Josiah Snelling was appointed a 1st lieutenant in the Fourth U.S. Infantry in May of 1808, when the Regiment was
reorganized, and was appointed regimental paymaster in 1809. He was promoted to captain in June of 1809 and
gallantly lead his company at the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Snelling was brevet major for distinguished services
in the battle of Brownstown in August of 1812. He was made Assistant Inspector General, with the rank of major, in
April, 1813, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel, Fourth Rifles, in February of 1814.

In April of 1814, he was made Inspector General with the rank of colonel. In May of 1815, when the Army was
reduced in size after the War of 1812, Snelling was retained as a lieutenant colonel in the Sixth Infantry. In June,
1819, he was promoted to colonel and transferred to the 5th Infantry.   In 1819 construction began on what would
later be named Fort Snelling.  Built at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, Fort Snelling was one
of several forts and posts built in the upper Mississippi Valley to contol commercial use of Mississippi, Minnesota,
and Missouri Rivers.

Josiah Snelling died, in Washington, D.C. on August 20, 1828.