Charles Gratiot
Encyclopedia
Charles Gratiot, Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri
. He was the son of Charles Gratiot, Sr.
, a fur trader in the Illinois country
during the American Revolution
, and Victoire Chouteau, who was from an important mercantile family. His father became a wealthy merchant during the early years of St. Louis. After 1796, Charles was raised in the large stone house purchased by his father in St. Louis, near the Mississippi River.
appointed him a United States Military Academy
cadet in 1804. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York
, was the first school of engineering in the United States
and graduated its first class in 1802. Gratiot was a member of the Class of 1806, the fourth graduating class, and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers
. He became a captain in 1808 and assisted Alexander Macomb in constructing fortifications in Charleston, South Carolina
. He returned to his alma mater
in 1810 to be commander
of the Army
garrison
at West Point during 1810-1811.
As General
William Henry Harrison
's Chief Engineer in the War of 1812
, he distinguished himself by planning and building Fort Meigs
in 1813. He also rebuilt Fort St. Joseph
, later renamed Fort Gratiot
in his honor. In 1814 he took part in the attack of the Battle of Mackinac Island
. He received the Thanks of Congress
for his efforts during the war.
He served as Chief Engineer, 1817–1818, in Michigan Territory
followed by assignment as the superintending engineer, 1819–1828, for the construction of defenses at Hampton Roads
, Virginia
.
. For ten years he administered an expanding program of river, harbor, road, and fortification construction. He also engaged in a lengthy dispute with War Department officials over benefits, and in 1838 President Martin Van Buren
dismissed him for failing to repay government funds that had been entrusted to him.
He assigned Robert E. Lee
to do engineering in the Mississippi River
at St. Louis, Missouri
.
from 1840–1855 and died in St. Louis.
Gratiot became a party to lengthy litigation against the United States government, which was appealed twice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. He was the son of Charles Gratiot, Sr.
Charles Gratiot, Sr.
Charles Gratiot was a merchant trader in the American Midwest during the American Revolution. He financed George Rogers Clark with $8,000 for his Illinois campaign, which was never reimbursed....
, a fur trader in the Illinois country
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country , also known as Upper Louisiana, was a region in what is now the Midwestern United States that was explored and settled by the French during the 17th and 18th centuries. The terms referred to the entire Upper Mississippi River watershed, though settlement was concentrated in...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, and Victoire Chouteau, who was from an important mercantile family. His father became a wealthy merchant during the early years of St. Louis. After 1796, Charles was raised in the large stone house purchased by his father in St. Louis, near the Mississippi River.
Military career
President Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
appointed him a United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
cadet in 1804. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, was the first school of engineering in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and graduated its first class in 1802. Gratiot was a member of the Class of 1806, the fourth graduating class, and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. He became a captain in 1808 and assisted Alexander Macomb in constructing fortifications in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. He returned to his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
in 1810 to be commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
at West Point during 1810-1811.
As General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
's Chief Engineer in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, he distinguished himself by planning and building Fort Meigs
Fort Meigs
Fort Meigs was a fortification along the Maumee River in Ohio during the War of 1812. It is named in honor of Ohio governor Return J. Meigs, Jr., for his support in providing General William Henry Harrison with militia and supplies for the line of forts along the Old Northwest...
in 1813. He also rebuilt Fort St. Joseph
Fort St. Joseph (Port Huron)
A short lived French fort established in 1686 by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Its heyday was in 1687 when about two hundred coureurs de bois, about five hundred Algonquian, Henri de Tonti, Nicholas Perrot, Oliver Morel de La Durantaye, and thirty French soldiers gathered there under Marquis de...
, later renamed Fort Gratiot
Fort Gratiot
Fort Gratiot was an American stockade fort in Fort Gratiot, Michigan, in Saint Clair County, Michigan.The Army constructed Fort Gratiot in 1814 as an outpost to guard the juncture of the Saint Clair River and Lake Huron. The fort took the name of the engineer supervising its construction, Charles...
in his honor. In 1814 he took part in the attack of the Battle of Mackinac Island
Battle of Mackinac Island
The Battle of Mackinac Island was a British victory in the War of 1812. Before the war, Fort Mackinac had been an important American trading post in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...
. He received the Thanks of Congress
Thanks of Congress
The Thanks of Congress are a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress originally to extend the government's formal thanks for significant victories or impressive actions by American military commanders and their troops. Although it began during the American Revolutionary...
for his efforts during the war.
He served as Chief Engineer, 1817–1818, in Michigan Territory
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...
followed by assignment as the superintending engineer, 1819–1828, for the construction of defenses at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Chief of Engineers
On May 24, 1828, Gratiot was appointed colonel of engineers, brevet brigadier general, and Chief EngineerChief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....
. For ten years he administered an expanding program of river, harbor, road, and fortification construction. He also engaged in a lengthy dispute with War Department officials over benefits, and in 1838 President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
dismissed him for failing to repay government funds that had been entrusted to him.
He assigned Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
to do engineering in the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
at St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Late life
Gratiot became a clerk in the General Land OfficeGeneral Land Office
The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...
from 1840–1855 and died in St. Louis.
Gratiot became a party to lengthy litigation against the United States government, which was appealed twice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Death and Legacy, Tributes and memorials
- His remains are interred at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum, in Section 13 of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, USA. 
M-3M-3 (Michigan highway)M-3 is a north–south state highway in the US state of Michigan in the Detroit metropolitan area. For most of its length, M-3 is known as Gratiot Avenue...
, an important highway link between Detroit and Port Huron, is more commonly known as Gratiot Avenue and was named in his honor. Before the interstate highway system was built, Gratiot Avenue was the main link, other than the railway.- Fort Gratiot, Michigan, was named after Bvt. Brig. Gen. Charles Gratiot, who oversaw its re-construction in 1814 to guard the mouth of the St. Clair River at Lake Huron. It was formerly known as Fort St. JosephFort St. Joseph (Port Huron)A short lived French fort established in 1686 by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Its heyday was in 1687 when about two hundred coureurs de bois, about five hundred Algonquian, Henri de Tonti, Nicholas Perrot, Oliver Morel de La Durantaye, and thirty French soldiers gathered there under Marquis de...
. It sports Michigan's oldest lighthouse, Fort Gratiot Light, constructed in 1829 to replace an older one. - The towns of Gratiot, Michigan, Gratiot, OhioGratiot, OhioGratiot is a village in Licking and Muskingum counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 187.-Geography:Gratiot is located at ....
, and Gratiot, WisconsinGratiot (town), WisconsinGratiot is a town in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 653 at the 2000 census. The Village of Gratiot is located within the town. The unincorporated community of Riverside is also located in the town...
, were named in his honor.
See also
- Point Gratiot Light
- Gratiot County, MichiganGratiot County, Michigan-US Highways:* US-127 routes north to I-75 and south to Lansing.* BUS US-127 is a loop route through downtown Alma.* BUS US-127 is a loop route through downtown Ithaca.* BUS US-127 is a loop route through downtown St. Louis....
- List of Michigan county name etymologies
Further reading
- Farmer, Silas. (1884) (Jul 1969) The history of Detroit and Michigan, or, The metropolis illustrated: a chronological cyclopaedia of the past and present: including a full record of territorial days in Michigan, and the annuals of Wayne County, in various formats at Open LibraryOpen LibraryOpen Library is an online project intended to create “one web page for every book ever published”. Open Library is a project of the non-profit Internet Archive and has been funded in part by a grant from the California State Library and the Kahle/Austin Foundation.-Books for the blind and...
.