I thought this Memorial Day that I would share some passages from that book that relate to the military service of the Captain's father, Joseph Marie, who was the first La Barge in this great country of ours.
Captain La Barge was of the sixth generation from his Norman ancestors. His father, Joseph Marie La Barge, was born at Assumption, Quebec, July 4, 1787. He emigrated to St. Louis about 1808, just as he was arriving of age. He traveled by the usual route, up the Ottawa River and through the intricate system of waterways in northern Ontario which leads to Georgian Bay and to Lake Huron. Thence he went by way of Mackinaw Strait and Lake Michigan to Green Bay, and along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to the Mississippi, which he descended to St. Louis. He used a single birch-bark canoe all the way, with only eight miles of portage.
At the time when the Sac and Fox Indians were giving the government so much trouble, and endangering human life all along the upper Mississippi, La Barge senior was employed in the perilous business of carrying dispatches to Rock Island, having volunteered for this service when others refused to go. He served in the War of 1812, and was present in the battle of the River Raisin, or Frenchtown, January 22, 1813, and was there shot in the hand, losing two fingers. He also received a tomahawk wound on the head, and carried the scar through life. He became naturalized as a result of this service in the army. Although entitled to a pension under the laws of the United States, he never asked for nor received any.
LaBarge was present in General Ashley's disastrous fight with the Aricara Indians on the Missouri River in 1823, and was the man who cut the cable of one of the keelboats so that it might drift out of range of the fire of the Indians.
This next story really tickles me because I can see that certain personality traits do indeed carry on through the generations.
In the later years of General Harney's life he used to send for Captain La Barge to come and talk over old times. On one of these occasions he gave the Captain the following story; "Your father," he said, "was the only man who ever scared me. We were ascending the Missouri River on a keelboat laden with troops and supplies, he in charge of the boat, and I, a lieutenant, on with the soldiers. In one place the boat had to round a sharp point, where there was an accumulation of driftwood. The current was very strong, and it required the utmost efforts of the men to stem it. When we reached the most difficult place, the Captain stimulated his men by calling out to them (in the French language), 'Hale fort! Hale fort!' (Pull hard! Pull hard!). I didn't understand French, but thought I detected in the Captain's language something like the military command, 'Halt!' As some of the troops were on the line with the voyageurs, and as they might not understand, I thought I could help the Captain by repeating to them his command. This created some confusion, for my men began to slacken while the Captain's were pulling harder than ever. Again he commanded, 'Hale fort!' and again I called to the men to halt. The situation was extremely critical when the Captain thundered a third time, 'HALE FORT!' in a voice and manner not to be misunderstood. The men then bent to the line and finally extricated the boat from it's perilous position. The Captain then came over to where I was standing and told me that if I ever dared interfere again with his management of the boat he would pitch me into the river. I knew he meant what he said, and thereafter confined myself to my military duties."
We owe a lot to those that have gone before us, serving their country to protect our freedoms and way of life. My uncle Joseph La Barge died when his plane crashed during WWII and my father was an American army fighter pilot during that same war, surviving several crash landings and a bail out over the Mediterranean.. I have other uncles that served during war time in our military and am grateful that they made it through. During the Viet Nam war I was in college and thankfully it was ending by the time I graduated. Did I want to fight in the jungles of South East Asia? No, but if called I would have gone. Interestingly, if things had turned out different in this last story my father may have flown for the RAF and I would be bidding all of you a pleasant cheerio.
"I can safely recommend him (Joseph Marie La Barge) to any traveler, as the best person in his line I have ever met - intelligent, sober, obliging, and never afraid to encounter any difficulty that may occur." - THREE YEARS IN NORTH AMERICA, by James Stuart, who traveled in the United States, 1828-1830, and employed La Barge to convey him on his journeys in the vicinity of St. Louis and as far east as Vincennes, Ind. He was very anxious to adopt the young child, Joseph La Barge, and take him to England and educate him, but the parents would not consent.
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