Patrick Henry Ray (1842 – 1911)
Patrick Henry Ray was born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. His father, Adam E. Ray, and his uncle, George Augustus Ray, were members of the Wisconsin State Assembly. H enlisted with the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment to fight in the American Civil War. In 1867 he received a commission in the regular army. In 1881 he set up a meteorological and magnetic observation station at Barrow, Alaska. The Ray River and the Ray Mountains were named for him in 1885.1)
United States Army Captain Patrick Henry Ray came up the Yukon River in the summer of 1897. The water was too low for his steamer so he was forced to unload and wait for the water to rise. In late September, he proceeded to Circle where there were not enough supplies to meet the needs and he heard that the situation was also serious in Dawson. Ray recommended the establishment of army bases on the Yukon River to keep the order and facilitate communication. He also recommended finding an all-American route into the interior. The U. S. Government responded with exploration parties and the construction of army posts at Tanana (Fort Gibbon) and Eagle (Fort Egbert). The Tanana post was built in 1899 under the direction of Major General Charles Stewart Farnsworth.2)
Ray commanded the District of North Alaska during the Spanish-American War. He commanded Fort Snelling and what is now Fort William Henry Harrison. He became a brigadier general in 1906.3)