Question: Is it likely someone discharged from Ft.Snelling Minnesota in 1846 would then settle in Grant County,
Wisconsin, across from Dubuque,
Iowa? I thought not. Searching Google maps, overland, seemed quite a distance for my great
grandfather Hess to end up farming in southwest Wisconsin. I came across a book by George B.
Merrick about his life as a steamboat captain on the Mississippi from 1854 to 1863 and began to
understand travel in the area around 1850. The Mississippi
River was like one of our major freeways, except the means of
transportation was different. If you look at the map, you can see just how easy
that trip would be. People could hop off and on all up and down the river. This
is helpful with other families as well, as I have some going as far as New Orleans during the
same time period. Ft. Snelling is in the upper left and Grant County, Wisconsin is in the lower right.
Now my next issue is to learn more about Ft. Snelling and the men who enlisted and defended these forts in the western U.S. Any help or ideas would ben much appreciated!
Source: Merrick, George Byron. Old Times on the Mississippi:
The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot
from 1854 to 1863. From Map of the Mississippi
between St. Louis and St.
Paul to illustrate Old Times on the Mississippi by Geo. B. Merrick. Pub. 1908
Available on Gutenberg.org. Project Gutenberg ebook #47262
