TY

It was not the intention of the War Department that the influence of the
frontier military post should be limited by the range of the guns
mounted upon its walls. The post was to be the center of the Indian life
for those tribes that dwelt in the vicinity. At the same time
expeditions, the base of which was to be at the fort, were to carry the
authority of the government out upon the wild Indian lands, and the
frontier settlements were to look to the soldiers for protection.[88]

How, in its origin, Fort Snelling became part of a comprehensive system
for the protection of the frontier, has been detailed. The events of the
forty years that followed indicate very clearly the wisdom of the men
who chose the site. Every phase of frontier duty was performed by the
troops stationed at the mouth of the Minnesota River; and although these
tasks often took them hundreds of miles from the post, and although they
often cooeperated with men from other forts, yet these expeditions may
well be considered as part of the history of Fort Snelling. They were a
test of the training received on the parade ground, and the successful
accomplishment of many a difficult duty shows that the post was
fulfilling the objects of those who built it.

Prior to 1848 the governmental organization in the jurisdiction of which
Fort Snelling was located was very weak. When first erected in 1819 the
fort was in the Territory of Missouri (1812-1821). Then followed a
number of years in which it was in unorganized territory (1821-1834).
The Territory of Michigan (1834-1836), the Territory of Wisconsin
(1836-1838), and the Territory of Iowa (1838-1846) successively had
jurisdiction over it; while in 1849 it fell within the newly-organized
Territory of Minnesota. Lying far from the seats of government, in a
region of wandering traders and red men, the fort became the exponent of
the government--the only symbol of governmental restriction in a region
almost entirely without law.

During the first years of its existence while the buildings were being
erected and the fort was making its place in the Indian life and the fur
trade of the surrounding region, the frontier was comparatively quiet.
The first outbreak occurred in Illinois and Wisconsin, where the
Winnebagoes were constantly coming into contact with the lead miners
about Galena. During the summer of 1826 rumors came to Fort Snelling of
the hostility of this tribe, and Colonel Snelling thought it