry and Broadway; the northwest half-moon on Block 88, a little east of Fourth and Locust ; the central tower on the west line of the in- tersection of Fourth and Walnut; the south- west half-moon a little west of Fourth and Poplar ; the southwest bastion on Block 74, a little south of Lombard and west of Third; and the southeast half-moon on the river front, just south of the foot of Lombard Street. In 1780 the stockade around the vil- lage and the northeast half-moon were built; and, in 1780-1, the northwest bastion com- pleted. After the peace of 1783 the feeling of public security was so strong that work on the fortifications was suspended for more than ten years. In 1794 the garrison at
Fourth and Walnut was erected. In the meantime, departures from the original plans of Chouteau had been deemed advisable. These deviations substituted round towers for the half-moons, and a wooden blockhouse for the stone bastion at the southwest corner of the village. In 1797 work on the public defenses was actively resumed, and the block- house and three round towers were built; but, in consequence of brightening prospects of public tranquility, they were never fully finished. The forts constructed in 1797, though differing somewhat from the original design in form and place, completed the num- ber and circuit of the defenses planned by Chouteau. Round towers were substituted for half-moons, because they were stronger, and the changes of location were due to de- fects in the original sites, or to an extension of the limits of the village. The spot on Block 88, selected for the northwest half- moon, was a depression whose muddiness in wet weather rendered it an unfit location. Consequently, the round tower which re- placed the half-moon was built on the high ground in Block 90, about two hundred yards northeast of the first site. This tower stood on the west side of Third Street, nearly mid- way between St. Charles and Washington Avenue. About one-half of its diameter ex- tended into Third Street. In 1836 the Union enginehouse was erected on the site of the dismantled tower. The blockhouse was built on the north side of Chouteau Avenue, be- tween Third and Fourth Streets. This substi- tute was situated on Block 74, only a few rods from the spot originally designated for the southwest bastion. In consequence of the growth of the village, the round tower, which took the place of the southeast half- moon, was located on Block 46, at the south- east corner of Sycamore and Second Streets. Of the seven forts, the garrison on the hill was the largest and strongest. Doubtless the chief motive which induced the Spanish commandant to select this site was its central position. An incidental advantage was its convenience to the "Government House." The official headquarters, at the southeast corner of Main and Walnut, commanded an unobstructed view of the principal entrance to the fortification. The square which the gar- rison occupied measured thirty-three French feet on a side. It was surrounded by a small moat. The stockade with encompassed it
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was strong, firmly set, and ten or twelve feet high. The eastern side ran along the center of Fourth Street, and the tower stood in the middle of Walnut, on the west line of Fourth. This tower, standing on an eminence and ris- ing to a height of about fifty feet, was a very conspicuous object. The fortification em- braced the west half of Block 103, and the north half of Block 104. The Southern Hotel occupies a part of the site of the old garri- son. The front line of the palisades ran about forty feet west of the crest of the hill. In 1816, when the addition of Chouteau and Lucas was laid out, the alignment of Fourth Street severed a strip forty feet wide from the east side of the stockade, and the exten- sion of Walnut Street opened a thorough- fare sixty feet in width through the very center of the fortification. The round tower remained undisturbed in the middle of the street. It was an obstruction, but not a bar- ricade. There was room for the passage of carriages on either side of the tower. All the buildings within the inclosure were built of stone. The barracks afforded quarters for seventy-five soldiers. Eight or ten small pieces of ordnance strengthened the defenses of the fort. These cannon were mounted in 1794, and were removed by the Spanish com- mandant in 1804, when Upper Louisiana was transferred to the United States. Their places, however, were supplied by other guns, which Captain Stoddard brought from the east side of the Mississippi. For two years after the United States came into possession of the country the barracks were occupied by Federal soldiers, but in 1806 the men were removed to the cantonment, which General Wilkinson had recently established at Belle- fontaine, on the Missouri River. After this event the old garrison retired forever from military service and entered upon a civil career. The round tower had been used as a military guardhouse, but on April 4, 1806, it was, by permission of Governor Wilkin- son, converted into a public jail. It served as the village prison until, in 1819, by author- ity of the county court, a new stone jail was erected at the southeast corner of Sixth and Chestnut. It appears from the legal records of the Territory that shortly after the with- drawal of the troops, the commandant's house was transformed into a courthouse. A judicial order, dated December 19, 1806, directs the repair of this building for the use
of the courts. The old fort was built on the private property of Colonel Chouteau. In 1816 the ground on which it stood was sold, and the courts of common pleas, and of oyer and terminer, which, for ten years, had held their sessions in the rooms of the command- ant's house, were compelled to remove to other halls. After several transfers of owner- ship this building was torn down, in 1836.
PROF. S. WATERHOUSE.
The importance of securing St. Louis, the chief city of the only border slave-holding State west of the Mississippi, attracted the attention of the Federal authorities early during the course of the Civil War. Mis- souri was, at that time, full of sympathizers with what were known in the political par- lance of the day as "the wrongs of the South." In order to get rid of some of the temptations of a sudden raid, the govern- ment funds were removed from the city and the garrison at Jefferson Barracks was rein- forced from Newport Barracks; and United States soldiers, under Lieutenant Thompson, were assigned to occupy the subtreasury and customhouse, which was done January II, 1861. From that moment the holding of St. Louis was regarded as an important feature of military strategy, and successive steps were promptly taken to that end. Before setting out, on his march to Boonville, Gen- eral Lyons directed Colonel Fiala to select strategic positions in the neighborhood of St. Louis for the erection of permanent works of defense. Similar works were under consideration at Jefferson City, Rolla, Iron- ton and Cape Girardeau, which were con- sidered by the experts of that time to furnish, together with the Missouri River to the north, a strong strategic circle, and first line of defense to the metropolis of the State. These works were started under the initiative of General Fremont. Meanwhile, soldiers were arriving in the city in considerable num- bers, and placed in barracks at the arsenal and Lafayette Park. Soon 15,000 soldiers were thus assembled, and by August, 1861, were constantly being added to. Camps and barracks were going up rapidly. Strategic points of the city were strengthened and for- tified. Two large columbiads were mounted, a short distance out of the city, on the Gra- vois Road, and one was placed at Rock Springs ; and at Sulphur Springs, on the Iron
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Mountain Railroad, at a point which was held to be of the first strategic importance, three columbiads were placed in position during the month of September. Heavy guns were also mounted to command the river, and the principal land approaches. In the following month the Honorable Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War, visited St. Louis upon a tour of inspection. He was accompanied by Adjutant General Thomas and other military officers. He remained but a few days, but before leaving issued an order, addressed to General Fremont, to the following effect : "It is deemed unnecessary to erect field works around the city, and you will direct their discontinuance." He at the same time directed the discontinuance of work upon the erection of barracks near headquarters. These orders were much criticised by the local newspapers at the time. Lack of the necessary funds was the explanation popu- larly assigned for the action of Secretary Cameron.
Despite these and other obstacles, St. Louis was not long to remain without per- manent defenses. Forts, altogether to the number of ten, were ultimately erected. These were enclosed forts, and in addition to the detached batteries erected for the special purpose of commanding particular road ap- proaches. These forts were first called by number, as Fort One, Fort Two, etc., but in time came to be known by distinctive names. Fort One was the southernmost, and was erected near the post where the United States Marine Hospital now stands. Fort Number Two was next to it, and so west and north- ward to Fort Number Ten. These forts were not considerable affairs, averaging, as they did, but four guns (heavy) apiece. Their value consisted principally in the fact that they would prove good rallying points in the event of any sudden emergency from within, as well as from without. Indeed, it was shrewdly hinted at the time that in urging their erection General Fremont had in view as much the overawing of the city of St. Louis itself as the repelling of an outside invader, for just then the sympathies of the citizens were pretty equally divided between the two camps. The work of erecting the forts was pursued with such vigor that the first five forts were soon ready to mount their complement of guns. The fall of 1861 saw the completion of the whole system.
All work was done by piece work, and was well and economically performed, in this re- spect contrasting most favorably with the cost of the remaining five forts, which were superintended by Major Mckinstry, then quartermaster, and let out to contract, with the result that one of these later forts alone called for an expenditure of money nearly equal to the outlay upon the whole of the first five. Fort Number Five was the last put up under the original arrangement, and was completed by Lieutenant Julius Pitzman. The work of fortifying St. Louis then passed into other hands, though still in charge of the United States Engineer Corps. A topo- graphical survey of the grounds covered being called for, that work was intrusted to Lieutenant Julius Pitzman and J. C. Kapp- ner, son of Major Kappner, under the super- vision of Colonel Thorn. The land between the forts and St. Louis having been surveyed, these officers were ordered to the front to meet the enemy. At this stage a fresh topo- graphical survey of the city of St. Louis, upon a more extended scale than the pre- ceding, was ordered; and Professor Bache, then superintendent of the United States Coast Survey Department, placed a number of his assistants at the disposal of the mili- tary authorities for that purpose. The belt of land to be surveyed comprised all the lands three miles outside and one mile inside of the line of fortifications. This work was di- vided into two sections. The southern half was placed under the charge of R. M. Bache (grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and nephew of Professor Bache), with whom Robert E. McMath served as assistant. The northern half of the required survey was entrusted to John Meeham. The work was commenced under General Fremont, of the staff of Gen- eral Halleck, continued under supervision of Colonel Thorn, chief of topographical en- gineers, and completed by the United States Coast Survey Department during the time General Schofield was in command. The out- come was the before mentioned topograph- ical survey, a copy of which is now in posses- sion of Julius Pitzman, C. E., who has kindly placed it at the disposal of the writer, to- gether with his expert experience in locating the several forts, for which courtesy we take this opportunity of formally thanking him.
Fort Number One-Chief Characteristics : Trilateral in form, each side about four hun-
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dred feet long; mounted three heavy guns, or columbiads. Located on the line of Chip- pewa Street, about where the United States Marine Hospital now stands.
Fort Number Two-Chief Characteristics : Quadrilateral in form; about four hundred feet long; mounted four heavy guns. Lo- cated near Cherokee Street and Lemp Ave- nue.
Fort Number Three-Chief Characteris- tics : Battery about six hundred feet long ; heavy guns, salient in center, supported on either flank with ordnance of lighter caliber ; small powder magazine attached; battery facing toward city. Located, Sidney Street, near McNair Avenue.
Fort Number Four-Chief Characteris- tics : Battery about five hundred feet long ; columbiad in center, supported by flanking guns of minor weight ; powder magazine at- tached. Located south of Russell Avenue and east of Jefferson Avenue.
Fort Number Five-Chief Characteris- tics: Quadrilateral in form, each side about four hundred feet long ; mounted four colum- biads. Located between Whittemore Place and Missouri Avenue, west of Lafayette Park. This was the last of the forts erected under superintendence of Lieutenant Pitz- man.
Fort Number Six-Chief Characteristics : Four-sided, square; mounted four heavy guns. The first fort erected by contract un- der superintendence of Major Mckinstry. Located south of Manchester Road, near Montrose Avenue.
Fort Number Seven-Chief Characteris- tics : Square, about as above, each side about four hundred feet ; mounted four heavy guns. Located on Vandeventer Place, west of Grand Avenue, and upon the ground where the residences of Charles H. Peck and James B. M. Kehlor now stand.
Fort Number Eight-Chief Characteris- tics : Pentagonal in form, each side about four hundred and fifty feet long. Mounted five heavy guns. Located on Garrison Ave- nue, near Thomas Street.
Fort Number Nine-Chief Characteris- tics: Pentagonal in form, each side about four hundred and fifty feet long. Mounted five heavy guns, salient at the angles. Lo- cated on Nineteenth Street, near Dodier Street.
Fort Number Ten-Chief Characteristics :
Quadrilateral in form, each side about four hundred feet long ; mounted four heavy guns. Located west of Bellefontaine Avenue, be- tween Bremen Avenue and Angelica Street.
There was also erected a heavy battery on Olive Street, on the crown of the hill, about six hundred feet west of Grand Avenue.
Foster, John McCullough, for many years an active business man of Kansas City, and prominently identified with its material development, was descended from Protestant Irish stock, a type of character in which in- dustry, resolution and integrity are marked characteristics. In 1793 Alexander Foster, then twenty years of age, landed at Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, coming from County Londonderry, Ireland. On the same vessel were Samuel Davis and family. About 1800 Alexander Foster married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Davis, and they made a home seven miles from Pittsburg. Of eleven children born to them, Samuel D. Foster was the second ; he was reared upon the home farm, and while a young man was engaged for a few years in the United States arsenal at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He married Martha Mccullough, also of Irish descent, and they made their home on a farm near McKeesport, Pennsylvania, which he cultivated, and whereon he mined coal. He was a ruling elder in the United Presbyterian Church, and a most exemplary man. Of the nine children born to Samuel D. and Martha (Mccullough) Foster, John McCullough Foster was the oldest son, and the second child. He was born January 5, 1832, in Belleville, Washing- ton County, Pennsylvania, and received a common school education at the old home place, near Mckeesport, Pennsylvania. When sixteen years of age he left home to serve an apprenticeship of three years with an uncle, David Foster, a contractor and car- penter, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His an- nual wage was $30. Upon the expiration of his apprenticeship he accompanied his uncle in his removal to St. Paul, Minnesota, and there followed carpentering and contracting until 1854. Returning to Pennsylvania, he was similarly occupied in Pittsburg and Mc- Keesport until 1856, and then spent the sum- mer in Dubuque, Iowa, again returning to Pennsylvania. In March, 1857, he went to Leavenworth, Kansas, and from thence to Nebraska City, Nebraska. In all his jour-
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neyings he industriously followed his calling as a carpenter and contractor. Late in 1857 he again moved to Leavenworth, where he built a small home, in which he lived for many years. He was engaged in contracting until 1870, when he formed a partnership in the lumber business with A. J. Angell; this continued until 1875, when he sold out and removed to a farm which he had purchased on Big Stranger Creek, ten miles west of Leavenworth. He had invested all his avail- able means in real estate in Leavenworth, and in the era of depreciation following the war period he became financially em- barrassed. Holding to principles of unbend- ing integrity, he set himself to the task of discharging his obligations, and in so doing sacrificed practically all his property, includ- ing his home, which cost him $15,000, and yielded but $4,000. On a final summing up he found himself possessed of but one unincum- bered piece of property, a farm worth $2,500, near Defiance, Ohio ; his remaining indebted- ness amounted to $4,200, more than the value of his holdings. In March, 1879, accom- panied by his son, Benjamin, he made a journey by wagon into Kansas, seeking for a location for a lumber business. Randolph was decided upon, and here father and son opened a yard, April 22, 1879, with a capital of $1,200, derived from mortgage of the farm in Ohio. Mr. Foster, however, had been pro- vided with cordial recommendations by the first business men in Leavenworth, and these gained him the confidence and esteem of Jay Coatsworth, of the lumber firm of Henry, Barker & Coatsworth, who furnished him with a stock worth $5,000. The business was successful, and another yard was opened at Irving, which was placed in charge of Thomas, the second son of Mr. Foster. Jan- uary' 1, 1880, Mr. Foster had retrieved his fortunes to such an extent that he was enabled to liquidate a considerable portion of his old indebtedness. The following year the Kansas Central Railway was extended, and another yard was opened at Olsburg, under the management of Mr. Foster's son, Benja- min B. Foster. Later, the same year, a yard at Leonardville was bought, and Samuel, an- other son of Mr. Foster, relinquished an engagement in a dry goods house in Leav- enworth to take charge of it. The latter venture was very remunerative, and the elder Foster credited it with being the principal
foundation of the successes which afterward attended the family. In 1884 the remainder of Mr. Foster's old indebtedness was liquidated, including that upon the mort- gaged farm; and the family entered upon a more comfortable manner of living, no longer obliged to continue the former deprivation and rigid economy. January 1, 1885, the three sons, Samuel, Thomas and Benjamin, were each given a credit of $5,000 upon the books of the business, and a one-half interest in the profits; at the same time the style of the firm became John Foster & Sons. About three years afterward Samuel withdrew to engage in business upon his own account, the father and his other sons continuing in busi- ness as before. In 1887 a new yard was opened at Colby, and later the same year established yards at ten other points in Kan- sas were purchased from the Howell Lumber Company. In 1888 the business at Olsburg was sold, and at the instance of Benjamin, the younger of the brothers, on February 22, 1889, general offices were opened at Kansas City, Missouri, in the Keith & Perry Build- ing, for the conduct of a wholesale trade, and from which to supply the country yards. The enterprise was successful from the outset, and operations were extended until yards were in operation at some twenty different points. In 1890 Mr. Foster set up a planing mill in Texas, forty miles north of Houston, and his son Thomas bought another at a point not far removed ; both are still in oper- ation. June 2, 1897, an office was opened in Houston, Texas, for wholesaling lumber in Mexico, Texas and the central States. That year the company contracted the cuts of ten mills, producing more than 40,000,000 feet of lumber per annum. In 1899 the business had increased to such an extent as to require the output of as many more mills. In 1899 the company purchased a 20,000-acre tract of pine land, which is capable of a large yield. In January, 1896, the business was incor- porated under the name of the Foster Lum- ber Company, with $200,000 capital, fully paid up, the stock being divided among the mem- bers of the family in a manner satisfactory to all. The stock is now worth three times its par value, and is all owned by the Foster family. January 6, 1900, a residence at the corner of Twenty-eighth Street and Troost Avenue, was purchased, which is the family home. At the first directors' meeting of the
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