ALLOUEZ (NBC 26) — One of the oldest military forts in Wisconsin, Fort Howard, is home to one of the earliest murder trials — and the ghost stories that followed.
One night in February 1832 at Fort Howard military base — before Wisconsin became a state — a soldier, Private Patrick Doyle, was in trouble.
"For drunkenness, which was a problem here at Fort Howard, starting our Wisconsin roots," said Elizabeth Jolly-Haslitt, Heritage Hill’s director of development. "He probably would have been put in the light prison."
Doyle was jailed — and wasn’t happy about it.
Watch: One of Brown County's first murders still inspires ghost stories:
Later that night, when 2nd Lt. Amos Foster went to visit Doyle in his quarters, Doyle didn’t take it kindly.
"He took a gun, I think the guard’s gun, and shot Foster," Jolly-Haslitt said.
Killed by his own man.
Nearly 200 years later, the very same coat Foster wore that night is on display at the Neville Public Museum.
"Apparently the conflict, we believe, was on the stairway," said Beth Kowalski, the museum's executive director. "And so, somehow, he must have turned for the bullet to go through him. And you can kind of see the bullet holes going through his chest cavity."
Records show Private Doyle was tried in a Brown County court and hanged, likely in the gallows near the courthouse, as an example for other soldiers.
But oral history says Lt. Foster might still be around.
"In the hospital, there’s lots of activity, like unexplained electromagnetic activity," Jolly-Haslitt said.
Foster was laid to rest at what was then called Camp Smith (now Heritage Hill), according to historian Tim Brumm.
The Fort Howard buildings were later moved down the Fox River, from what is now Green Bay to what is now Heritage Hill in Allouez — and the state park’s employees believe his spirit lives on there.
"I’ve definitely felt some chills or heard a footstep that I couldn’t explain," Jolly-Haslitt said.
They feel he was watching over the soldiers, not haunting them.
"I don’t think we have any angry, angry ghosts," Jolly-Haslitt said. "Depending on what you believe, it’s not out of the realm of possibility."
So, if you find yourself at Fort Howard in Heritage Hill, keep an eye or ear out — you might just hear the ghost of Lt. Foster roaming these walls.
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