Josiah Snelling

Josiah Snelling (1782 – 20 August 1828) was the first commander of Fort Snelling, a fort located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in Minnesota. He was responsible for the initial design and construction of the fort, and he commanded it from 1820 through 1827. Life and career Snelling, born in 1782 on Salem Street in Boston's North End, was the son of a well-to-do baker. He started his military career in 1803 by enlisting as a sergeant in the Massachusetts militia. In 1811, Snelling led his company in a charge against Tecumseh's Indian Confederation at the Battle of Tippecanoe that helped ensure a victory for General William Henry Harrison. Afterwards, Snelling was recognized for his performance in a letter reporting on the battle by Harrison himself.

He was assigned to command Fort Harrison during the winter of 1811–12 on the Wabash River at the present site of Terre Haute, Indiana. During the War of 1812, he participated in the Battle of Brownstown, where he was promoted to Major in recognition for distinguished service, General Winfield Scott inspected the fort during an 1824 visit and was so impressed that he suggested renaming the post Fort Snelling as a compliment to its commander.

In order to deal peacefully with Native Americans in the vicinity of the fort, Snelling partnered with Indian Agent Lawrence Taliaferro. 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 Ojibwe and the Sioux.

In spite of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 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, Harriet Robinson Scott married Dred Scott, in a ceremony officiated by Taliaferro that would later give credence to the Scotts' suit for freedom.

Family In 1804, Snelling married Elizabeth Bell and fathered a son, William Joseph Snelling. Elizabeth Snelling died in 1810, leaving Josiah Snelling a widower with a young son.

During the War of 1812, when Snelling was stationed at Fort Detroit, he met and married 15-year-old Abigail Hunt. Between 1813 and 1827, Josiah and Abigail Snelling had seven children, with five surviving past infancy: Mary, Henry Hunt Snelling, James, Marion, and Josiah.

Two Minnesota streets, one in Minneapolis (Snelling Avenue), the other in Saint Paul (Snelling Avenue), in Minnesota's capital city, are named after him.

Papers

Papers of Josiah Snelling 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 Revolutionary War, and a journal kept by Colonel Snelling as commandant at Fort Snelling