Lamar Fontaine (October 10, 1829 - October 1, 1921) was an American military officer, spy, surveyor, poet and author. He served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, and he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He drew maps of Israel, Japan and China. He authored poetry and a memoir.

Early life

Fontaine was born on October 10, 1829, in

Washington County, Texas Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality of ...

, near Gay Hill. He had a half brother, Reverend P. H. Fontaine, who became a Methodist minister. At the age of 10, Fontaine ran away from school in Austin and was captured by the Comanche; he was released four years later. He attended school in North Carolina.

Career

Fontaine joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served in the

of 1846–1848, including the

Siege of Veracruz The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexican beachhead seaport of Veracruz during the Mexican–American War. Lasting from March 9–29, 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States ...

. Fontaine first worked as a surveyor for the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. He explored the Amazon River with

William Lewis Herndon Commander William Lewis Herndon (25 October 1813 – 12 September 1857) was one of the United States Navy's outstanding explorers and seamen. In 1851 he led a United States expedition to the Valley of the Amazon, and prepared a report published ...

as well as Israel (then known as Palestine), where he helped draw maps. He drew maps of Russia and sketches of the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic gro ...

. He traveled to Japan with

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...

, and he "was instrumental in ridding the seas of the Malay pirates." His autobiography states he participated in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. Fontaine joined the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

of 1861–1865. He served under generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. He became a Major on July 28, 1863. He took part in the

Battle of Mine Run The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run campaign (November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War. An unsuccessful attempt of the Union ...

and the Battle of Bloody Angle. He was a dispatch bearer at the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mis ...

. His autobiography states that he was responsible for sinking the famed cannon " Whistling Dick" in the Mississippi River to prevent it falling into Union hands. He said that he was wounded 67 times during the war. In an 1892 letter, he said that he had been with the

2nd Virginia Cavalry The 2nd Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The unit was organized by Colonel Jubal E ...

, Company I. An article in ''America's Civil War'' says that he was a spy with the Mississippi infantry. During the Reconstruction era, he joined the Ku Klux Klan chapter in

Hinds County Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats ( Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Cou ...

and Madison County. An essay he wrote about the Klan was also published in ''The Ku Klux Klan or Invisible Empire'' by Mrs S. E. F. Rose. He is quoted as writing, "In the courts of this invisible, silent, and mighty empire, there were no hung juries, no laws delayed, no reversals, on senseless technicalities by any Supreme Court, because from its Court there was no appeal, and punishment was sure and swift, because there was no executive to pardon." Fontaine authored several books. He composed poems, like ''Oenore'', ''Only a Soldier'' or ''Dying Prisoner in Camp Chase'', and claimed to have written " All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight". He published his memoir, ''My Life and My Lectures''. Another book was about the Ku Klux Klan: ''The Cause and the Effect of the Ku Klux Klan in the South''.

Personal life and death

Fontaine married Miss Brickell; they had three sons and three daughters. They resided in Lyon, Mississippi. Fontaine died on October 1, 1921, in Lyon, Mississippi, at 92.

Works

References

External links

Maj Lamar Fontaine
on Find a Grave
Personal remembrance by Fontaine, at an auction house
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontaine, Lamar 1829 births 1921 deaths People from Washington County, Texas People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Captives of Native Americans American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Confederate States Army officers American Ku Klux Klan members American male poets 19th-century American poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers Military personnel from Texas