Fort Belle Fontaine (formerly known as Cantonment Belle Fontaine) is a former U.S.
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
located in
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is located in the eastern-central portion of Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. At the 2020 census, th ...
, across the
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
rivers from
Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...
. The fort was the first U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi, in the newly acquired
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...
, and served as a starting point for many expeditions to the
American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
.
History
![Upper Mississippi 1812](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Upper_Mississippi_1812.png)
Located on the south bank of the
Missouri River, in present-day
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, Fort Belle Fontaine was first a Spanish military post. After the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, by a treaty made between the United States Government, signed by
William H. Harrison and representatives of the
Native American Sac and
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
tribes (on November 3, 1804), the fort in 1805 became a
fur trading post of the United States Government. Rudolf Tiller served as
factor
Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to:
Commerce
* Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent
* Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate
* Factors of production, suc ...
and Colonel
Thomas Hunt served as the military commander.
The trading post was discontinued after 1808, and from 1809 to 1826 the facility served as a United States military fort. During that time period, from about 1809 to 1815, the fort served as the headquarters of the Department of Louisiana, and was the regional Army headquarters during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. Its sister forts were
Fort Osage
Fort Osage (also known as Fort Clark or Fort Sibley) was an early 19th-century factory trading post run by the United States Government in western Missouri on the American frontier; it was located in present-day Sibley, Missouri. The Treaty of ...
along the Missouri near modern
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, which controlled trade with western Indians; and
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
in what is now
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, which controlled trade of the Upper Mississippi.
The Old Fort Belle Fontaine Cemetery was established in 1809, when then Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Bissell moved the original Fort Belle Fontaine encampment to a new location. The cemetery was located about 100 yards or so southwest from the Cantonment buildings, which during the period of 1805 to 1826 had interments of at least 30-40 military officers, and about 100 enlisted soldiers. The location was confirmed to be along the bluffs on the south bank of the Missouri River about a hundred yards southeast along the bluff past the old abandoned block house, when W.T. Norton visited the site in 1911. At that time the old cemetery on the bluff was strewn with rocks and mortar, the debris of old tombs. All the tombs were in a more or less ruinous condition. The tombs were built of masonry, about two feet above the ground, and upon them rested the memorial tables. Most of the inscriptions were illegible. In 1904, newspaper stories, most notabley in The St. Louis Republic, recorded the recovery and moving of 33 burials with headstones to the newly established Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Therefore a considerable number of unmarked burials still remain at the now decertified cemetery. The article in The St. Louis Republic included rough photos and drawings of the site. This old cemetery is not related to the Bellefontaine Cemetery established in 1849 on the road leading to Fort Belle Fontaine, and initially called the Rural Cemetery.
Preservation
Part of the site of the fort is preserved as the
Fort Belle Fontaine County Park, a unit of the park system of
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is located in the eastern-central portion of Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. At the 2020 census, th ...
. An archaeological site associated with the fort was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2016.
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See also
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Belle Fontaine
1805 establishments in the Louisiana Territory
1826 disestablishments in Missouri
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
Buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri
Belle Fontaine
Belle Fontaine
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Belle Fontaine
Belle Fontaine
Missouri Territory in the War of 1812
National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Missouri
Native American history of Missouri
Pre-statehood history of Missouri
Protected areas established in 2016
Protected areas of St. Louis County, Missouri
Ruins in the United States
Belle Fontaine