This Wednesday, 9/11, following an introduction by Dave Stewart, Rotary Club of Fort Collins heard from Brian Carroll, a retired FBI agent. Tracing the provenance of a Civil War sabre he had bought at an estate sale in Wellington, Colorado, he discovered that its original owner was a young soldier, Frederick R. Baker. Brian learned that Baker was a member of the Ohio cavalry whose unit was assigned to guard President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C. Following the war, Baker had moved to Fort Collins in 1873, where he became a successful farmer, active in community affairs. Baker had served as mayor of our town (and County Commissioner) several terms before his death in 1906. Most of this information came from a diary that our speaker was given when he contacted Mr. Baker's family in Missouri. The diary has now been printed for public access.Entries in the diary from the Civil War days indicate the character of the young soldier at these trying times for our country. The legacy he left as a prominent citizen of Fort Collins, well-respected for his truthful character, industry and good judgment, was reflected in his obituary from the Fort Collins Courier, which our speaker had located and read to the Club.
Brian Carroll has been a resident of Fort Collins since 1996. He retired as a Special Agent with the FBI and moved to Fort Collins after his last assignment in Chicago. Post retirement he established a Security consulting firm, provided instruction for the FBI and U.S. State Department in an Anti Terrorism Program. He has worked with countries experiencing terrorist threats, and held a post as an adjunct professor with University of Denver’s University College Security Management Program. Brian is a volunteer Master Naturalist with the city, and a volunteer docent with the Fort Collins Museum of Art.