Lamar Fontaine

Lamar Fontaine
Born October 10, 1829
Washington County, Texas, U.S.
Died October 1, 1921
Lyon, Mississippi, U.S.
Children 3 sons, 3 daughters
Military career
Allegiance  United States of America (1846–1848)
 Confederate States of America (1861–1865)
Service/branch United States Navy
Confederate States Army
Years of service 1846–1848
1861–1865
Rank Major (CSA)

Lamar Fontaine (October 10, 1829 - October 1, 1921) was an American military veteran, surveyor, poet and author. He served in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, and he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He drew maps of Israel, Japan and China. He authored poetry and a memoir.

Early life

Fontaine was born on October 10, 1829 in Washington County, Texas, near Gay Hill.[1][2] He had a half brother, Reverend P. H. Fontaine, who became a Methodist minister.[1]

At the age of 10, Fontaine ran away from school in Austin and was captured by the Comanche; he was released four years later.[2][3] He attended school in North Carolina.[2]

Career

Fontaine joined the United States Navy and served in the Mexican–American War of 1846-1848, including the Siege of Veracruz.[1][2]

Fontaine first worked as a surveyor for the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad.[3] He explored the Amazon River with William Lewis Herndon as well as Israel (then known as Palestine), where he helped draw maps.[1][2] He drew maps of Russia and sketches of the Great Wall of China.[1] He traveled to Japan with Matthew C. Perry, and he "was instrumental in ridding the seas of the Malay pirates."[1][2]

Fontaine joined the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War of 1861-1865.[2] He served under generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.[2] He became a Major on July 28, 1863.[2] He took part in the Battle of Mine Run and the Battle of Bloody Angle.[2] He was wounded 67 times during the war.[1] During the Reconstruction era, he joined the Ku Klux Klan chapter in Hinds County and Madison County.[4]

Fontaine authored several books.[5] He composed poems, like Oenore, Only a Soldier or Dying Prisoner in Camp Chase.[1] He published his memoir, My Life and My Lectures.[1] Another book was about the Ku Klux Klan: The Cause and the Effect of the Ku Klux Klan in the South.[1] An essay he wrote about the Klan was also published in The Ku Klux Klan or Invisible Empire by Mrs S. E. F. Rose.[4]

Personal life and death

Fontaine married Miss Brickell;[5] they had three sons and three daughters.[1] They resided in Lyon, Mississippi.[1]

Fontaine died on October 1, 1921 in Lyon, Mississippi, at 92.[1][2][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Lamar Fontaine Warrior, Poet Dead At 92". Tensas Gazette. Saint Joseph, Louisiana. October 7, 1921. p. 2. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. (Registration required (help)).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Funeral Service of Major Lamar Fontaine. Some of the Interesting Features of a Very Noble Career". Jackson Daily News. Jackson, Mississippi. October 3, 1921. p. 6. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. (Registration required (help)).
  3. 1 2 "Major Fontaine Dead". The Sunflower Tocsin. Indianola, Mississippi. October 6, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. (Registration required (help)).
  4. 1 2 Rose, Laura Martin (1914). The Ku Klux Klan or Invisible Empire. New Orleans, Louisiana: L. Graham co. p. 55 – via Internet Archive.
  5. 1 2 "Maj. Lamar Fontaine Passed Away At Lyons. Was a Former Resident of Yazoo County--Well-Known Throughout the State". The Yazoo Herald. Yazoo City, Mississippi. October 4, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. (Registration required (help)).
  6. ↑ "The Passing of a Great Confederate". The Aberdeen Weekly. Aberdeen, Mississippi. October 7, 1921. p. 4. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. (Registration required (help)).


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