Fort Union Trading Post Historic Structures Report (Part II) Historical Data Section

Catlin's 1832 sketch shows, rather indistinctly, this bastion. In his narrative he told of using one of the bastions as a studio; other than saying it had an artillery piece in it, he did not make clear which of the two he used. Maximilian, one year later, suggested that both bastions, or blockhouses, were completed, "with pointed roofs, two stories high, with embrasures and some cannon, which, though small, are fit for service." Bodmer's sketch, done at the same time, shows only the tip of the roof; this gives the impression of its being finished.

It is somewhat surprising then to read the reports of Acting-Bourgeois Hamilton in 1834-35; Sept. 17, 1834: "One bastion is roofed & shingled & pointed, the other built up as high as the pickets." Oct. 9 1834: "Miller has finished the bastions & starts to day for St. Louis." Mar. 9, 1835: "The Bastions are completed with the exception of laying down the floors but the planks are all tongue and grooved. Lancier was employed untill Christmas in finishing the attics." There are two possible explanations for this seeming contradiction. Either Maximilian and Bodmer were reporting the fort as it would appear when finished and not as it was when they were present, or, in 1834-35, stone bastions replaced earlier wooden ones.

Denig (1843) gave his usual good description of the bastions:

built entirely out of stone, and measuring 24 feet square, over 30 feet high, and the walls three feet thick; this is whitewashed. Around the top of the second stories [at the roof line] are balconies with railings, which serve for observations, and from the tops of the roofs are two flag-staffs 25 feet high, on which wave the proud Eagle of America. Two weathercocks, one a Buffalo bull, the other an Eagle complete the outsides.

Although Sprague's sketches (1843) show the two tall staffs mentioned by Denig, the earlier Bodmer sketch (1833) and all later sketches show the roof-top ornaments to be relatively short. The balcony was reached through a dormer (door or window?) on the east side of the hip roof. These galleries were completed as early as August 1835, for Larpenteur noted while "promenading on the galleries of the Bastions we saw six Indians." Kurz' and Point's sketches show the buffalo weather vane as being on the northeast bastion, thus one may presume the eagle was affixed to the top of the southwest bastion. Also, several sketches show the cardinal points of the compass mounted below the buffalo and these were probably mounted below the eagle as well. Indeed, a few later sketches confirm that something was mounted on the southwest staff.

Besides their defensive functions, the bastions served other purposes. Catlin used one as a studio. In 1835 they served as temporary storehouses while the new range of stores was being constructed (Larpenteur). Two years later, Larpenteur noted that a stock of iron was stored in the southwest bastion and that bales of blankets were moved from it to the warehouse.

When Kurz arrived at Fort Union in 1851, he noted that the stone bastions were painted white. Two years later, Stanley showed this blockhouse as still being two stories. However, sometime between 1853 and Wimar's visit in 1858, a third story, of wood, was added. The gallery with its railing remained in place. While we have no written description of this third floor, it appears in all subsequent sketches of the post. Hays' very good 1860 drawings give the best details of this addition. It is to be noted that by then the railing around the gallery had been removed and that it appears in none of the later pictures. The gallery flooring itself remained; the unknown-artist sketch having the U. S. wagon shows a guard standing on it.

One other minor change appeared in the 1866 photograph--a small stovepipe seems to be sticking out of the north side of the roof. This arrangement is reflected by Bolter's 1863 description of living in a bastion: "The quarters assigned to me were in the bastion, which commanded a most extensive and delightful view." He also mentioned stepping out of his room onto the gallery, suggesting he may have lived in this third floor room.

Only one specific mention of the armament of this bastion appears. In 1843, Denig said it had no cannon but had one small swivel.

A particular problem is the number of openings in the various sides of the three floors. There is no written description of this, and the artists were not able to agree in their renditions: