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

In this 31st installment, Lieut. French is a month into his leave at his home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There is a break in the monotony as he takes a trip to Chicago and receives his pay, which barely covers his debts.

Monday, July 30, 1883
Came over early this morning and came home to change my clothes. Then went down town with my dress coat & vest to have them altered. In the afternoon finished my letter to Marie, sending her a photograph, and wrote to Miss Williamson. Now we two have commenced a correspondence, I wonder where it will end. In the evening Mary made us a call so that I could not make any calls as I had intended. Henry came in later in the evening.

Tuesday, July 31, 1883
Last day of the month. Received a letter from Marie this morning. Went down town in the morning. After dinner attended the funeral of Mrs. Emma Pyke ne'e Pullan.1 It was a very sad affair. Knew her before her marriage and liked her very much. Marie is acquainted with her but does not like her. Made some calls after the funeral. In the evening Potter and Cash Miller called.

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 1883
Went down town in the morning. In the afternoon made arrangements to go up to Chicago with Henry to stay until Friday night. Henry came up in the evening to spend the night. Potter called. It rained quite hard this evening.

Thursday, Aug. 2 1883
We left Fort Wayne about 1 o'clock A.M. and got to Chicago about 7. After 8, John came to his office and we went in with him & cleaned up. He was promoted last April and now audits all the accounts for the Union Depot, a much nicer and more lucrative place than his former one. He was too busy to go around with us. Henry & I spent the day shopping. I did not have any money & was compelled to borrow of him. Took dinner with John at the Depot.2 In the evening he went with us to hear a concert given under the direction of Theodore Thomas.3 The music was very fine, but too technical for me. It was wonderful how Thomas controls the large orchestra and produces such finished music. Henry was sick and we were compelled to go home before the music was ended. Went to John's to spend the night.

Friday, Aug. 3 1883
John has no servant, so we helped him to make the beds this morning. Then came down town, ate breakfast at the Depot and Henry & I went up town. Visited Lincoln Park4 and several places of interest. Took dinner with John and in the evening all went to hear the concert. Left just before the last piece was played and went to a gambling place to see faro, roulette and poker played. We did not play, just went to look on. At 11-30 P.M. put all our bundles on the train & started for home, John with us. Met Ambrose McC{ } just before the concert.

Saturday, Aug. 4 1883
Got home about 7 this morning. Henry came up with me for breakfast. After eating & washing went down town and up to see John & Lizzie. Got a letter this morning from Friedlander,5 enclosing a check for $233.34, pay for July and this month. Had this cashed & paid Henry $90 for the trip, Dr. Knapp6 $76.50 for fixing my teeth and for tooth powder, Mr. Shoaff7 $7 for photographs, Siemon8 $10 for book stands, & Lula $14 for money borrowed.9 Now I only owe $65 to Clark10 for my clothes, but shall wait before paying this as I need money for the trip to Indianapolis. In the afternoon went to a picnic up the river beyond Grandmother's & had a jolly time. Such pleasant and congenial people were out. In the evening after returning from the picnic went down town with Lula & Mattie to do an errand and then returned and retired early being tired from the trip last evening and the picnic today. Potter was here this evening.

Sunday, Aug. 5 1883
Attended service at the English Lutheran Church this morning with Father and Mother. In the afternoon Henry Meyer and his brothers called. In the evening Lizzie, John, Mrs. Jefferds & Potter were here. Lizzie said Grandmother was sick in church this morning. 

1 Pyke, Emma Pullan (1854-1883) died at age 29.
2 Chicago’s original 1881 Union Station.
3 Thomas, Theodore (1835-1905) was a German-American violinist, conductor, and orchestrator. He is considered the first renowned American orchestral conductor and was the founder and first music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
4 Established in 1860, Lincoln Park is today a 1,208-acre park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago. Named after President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles along the lakeshore.
5 Post Trader at Fort Clark.
6 Knapp, Isaac (1815-1883) M.D. D.D.S. He died later that year.
7 John A. Shoaff (1836-1921) Photographer. Shoaff was born in Juanita, Pennsylvania and moved with his family to Fort Wayne at the age of twelve. He operated his art gallery in Fort Wayne until his retirement in 1894.
8 Siemon, August F. (1844-1901) of Siemon Bros, Books & Stationers.
9 Leaving a balance of $35.84, an amount in 1883 equivalent today in purchasing power to about $1,185.03.
10 Clark, Joseph M. – Merchant Tailor.

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.