County of marker: Franklin County
Location of marker: Main St. & Miller St., Colter Museum, New Haven
Marker erected: April 2, 2006
Marker erected by: Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revelation; Charity Stille Langstaff Chapter, NSDAR
Marker Text:
"PRIVATE JOHN COLTER
ca. 1775 -- 1812
John Colter, a Virginia native was recruited in Kentucky by Meriwether Lewis, to serve in the Lewis & Clark Expedition, October 1803. Colter became a valued member of the Corps of Discovery. When Colter asked to leave the expedition to trap in the mountains on August 15,1806, William Clark said…”We were disposed to be of service to any one of our party who had performed their duty as well as Colter had done, we agreed to allow him the privilege.
After several encounters with the Blackfeet Indians, while trapping beavers, he returned to a farm in what is now Missouri, married and had a son Hiram.
Military records show that Private John Colter died May 7, 1812, while serving in the United States mounted rangers, commanded by Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone.
His gravesite has never been located, but it is believed that Colter was buried several miles east of here on a bluff top overlooking the Missouri River."
More Insight:
"Pvt. John Colter, the famous mountainman, is buried near New Haven, Missouri on private land. He died on May 7, 1812 at about age 38, according to his military record. Most older biographies, including that of Burton Harris, state that Colter died of jaundice in 1813 and was buried near Dundee, Missouri at a place later pierced by a railroad tunnel and called "Tunnel Hill." A direct descendant of John Colter named Ruth Frick researched and found what is now believed to be the actual gravesite in the 1980s. Colter's grave was marked in 1988 by a small group of men called the Tavern Bluff Party. The gravestone mentions Colter's service with Nathan Boone's Rangers in the War of 1812." ~ Find-a-Grave
The War of 1812 in the western territories has been misunderstood and widely ignored by mainstream historians. In fact, interest is growing in the events, battles and skirmishes that took place in the Mississippi valley. British involvement was limited but to a certain degree effective in obtaining the help of certain tribes of native Americans to harass, rob and destroy the small American settlements on the frontier. When war was declared, the Americans began an extensive effort in creating networks of forts and military stations across the frontier. In the Missouri territory, Americans built or created over forty-five forts and raised militia groups and Missouri Rangers. In the Illinois territory, over sixty-five forts were erected, with militia and Illinois Rangers also being formed. Fort Bellefountaine near St. Louis, were "bullet proofed" and used to patrol up and down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
"Indian attacks were indiscriminate but lethal. The Battle of Cote Sans Dessein in the Missouri territory was an attempt to destroy an entire settlement by the Rock River Sac , Fox and other joining tribes. The Battle of the Sinkhole near St. Louis found the Sac and Fox leader Black Hawk surrounded, but he managed to elude his American pursuers. Campaigns against the tribes included the Peoria expedition, the removal of the Miami from the Booneslick, and the ill-fated Prairie du Chein expedition. Attacks by Indians didn't end in the Missouri territory till 1817, two years after the war was over. Individuals such as William Clark, Daniel Boone, his sons Nathan and Daniel Morgan, Henry Dodge, Augustus Chouteau, Zachary Taylor, William Ashley, John Colter, Zebulon Pike, all had parts to play in the War of the 1812 in the west." ~ 1st US Infantry & Missouri Rangers (iaw.on.ca)