The Diary of Lieutenant Francis Henry French at Fort Clark, Texas 1883 (continued #36)

In this 36th installment, Lieut. French is getting close to the end of his leave at home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He finds time in his hectic routine of “calls” to travel “a mile a minute” on a train to Chicago and attend the Barnum & Bailey circus. He begins to make his travel plans for the trip back to Fort Clark.

Monday, Sept. 3, 1883

 Went down town and to the factory this morning. Mattie started to school today. After dinner we all went up to see Ambrose start for Chicago. Saw JR Cary up there. Quite a number were over from Grandmother's. Ambrose reminds me a great deal of Cunningham when he was at Leavenworth. After he left Annie, Lula, Maria & I took Kate out to her school and then came home. Lizzie & Annie returned to stay with us. About 3 o'clock dressed and called on Mrs. Hedekin promising to telegraph Fiebeger in regard to her son's success at West Point, on Mrs. J. L. Williams, Mr. A.P Edgerton, who was not home, & Mecca. She was not home but I met her down town and she wanted me to call again. Telegraphed to Fiebeger and attended to some other errands and then returned to Mr. Hoagland's. Mecca invited me to take a ride with her which invitation I accepted with a great deal of pleasure. We attended to some errands first and then drove out to New Haven and to Mr. Hoagland's farm, and did not get home until about 8 o'clock. We were quite confidential like we used to be. She is a true woman. Kilburn and Potter called this evening. Mother seemed very much distressed at the way Potter acted with Lizzie. She is determined to have him & Sue marry. Hope she will succeed but she won’t if she continues to act so.

Had a late breakfast and went down to the factory about 11 o'clock where I helped Father as Mr. Jefferds is busy at the house preparing for Mary's wedding tomorrow. In the afternoon went down to the factory where I remained until a messenger boy came in to say that he had left a telegram at the house for me. Went up home immediately and learned that young Hedekin had passed the prelim. at West Point. Took the telegram up to Mrs. Hedekin to relieve her suspense. She had not heard from him and was very much pleased to read the telegram. As some of the papers had printed that he had failed, I went to the News Gazette and corrected the report. After supper Sue and Potter wanted to go up to call on Mecca, so I got a carriage & took Lula & the girls out to Grandmother's where we made a long call and then took a ride around town. Meeting Henry Freeman we picked him up and took him a short ride and then out to his house. Sue & Potter came in after we had returned. Clem [?] Edgerton called in the evening and detained Sue from making her call until 9 o'clock. She did not go in at Hoagland's. Potter spent quite a while here after they came in. Think he & Sue are in love.

Went down to the High School this morning and spent a very pleasant time with Miss Fowler. She taught me drawing & painting. Several of the pictures executed by different pupils were shown by Miss Fowler and they are really good. The schools got a medal and a diploma at the Centennial for drawings & paintings. In the afternoon took a bath and about 4:30 all except Sue and the girls went down to Mr. Jefferds1 to see Mary & Dr. Greenawalt2 get married. The ceremony was quite impressive. Remained there until about 7 o'clock, when I returned home, changed clothes and went up to make a party call at Mrs. Hamilton's, for the dinner party last week. Had a very pleasant call but had to cut it short as Henry, Aunt Mary & Mary were here to spend the evening. When I got home found Potter & Chapman here also and we talked & played games. Had an attack of "rumbles"3 and had to leave the room while the others had a good time.

This morning Anna & Lizzie went down to visit at Mr. John Jacob's and I am glad they have gone. I like Anna very much indeed, but Lizzie always treats me in a supercilious manner and we don't think much of each other. I escorted them down and then went down town to attend to some errands. In the afternoon about 3 o'clock, Sue & I went up to Miss Kate Hamilton's & played lawn tennis there. Had a very pleasant time and agreed to play again next Thursday afternoon. We ate supper there and did not get home until nearly dark. Sue went out with Potter to call at Grandmother's. Lula & I called at Mrs. Laubach's where I met her sister Mrs. Cash Miller. She is very pleasant. Then we called on Mrs. John Evans. Retired earlier than usual.

This morning Lizzie and Anna came up to the house in Mrs. Jacobs' buggy and had a short talk. Went down town and to Dr. Laubach's office this morning and had a long talk with him. In the afternoon went down town and to the factory where I wrote to Capt. Miltincore for a cheap rate ticket to San Antonio from St. Louis. After supper went down town for a while. Saw Howard McCullough there. Then called on the girls at Mrs. Jacobs'. Henry & Chapman were there also. Played cards and had a good time.

Went down town this morning to see the street parade of Barnum's Circus.4 Quite a large party was there. The parade was good. Afterwards bought tickets for the afternoon's performance and went up to see Potter about going this afternoon. After dinner we all met and went up together, 14 in the party, Potter & Howard McCullough going with us. We had reserved seats and had a good view of everything. Took care that Miss Lizzie did not interfere with Sue and Potter. The latter dined with us. After supper Howard McCullough and I called on Lizzie and Anna and we played whist until near 11 o'clock. Lizzie & I whitewashed Anna & Howard twice, and they beat us twice.

Got up at 3 o'clock and went up to the railroad with Potter where we got a cup of coffee and a sandwich. It was very cold and I had no overcoat. Potter got me a pass to and from Chicago and got the engineer to let me ride on the engine. We were about 40 minutes late and part of the time went about a mile a minute. This was something that I have wanted to do for a long time, and I was thoroughly pleased withthe trip. Rode to Valparaiso in the cab and the rest of the way in the coach. Was a hard frost last night which will do a great deal of damage to the corn. Reached Chicago about 8 o'clock. After washing & breakfasting where I ate the first oysters I have had this season, went out to 2323 Michigan Ave. to call on Lizzie & John. They were much surprised to see us. Since I was in Chicago before, they have moved and now occupy much pleasanter quarters. Had a real nice call and then went to a restaurant for dinner of oysters. Afterwards went out to call on Potter's uncle Mr. Crane and met his family. Was much surprised to find that Mrs. Crane's niece is Mrs. Tesson5 whom I used to know at Clark. She is acquainted with Maj & Mrs. Dunn also. Made a short call as dinner was announced and then went over to 543 Adams St. to see Ambrose McConomy. Met the Misses Lonergan there and found that one of them has been visiting Miss Lynch lately at Leavenworth. Had to cut the call short & Ambrose came over with us and walked around to help us hunt a candy store. But none was open so that we could not carry any home. Sat around in the Grand Pacific for a while talking and then went over to the depot and got a cup of coffee & a Sandwich. Lizzie, John & Ralph were there and rode out on the train to 22nd. St. where we said good-bye. Said good bye to Ambrose at the depot. At Grand Crossing got on the engine again and rode down as far as Plymouth, where I became so sleepy that I had to go back into the coach. Got home about 11:30 and found Mother waiting with coffee and a supper for us. Felt somewhat sick today and have had to take quinine.

1 Jefferds, Oliver Walker (1812-1900)
2 Mary Eliza Jefferds Greenawalt (1854-1923) and Dr. George Leiter Greenawalt (1851-1917)
3 In the 19th century, "rumbles" referred to the audible sounds produced by the digestive system, often associated with hunger or gastrointestinal distress. The sounds were sometimes viewed humorously or embarrassingly, reflecting societal attitudes towards bodily functions during the Victorian era.
4 Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus with James Anthony Bailey. Barnum did not enter the circus business until he was 60 years old. He established "P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome" in Delavan, Wisconsin in 1870 with William Cameron Coup. It was a traveling circus, menagerie and museum of "freaks" that assumed various names: "P. T. Barnum's Travelling World's Fair, Great Roman Hippodrome and Greatest Show on Earth", and "P. T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth, and the Great London Circus, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie and the Grand International Allied Shows United" after an 1881 merger with James Bailey and James L. Hutchinson, soon shortened to "Barnum & Bailey's". This was the first circus to display three rings. The show's first primary attraction was Jumbo, an African elephant that Barnum purchased in 1882 from the London Zoo.
5 Margaret Burgoyne Duncan Tesson (1848-1936) wife of Assistant Surgeon Louis Stanislaus Tesson (1842-1901)

Francis Henry French was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 27, 1857. Deeply impressed from his youth by the stirring deeds and stories told by veterans of the Civil War, he realized his ambition for a military career by entering the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York where he graduated twelfth from the class of 1879. He was assigned as 2nd Lieutenant of “E” Company, 19th Infantry and came west. Following service at Fort Garland, Colorado Territory, and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the regiment moved to Fort Brown at Brownsville, Texas where Lieutenant French was detailed as the Regimental Adjutant. In December 1882 the 19th Infantry was posted to Fort Clark. At Fort Clark, on January 1, 1883, Lieutenant French began diaries, which he faithfully maintained for the next thirty years. The Fort Clark period of these diaries from 1883-1888 and his letters home are an intriguing window to late 19th century Army life at Fort Clark and to the American experience of the Victorian era. Lieutenant French’s command of the famed Seminole- Negro Indian Scouts is particularly noteworthy as the young officer developed a lifelong respect for the scouts as soldiers and men. Lieutenant French is a caring and sensitive man with opinions on people and politics. He is a bachelor immersed in the “society” of the regiment and Fort Clark. However, always in the background is his profession of being a soldier and an officer, which he takes quite seriously. The fascination of any diary is of course the private thoughts and observations of another human being, revealed, and in this case the direct link to local history. What the diary truly brings to light is the complex society of a regiment at a frontier post amid the tedium of garrison routine and soldiering, all of which serve to season the young officer. The reader can’t help but become engrossed in the almost soap opera like situations and personalities observed and commented upon on a daily basis by the very perceptive Lieutenant. French falls in and out of love and debt, and is the consummate social butterfly as he takes full advantage of his bachelor status. 


Submitted by Fort Clark Heritage Council - Bill Haenn, FCHC Senior Historian. Fort Clark Heritage Council is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, established in 2023, to advocate for the preservation and protection of the architecture and other historic resources in the Fort Clark National Register Historic District… committed to endorsing and promulgating the rich history of Fort Clark by expanding upon related educational and research efforts.