Note 166 — Chapter VIII
Reading edition
The site of Fort Smith, also called Bellepoint, was chosen in the autumn of 1817 by Major S. H. Long. The original fort was on the bluff just below the junction of the Poteau and the Arkansas. A new fort was built on the same spot in 1838, and three hundred acres of surrounding land was purchased. This reservation was transferred to the Interior Department in 1871, and by act of Congress (1884) donated to the city of Fort Smith for school purposes. The troops were withdrawn from the post in 1871, the government retaining only the original burying ground, now a national cemetery. Fort Smith controlled the principal trade of Indian Territory for many years, although the town grew slowly, containing only about five hundred inhabitants in 1852. It is now a place of from 12,000 to 15,000.
Information is meagre relative to Major William Bradford, who commanded at Fort Smith at this time. He was appointed (1812), captain in the 17th infantry, from Kentucky, and two years later became major. Then he was transferred to the Rifles, of which he became a major in 1818. From 1821–24 he was again in the infantry, resigning in the latter year.
Dr. Thomas Russell, mentioned on p. 199, below, was the post surgeon. A native of Massachusetts, he entered the army in 1814 as hospital surgeon’s mate, and died August 24, 1819.—Ed.