New Ft. Steilacoom, Wash. Territory website

[John McPherson]

For those of you interested in the pre-ACW Army and its history, particularly that of the Pacific Northwest, I invite you to check out the new website for Fort Steilacoom in Washington State at the following address:

http://www.historicfortsteilacoom.com/


The site was produced by Ashley Middleton, the creator of the sites for Carter & Jasper Mercantile and Myrtle Avenue Clothiers. The History of the Fort page is still in progress as I plan to add more personalities and details as I continue my research. But, it is the Tour page and its collection of period still images of the fort of which I'm most proud. Most of these period images have not been put online until now! The fort seems to have been a crossroads for many important Civil War personalities and authors. Please enjoy the site!

John McPherson
Snohomish, WA

[mmartin4600]

Re: New Ft. Steilacoom, Wash. Territory website

Holy Crap. I live about 20 miles from there. I can't believe I haven't heard of this place before. Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

[mtvernon]

Re: New Ft. Steilacoom, Wash. Territory website

My Great-Great-Grandfather was stationed there in January 1856 as a private of Company H, 9th US Infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Silas Casey, so I read this with great interest and enjoyment. Thanks for the post!

[John McPherson]

Re: New Ft. Steilacoom, Wash. Territory website

Joe--

I figured that you'd like the site. It's a start to opening up interest and increased living history opportunities for our reenacting community in the PNW. We don't have Civil War battlefields in Washington State, but we do have profound Civil War connections. What I can't get over is how many of the post's "personalities" went on to some acclaim as authors. Ft. Steilacoom was quite the literary society! Check online about the written works of E.P. Alexander, Delancey Floyd-Jones, Silas Casey, August Kautz, Erasmus Keyes, and Robert N. Scott. These men produced books, be it technical-oriented or travelogue/memoirs, that reverberate today!

Thanks for mentioning your ancestor; I'm sure that your post visit last year was special because of that. I hope that the period fort images offer something additional to share with your family about your ancestor's history.

John

[mtvernon]

Re: New Ft. Steilacoom, Wash. Territory website

John - Thanks for your reply.

I'll be traveling up there about August 20th, passing through, and if he'd allow it I'd like to show the fort to my brother, who will be accompanying me and my exceedingly patient and obliging wife.

Two other trivial bits. One, I'm wearing your cravat in my profile photo, and two, I was reminded while looking at the website that Henry Martyn Robert, author of Robert's Rules of Order, was stationed there. Not having much interest in organized sports in High School, I managed rather to letter in Parliamentary Procedure, whose team 'bible' is that same book. It's all coming together!