by Rick Magee
“A sight never to be forgotten was when on turning a point in the river there suddenly appeared, a mile or so before us, the imposing and beautiful white walls of Fort Snelling, holding, as though by main force, its position on a high precipitous bluff, and proudly floating the stripes and stars.”
— John H. Bliss, Reminiscences of Fort Snelling, 1894
A laundress demonstrates the process of washing clothes in the 19th century.
Fort Snelling was established at the fork of the Mississippi and St. Peter’s (now Minnesota) Rivers in 1819 on land acquired by treaty in 1805 by Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike. Its limestone walls and batteries commanded the rivers below and it was a symbol of the United States’ sovereignty and power in the Old Northwest, an “American Gibraltar.” John H. Bliss first saw the fort from the steamboat Warrior as a young boy when he accompanied his father, Major John Bliss, who took command of the post in 1832.
From the fort’s original mission to protect the American fur trade to its service as a World War II recruitment and training post, the roles of Fort Snelling changed as American policy changed. Troops garrisoned at Fort Snelling kept the peace on the prairies, originally by excluding European-American settlement. Doctor Emerson, the military doctor assigned to the fort in the 1830s, had two slaves—Dred and Harriet Scott. Later the Scotts sued for their freedom since this was free territory—one of the contributing factors to the Civil War. During the Civil War, regiments from the new state of Minnesota were raised and saw action in many battles, including having a pivotal role at Gettysburg. In the late 19th century, the old fort became a supply depot for posts further to the west and home to a regiment of Buffalo Soldiers, the 25th infantry. From 1888 until World War II, Fort Snelling was the headquarters of the Third Infantry, known as “The Old Guard.” Soldiers reported and were trained for duty for the Spanish-American War and both World Wars of the 20th century.
Fort Snelling was decommissioned in October 1946, and most of its extensive lands were transferred to the state of Minnesota. Today it is occupied by an international airport, Fort Snelling State Park, municipal recreation fields, Fort Snelling National Cemetery, and various state and federal buildings. Many of the old buildings built after the Civil War that were part of the once-active post are slowly deteriorating.
By 1957, there were plans to demolish what remained of the Old Fort to make way for a new highway interchange. Public outcry managed to force a change in the alignment of the road, sparing the original, remaining buildings. In the 1970s, Historic Fort Snelling was rebuilt based upon extensive archaeology and historical research. The facility was opened as a historic site managed by the Minnesota Historical Society on the property owned by the state.
First-Person Interpretation at Historic Fort Snelling
Soldiers salute the birth of the country with a Fourth of July cannon firing.
Originally interpretation at Fort Snelling was all done in first person. Staff used “I” or “we” when talking about the people and events of a given year in the past. The uniforms, civilian attire, military drill, and other details were those of the year 1827. Staff took the part of people who were known to have been at the fort in 1827 and endeavored to create an experience of immersion into that time. By the 1980s, the method employed was known as “modified first person,” where the year was 1827, but interpreters might answer questions with the preface, “In your time….” This was similar to “ghost interpretation” sometimes used at other sites.
First-person interpretation was the heart and soul of the program at Historic Fort Snelling. If well done, first-person interpretation can be an effective way to communicate the stories of the fort from the chosen period. Vignettes were employed to further create a picture of the era. Events included Independence Day orations, courts-marshal, weddings, and funerals. These successfully elicited an emotional connection by staff and visitors to the story and to the history presented by the fort.
The success of interactions with visitors depended upon the talents of the interpreter. Much of the success relied upon the willingness of the visitor to set aside their reality and play along. Good interpreters can read the visitor and go where the visitor wants to go. Nevertheless, veteran interpreters reported that they had maybe one successful first-person interaction with a visitor in a month.
The downside of the program is that it created confrontational situations. For example, some staff offended the modern sensibilities of female visitors who visited the soldiers’ barracks. Some visitors would take it as a challenge to break the character of the interpreter.
Successful first-person interpretation demands many resources. There must be extensive original documentation of the lives of the people who lived at the site during the period. And there must be resources to train modern people to integrate that information into their program. Many necessary resources did not exist at Historic Fort Snelling.
The Fork in Interpretive Method
By the turn of the 21st century, the management at Historic Fort Snelling faced a fork in the interpretive technique being used. Finally, in 2006 the decision was made that third-person interpretation would be the primary method used. First-person is still used by “History Players” portraying Colonel and Mrs. Snelling in the Commander’s House. Elsewhere in the fort, staff talk about the past from the perspective of our current day.
There were several reasons for the change:
- The program was perceived to be stagnant.
- There was declining attendance over time.
- The program was stuck in 1827; it needed to be open to interpreting other periods and stories.
- Reviewers from the American Association of Museums strongly urged that first-person methods be replaced by third-person interpretation.
Upper management made the decision that Historic Fort Snelling would abandon the modified first-person technique. Since 2007, costumed interpreters have used the third person to communicate the many stories represented by the old fort.
There was some turbulence when this fork was turned. Approximately 10 percent of the staff did not return. Some of the returning staff had difficulty not taking on a different persona when talking to the public. Site supervisors and staff were concerned that first person had been the heart and soul of the program. How could they successfully continue to communicate the historic importance of their site?
Smooth Sailing on the New Fork
Today Historic Fort Snelling employs costumed interpreters who demonstrate military life at an Army post beyond the western frontier of the United States as it would have been experienced in the late 1820s. A few interpreters wear modern clothing to interpret the experience of Dred and Harriet Scott, their subsequent lives in St. Louis, and the important court case that made Dred Scott famous and the Civil War inevitable. On special weekends the fort is transformed with staff and volunteers in Civil War or World War II uniforms demonstrating life in Minnesota and in the Army during those crucial times of our history.
The change to using third-person interpretation has had many benefits. Now interpreters can answer visitors’ questions directly. Interpreters can admit they do not know the answer to questions about life in 1827. The staff has been freed to interpret slavery, the U.S.-Dakota War, the World Wars, and many other stories. Third-person interpretation has proven to be more flexible, more visitor friendly, and more intellectually honest.
Visitor reaction has been mostly positive. Reenactors and some visiting staff from other historic sites have expressed disappointment that modified first person was largely abandoned at Historic Fort Snelling. But other visitors have said, “It’s about time.” Many returning visitors, when asked, reported not noticing a change in method. Staff members who also work at schools have reported that students from their schools did not go on field trips to Historic Fort Snelling because the parents and teachers were afraid of the first-person interpreters and did not know how to react to the dialogue from 1827. Now they are returning. A large and growing number of home schoolers are coming to Historic Fort Snelling.
A surgeon dispenses medical theory of the period and shows some of his surgical tools to a young visitor.
Successful new program additions at Historic Fort Snelling are “camps” for children. These four-day sessions during the summer have been great hits. Participants get hands-on experiences in the fort, enhancing their knowledge of and appreciation for history. They usually fill quickly in the spring when registration opens. The camps were a Nickelodeon Parents Pick winner and have been rated by local media as the best camps for children in the Twin Cities. These programs are only possible in a third-person interpretive setting.
Perhaps the most significant evidence of the success of the change in method is that visitor numbers have increased over the past four years, bucking trends for historic sites elsewhere in North America. Despite the bad economy, visitation is expected to increase by four to five percent in 2009.
Historic Fort Snelling still is an imposing sight at the fork of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. Costumed interpreters still fire the cannons and demonstrate the infantry drill. Women in 1820s dress still show how clothing was washed and food prepared when the fort was new. Interpreters in the hospital still discuss the changes in medical procedures throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. But now interpreters can honestly answer questions about what is beyond those walls, what happened after 1827. The stripes and stars still proudly float above the fort.
Costumed interpretation at Historic Fort Snelling has successfully navigated its fork in the river. Visitors will continue to look down from the Half Moon Battery at the confluence of the Mississippi with the Minnesota River.
Rick Magee is a volunteer interpreter at Historic Fort Snelling in Minnesota. All photos are courtesy of Historic Fort Snelling.
