Charles Gratiot

Charles Chouteau Gratiot (August 29, 1786 – May 18, 1855) was born in St. Louis, Spanish Upper Louisiana Territory, now the present-day State of 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. He made a career out of being a U.S. Army military engineer, becoming the Chief Engineer of the United States Corps of Engineers, and supervised construction of a number of important projects. He was dismissed by William Henry Harrison, which led to a protracted controversy.