“As They Have Formerly Done”: Unraveling the Entanglements at Historic Fort Snelling

Abstract

The United States built Fort Snelling at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in the 1820s. Initially conceived as a means to protect American interests in the region, the fort was used in military operations across multiple wars until it was decommissioned in 1946. This essay examines the fort’s role in American expansion, particularly through the lens of the US–Dakota War of 1862. In the wake of the war, Dakota survivors were forced to spend the winter in a concentration camp erected outside the fort. A century later, efforts to restore and reconstruct the fort led to the opening of Historic Fort Snelling in 1970. The fort’s lengthy history—and its role in so many historical eras and events—has led to continued contestations over interpretation at the site, and even the name itself.