The Diary of Lieutenant Francis Henry French at Fort Clark, Texas 1883 (continued, #24)

Did not read this morning. Worked on the clothing rolls today. In the evening made several calls but did not go to Col. Lyster's. It has been quite warm & sultry all day.

Read "Shadow Bells" this morning. In the evening played billiards with Geary at the Sutler's. Dr. Harmer started to go to Del Rio this evening. Did not call at any place. It has been very close & sultry today.

Read "Shadow Bells" this morning as usual. In the afternoon Geary helped me to compare clothing rolls and I entered charges in Clothing Book. Now this whole business is over. I must commence to make out Inspection Reports so as to have some property condemned in order to prepare for being relieved. Wrote a letter home this afternoon. Dr. Harmer did not make the train last night, but went out on the freight today. Kendall is coming tonight. So I sent a note by ambulance driver for him to come to my quarters. Called with Marie at Mrs. Hall's and had a very pleasant time, after which we walked and went to the band stand.

Two weeks from today, if nothing happens we expect to leave the Post on our way to Cincinnati. Kendall came in last night and is staying with me. Took him over to Capt. Vance's to mess. Did not read this morning as Marie had an engagement. Worked on my papers and played billiards at the store. In the evening did not go out as Kendall had a number of callers. About 10-30 o'clock he commenced to vomit and an hour later I had a bad attack of stomach trouble. Gen. Smith returned last night.

We continued to vomit until everything was cleaned out. After midnight last night I went to Dr. Taylor's and got some medicine and found Capt. Vance was suffering from the same trouble. About one o'clock felt better and had a good sleep. This morning my stomach was quite uneasy but there was no return of the trouble. Capt. Vance & Kendall are much better also, but still they have the same upset condition in their stomach. It came from the shrimp salad. Did not read today, but was busy getting property ready to inspect. In the evening after tattoo took a walk with Marie and sat out in the band stand.

Did not read this morning, but was on a Board of Survey(1) at the Commissary's(2). Worked on Inspection Reports during the day. Took dinner at Mrs. Kauffman's with Mrs. Lyster, Marie, Kendall & Ives and had a good time. Was obliged to leave just after dinner to go out to the Seminole Camp to inspect their carbines and accouterments. Did not go out in the evening but worked on proceedings of the Board and entertained callers.

Wrote to home, Fiebeger and Shunk today. About 4 o'clock P.M. went down to the corral to see Harvey and on the way back stopped at the store for Kendall. They have been having a game of poker today something I was very sorry to learn. In the evening called at Gen. Smith's and had a very pleasant talk with Mrs. Smith the rest having gone to church. After tattoo called at Col. Lyster's and took a walk with Marie and sat out in the band stand. Made an engagement to ride over to Spofford Junction with her next Tuesday evening.



1 A Board of Survey is a panel of officers charged with determining fault in cases of loss or destruction of government property.
2 The building which in 1883 served as the office of the Commissary of Subsistence, at that time Lieut Harrison S. Weeks, 8th Cavalry.


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.