35divmp
Junior Sergeant
I reject your reality and substitute my own!
Posts: 60
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Post by 35divmp on Oct 17, 2006 20:29:30 GMT -5
All:
The St. Louis-based 2nd Rangers (one of the oldest groups in WWII reenacting) is putting on their River Battle on December 2, 2006 at Fort Bellefoutaine. This site is located in St. Louis County close to the intersection of I-270 and Bellefoutaine Road.
The gates will open at 0700 with the battle kicking off between 0900 and 1000 hours. There will be several scenarios and it will continue until dark. The gate fee is $15.00.
For more information contact Scott Wilke (2nd Rangers) at cswilke@charter.net.
Jay Sproat
35th Inf. Div., MP Plt
Southeast Missouri
Please note - this event was scheduled for this date long before the TSG decided to put their National event on the same weekend.
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35divmp
Junior Sergeant
I reject your reality and substitute my own!
Posts: 60
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Post by 35divmp on Oct 17, 2006 20:57:05 GMT -5
All:
Here's some more info on the background of Ft. Bellefontaine....
Jay
Fort Belle Fontaine Park
DESCRIPTION: Fort Belle Fontaine, established in 1805 on the south bank of the Missouri River near its confluence with the Mississippi River, was the first U.S. military outpost west of the Mississippi River. As the first military installation in the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, the Fort was the origination point or a stopover point on many expeditions to the American West. The Belle Fontaine site is preserved today as a St. Louis County Park but no physical evidence of the original structures remains. Shifts in the Missouri River channel have long buried the original site underwater. The park also offers sweeping views of the Missouri River and overlooks the location of sites where Lewis and Clark camped in 1804 when they left on their Voyage of Discovery and their last campsite on their return trip in 1806. Also on the grounds are the Grand Staircase built by Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a scenic overlook above the Missouri River and an outdoor living room and barbeque pits, also built by the WPA in the 1930's. Interpretive markers along a trail designate points of interest and help visitors learn about the important role the Fort played in American history.
GETTING THERE: From downtown, take I-70 West to the Adelaide Street exit. Turn right on Adelaide and continue to the stoplight at end of the road. Turn left on Hall Street. Continue to the second stoplight and keep right. At this point, Hall turns into Riverview. Continue on Riverview to I-270. Take I-270 West to Bellefontaine Road. Turn right onto Bellefontaine Road. There is a guard gate at the Missouri Hills Home where visitors must sign in before proceeding to the park. (Visitors must cross the Missouri Hills Home property to get to the park.)
ADMISSION: Free. There are no restroom facilities at the park.
SIGNIFICANCE: Besides its role as a military outpost on the edge of the frontier, the Fort hosted an "Indian factory" or trading post for Indian tribes of the region. The Fort's location some 15 miles north of the fledging village of St. Louis made it a launch site or stopover point for a number of expeditions to the West. Explorer Zebulon Pike's trips up the Mississippi in 1805 and along the Missouri River in 1806 began at Cantonment Belle Fontaine. The legendary Lewis and Clark camped nearby on May 14, 1804 as they left on their Corp of Discovery expedition, and they also stayed at the site on September 22, 1806, the final night of their expedition. Fort Bellefontaine served as the major military installation west of the Mississippi until 1826 when most operations were moved to Jefferson Barracks about 15 miles south of St. Louis and to the St. Louis Arsenal.
HISTORY: Fort Belle Fontaine was built in 1805 about four miles from the site of the former Fort Don Carlos, a Spanish fort built at the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi in 1768. Gen. James Wilkinson, first governor of the Louisiana Territory and military commander, selected the site at the mouth of Coldwater Creek, then called La Petite Riviere or St. Ferdinand River. Three companies of the First Infantry under the supervision of Lt. Col. Jacob Kingsbury erected the buildings.
Lewis and Clark camped on an island near the site of the future Fort on May 14, 1804 at the beginning of their great trek West. The Fort, constructed in 1805 while they were still exploring the West, was a new addition to the Missouri River landscape for Lewis and Clark, and they camped there on Sept. 22, 1806 during the final leg of their expedition. In addition to resting and celebrating their return with fellow American soldiers stationed at the Fort, members of the expedition also shopped at the post store. Among the items purchased were clothes for Mandan Chief Sheheke who returned with the Corps and planned to wear his new gear during a meeting with President Thomas Jefferson.
Originally called "Cantonment Belle Fontaine," and sometimes referred to as "Belle Fontaine Barracks," the Fort took its name from a nearby spring. "Belle Fontaine" means "beautiful fountain."
Lt. Col. Daniel Bissell, a Revolutionary War participant from Connecticut, was given command of the Fort in 1809. (Visitors can tour Bissell's house, also a St. Louis County Park. The Bissell Home which is decorated with many Bissell family items is a couple of miles south of Fort Belle Fontaine.)
Finding Belle Fontaine's buildings in disrepair and recognizing the danger of the Fort's location at the bottom of a bluff, Bissell had a new Fort built on higher ground. The new Fort, completed in 1811, consisted of 30 buildings of hewn logs with stone foundations. Blockhouses and palisades set the fort off in a rectangle atop the Missouri River bluffs.
As the first military outpost in the Louisiana Territory, Fort Belle Fontaine played a significant role in the exploration of the West and served as an Indian trading post. Before long, Fort Belle Fontaine became a command and supply center for a number of new frontier posts including Forts Snelling, Atkinson, Crawford, Armstrong, Smith and Clark.
Its strategic location on the edge of the wilderness made Fort Belle Fontaine a natural starting or stopover site for other major expeditions heading West. Zebulon Pike began his exploration of the upper Mississippi in 1805 and his exploration toward the Spanish lands of the Southwest the next year from the Fort. On both occasions, he left his family at the Fort during his absences. Stephen Long's 1818 scientific expedition and Col. Henry Atkinson's Yellowstone Expedition in 1819 also left from Fort Belle Fontaine.
Fort Belle Fontaine was also instrumental in several other historic events. In 1805, a group of 32 troops from the fort were dispatched by Gov. Wilkinson to the Oto villages on the Platte River to ensure safe passage for Indian chiefs visiting St. Louis. In August of 1805, Pierre Chouteau was accompanied by soldiers of the Fort under the command of Lt. Peter George. Chouteau hoped to negotiate with the Osage. They returned with a delegation of Osage and Pawnee seeking traders closer to their villages.
Three operations in the summer of 1814 against the British and Sauk-Fox Indians were conducted from Belle Fontaine. In July 1815, soldiers from Fort Belle Fontaine helped provide security for the Indian council at Portage Des Sioux where representatives of several tribes took part in peace negotiations with Gov. William Clark, Auguste Chouteau, Gov. Edwards of Illinois and Robert Walsh. In August 1808, a contingent of soldiers left Fort Belle Fontaine to begin work on the construction of Fort Osage.
In his later years as Governor of Louisiana Territory, Meriwether Lewis would make frequent trips via horseback from
St. Louis over "Bellefontaine Road" to socialize with old Army friends at the Fort. But despite its strategic location and the importance it played in early American history, Fort Belle Fontaine's existence was to be relatively short-lived. In 1808, just three years after the Fort was built, the "Indian factory" was disbanded. Trade goods were moved to Fort Osage near present-day Kansas City with the remainder going up the Mississippi River to Fort Madison in Iowa. By 1825, the Fort's wooden buildings were crumbling, and it was decided to abandon Fort Belle Fontaine for a new military post south of St. Louis at Jefferson Barracks. A year later, a separate federal arsenal was established in St. Louis and troops from Belle Fontaine were relocated to Jefferson Barracks which became a training center for the military and a garrison distribution center for the western part the U. S. Col. Henry Atkinson, the last commanding officer of Fort Belle Fontaine, selected the site for construction of the new post. As the move was being made, a detachment was left behind under the command of John Whistler, the grandfather of the painter James McNeill Whistler, to protect the military store until it could be moved to the new arsenal.
As late as 1828, Fort Belle Fontaine supplied munitions for the troops at Jefferson Barracks, but the next year, when construction of a new arsenal was completed in St. Louis, Fort Belle Fontaine was permanently abandoned.
Belle Fontaine eventually fell into private hands, and in 1913, part of the Fort site became "Bellefontaine Farms," later known as the Missouri Hills Home for Boys, a detention home and training school for boys. The home was part of a network of institutions owned by the City of St. Louis but located in the St. Louis County. Youth who were sent to live at the Farms were quartered in cottages, each with resident "parents." They received schooling in the morning and worked on the farm in the afternoon. The farm operation was suspended in the 1950s, and the city ended its participation in the project in 1988. The Missouri Hills Home is now a residence for boys and girls under the care of the Missouri Division of Youth Services and still occupies part of the Fort Bellefontaine site. Visitors must cross through the Missouri Hills Home grounds to access the park.
During the late 1980's, land developers were interested in buying the land adjacent to the home to build big houses overlooking the river. The Fort Belle Fontaine Historical Society convinced St. Louis County to purchase the site and preserve it so future generations could know the Fort Belle Fontaine story. In 1986, the County acquired most of the property and turned it into a park.
HIGHLIGHTS: Visitors can take a short walk (three-quarters of a mile round trip) or a long walk (three miles round trip) to view points of interest on the site. A walking tour brochure explains the features at the green and white numbered signs along the way. Interesting points along the walks include:
• Displays of several informative interpretive signs that describe Lewis and Clark's activities in and around Fort Belle Fontaine. The original Lewis and Clark campsites are now under water as the Missouri River channel shifted over time.
• The Grand Staircase, a scenic terrace with sweeping views of the Missouri River. The Staircase was built by the WPA in 1936 as part of a program to attract visitors to the scenic area overlooking the river.
• The natural spring that inspired the fort's name. The spring is visible from the trail depending on the height of the river.
• A stone building dubbed the "Officers' Quarters." The building was constructed during the 1800's and restored by the Fort Belle Fontaine Historical Society after the County acquired the property. It is believed the stone used in the construction of the building came from rubble from the Fort.
• A period cannon overlooking the river. The cannon was relocated at Belle Fontaine Park from Jefferson Barracks.
• An outdoor living room and barbeque pits and the remains of comfort stations, a stone fireplace and a patio. All were built by the WPA in the 1930s to attract visitors to the area.
• Quarries for the WPA projects.
• The remains of the shelter house built by the WPA project built in 1938.
• Stone culverts built by the WPA.
• The site of a saw and gristmill owned by Ezekiel Lard in the 1700s. The mill was built on what was part of an 850-acre Spanish land grant.
• The first fort cantonment constructed in 1805 is now in the middle of the Missouri River.
WHERE TO GET LUNCH: There are several restaurants in the historic Old Town Florissant area nearby.
WHAT'S NEARBY: The General Daniel Bissell House is a couple of miles away. Old St. Ferdinand's Shrine and historic Old Town Florissant are also nearby.
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35divmp
Junior Sergeant
I reject your reality and substitute my own!
Posts: 60
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Post by 35divmp on Oct 18, 2006 11:17:07 GMT -5
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