Sibley reports again to Gov. Ramsey from St. Peter

"ST. PETER, Aug. 24, 1862 - 10:30 a.m.

"Governor RAMSEY,
St. Paul,

"DEAR SIR:  I refer you for details to my official communication to the adjutant general, and I trust my requisitions and recommendations will meet your approbation and be carried out in every particular  There is no use to disguise the fact that unless we can now and very effectually, crush this rising, the state is ruined, and some of its fairest portions will revert for years into the possession of these miserable wretches, who among all devils in human shape are among the most cruel and ferocious.  To appreciate this, one must see, as I have, the mutilated bodies of their victims.  My heart is steeled against them, and if I have the means, and can catch them, I will sweep them with the besom of death.

"Don't think there is exaggeration in the terrible pictures given by individuals.  They fall short of the dreadful reality.  This very moment the work of destruction is going on within ten miles, and yet we have not mounted force enough to spare for chasing and destroying the rascals.  A family was fired upon last night within four miles of here, and a boy killed.

"You will hear of stirring events very soon.  Cullen and Nelson will reach here to-day, and to-morrow we shall move toward the fort.  The trouble will be in keeping up our communications and guarding our rear, and the villages and people, and still retain men enough for active operations in the field.

"Please not to forget that we are without mail communications, and would like to have late papers occasionally by these special messengers.

"I have no word from my family since I left, except from some one indirectly, who saw Mrs. S. going straight to St. Paul to obtain a guard against the Indians, supposed to be lurking in the Mendota thickets.  Please send any letters there may be for me from her or others.

"Very truly yours,
H.H. SIBLEY

"I opened Flaundrau's dispatch to you, supposing it might contain something essential for me to know.  It is not of the latest.  Any letters for officers or men, send to me."

[source:  see the first post for today for the complete citation.  This dispatch found on p. 198-199 of that source]

From St. Peter, Sibley writes to Flandrau who is at New Ulm

"ST. PETER, Aug. 22, 1862.

"Hon. C.E. FLAUNDRAU,
New Ulm,

"DEAR SIR:  I have received your dispatch and that of Mr. Myrick's inclosed and have sent them to Governor Ramsey to-night.  I did not arrive with my command until after dark, the men being very much fatigued by their long march through the woods in execrable roads.  

"I send Lieutenant Cox (to whom I have issued 50 Austrian muskets) with 74 men and 48 under command of Lieutenant Buck to report to you.  My detachments from the north side have not arrived, but I hope they will be here to-morrow.  I will let you know to-morrow, if opportunity offers, should they come in, and we will act in concert in our operations.  I do not see that any advantage would be gained to the garrison in the fort by simply opening communication without the means of furnishing any supplies, but if you deem it necessary, we will make the attempt when my men all arrive.

"Captain Skaro reports that Governor Ramsey and Colonel Nelson are diligently employed in equipping 300 mounted men and 300 infantry for instant service, and that they will be here very soon.  I have no more guns to distribute.

"Write me if you need larger force to hold your position before the re-enforcements arrive.  I will act in any quarter where my small force can be effective, but it is evident that no formidable demonstration can be made until we are largely re-enforced.

"Yours very sincerely,
H.H. SIBLEY,
Colonel, Commanding."

[source:  see original post for this date, p. 197]

Sibley reports to Gov. Ramsey from St. Peter

"HEADQUARTERS INDIAN EXPEDITION,
St. Peter, Aug. 22, 1862.

"His Excellency, ALEX. RAMSEY,

"SIR: Mr. Shelley will give you a detailed statement of all the news here up to the present, and I send with him a dispatch from Judge Flandrau, giving valuable information from the New Ulm region, where he now is.

"I arrived with three companies to-day, after a very fatiguing march through the big woods, where the roads are execrable.

"I sent Lieutenants Cox and Buck, with portions of their companies from Nicollet and Sibley counties, to Judge Flandrau's aid very early in the morning.  Major Fowler is here, and his military ability should be employed here.

"If you desire me to remain in charge of operations here, I would be gratified if you would send him a commission as lieutenant colonel, which I think he would accept, although I have not asked him.

"I learn from Captain Skaro that Colonel Nelson was employed in preparing to dispatch 300 mounted men and 300 infantry here immediately.  Be sure that he brings ample supplies of Springfield muskets and ammunition.

"I learn that the United States quartermaster has these arms on hand, which he does not feel authorized to issue until the regiments of volunteers are fully organized.  I would respectfully suggest that if red tape is in the way in this emergency, that you cut it with the bayonets of a corporal's guard.

"This is no emergency of a common nature, to be dallied with in the circumlocution office.

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H.H. SIBLEY,
Colonel, Commanding"

[Source:  see previous post, p 196]

Blogger's note:  Sibley's reference to "the circumlocution office" is undoubtedly a reference to a work of Charles Dickens.  The novel "Lil Dorrit" describes the workings of a bureaucratic office where procedure is everything and action is nothing.

Sibley reports to Flandrau on his progress to Belle Plaine

"BELLE PLAINE,  Evening  21ST [AUG.], 1862,

"MY DEAR SIR:  I have just received your note of yesterday.  I leave with 225 men for St. Peter to-morrow evening, and hope to be there by 3 or 4 o'clock, from which point I will be directed in my movements by latest intelligence.  News just received here, whether true or false, state that either the fort or the outbuildings were burned last night. Don't expose yourself to attack by an overwhelming force before I unite forces with you.

"I send a special messenger to-morrow to Glencoe to recall Captain Grant with a detachment of 150 men, who I ordered from Carver to pass by Glencoe and unite with me at Fort Ridgely.  I shall direct him to make his way as rapidly as possible to St. Peter; for if the recent intelligence is to be credited, we shall need a considerable force to operate with success.

"Communicate with me at St. P. if you can.  With best wishes, believe me,

"Your friend,
H.H. Sibley

"Hon. C.E. FLANDRAU,
St. Peter or New Ulm"

[Source:  see previous post, p 195]

Note:  Flandrau organized a quick reaction force in St. Peter and was, on this date, engaging the Indians in New Ulm

Moving along Sibley's route of march

Today is the day for me to take another tour of the Dakota Conflict sites.  We will start from the Caribou shop in Edina and proceed on to Mankato. The route this morning will take us through Henderson.

We will cover the route of H.H. Sibley who had been dispatched by Governor Ramsey to lead a force against the Indians.

Sibley wrote to Governor Ramsey from Fort Snelling on August 20, 1862.

"FORT SNELLING, Aug. 20, 1862,


"His Excellency, ALEX. RAMSEY,
St. Paul, Minn.,

"SIR:  I have the honor to report that the steamer Pomeroy has arrived here, with,
however, but a portion of the fixed ammunition required, and without tents or camping equipage of any kind.

"The men detailed for the expedition are now on board, ready for departure.  I shall proceed to Shakopee with them, and endeavor to prepare transportation so as to be ready to move as soon as my quartermaster, Mr. Mills, shall have secured the articles above mentioned and other requisites, and rejoined me with them.

"The men are without cooked rations, and I trust no time will be lost in having all these articles furnished, as they are necessary, not only to the comfort of the men, but to the success of the expedition.

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H.H. SIBLEY,
Colonel, Commanding"

[source:  The Board of Commissioners, Minnesota in the Civil and Indians Wars   1861-65.  Volume II  Officials Reports and Correspondence.  St. Paul MN:  The Board of Commissioners, 1893. p. 193]

Causes of the Dakota Conflict

"It was a complex of causes that led the Indians to make war upon the white settlers in 1862, but underlying all was the simple fact that the white man wanted to move in, the red man did not want to move out, and the two were so different that they could not live side by side.

"By one treaty after another the tribes had been pushed farther west, but still the white man's land hunger was not appeased.  The Indians began to see that no matter how much of their ancestral domain they ceded, in a very short time they would be asked to relinquish more.  There was already enough land open for settlement to provide every immigrant for many years to come with a farm, but agitation for the acquisition of more persisted.  Francis Walker once said:  'The eagerness of the average American citizen of the territories for getting upon Indian lands amounts to a passion.  The ruggedest flint hill of the Cherokee or Sioux is sweeter to him than the greenest pasture which lies open to him under  the homestead laws of the United States.'

"The white man's determination to get all the Indians' land was the underlying cause of the Sioux Outbreak of 1862."

[source:  Christianson, Theodore.  Minnesota The Land of Sky-Tinted Waters   A History of the State and Its People, Chicago and New York:  The American Historical Society, 1935.  p. 345]

Curtis A. Dahlin

Recommended reading on the subject of the Dakota Conflict includes this recent title:

Dahlin, Curtis A.  "The Dakota Uprising   A Pictorial History,"  Edina MN:  Beavers Pond Press, 2009. 411 pages.

I bought my copy of this book at the Gift Shop at the Fort Snelling Historical Site.

Map of the Dakota Conflict

Thanks to  Karen Majewicz for sending me a link to a map from Folwell's History of Minnesota.  This map is labeled "Localities and Members of Victims in the Sioux Massacre and War."

http://content.mnhs.org/maps/items/show/261

Notice that we don't describe the conflict in those terms anymore.  There's a big story behind that.  At any rate, click on the link and study the map.

Beginning a new blog - Dakota Conflict

This blog is created to serve as an informational source for persons interested in the Dakota Conflict in Minnesota.  This episode in Minnesota History began on August 18, 1862 and continued for nearly six weeks.   I believe that this conflict was the most significant event in Minnesota history for one hundred years.

My name is Norman Teigen and I have been interested in the Dakota Conflict for many years.  I was raised in Mankato and now I live in Hopkins.  I have been to most of the Dakota Conflict sites.

On June 25, 2010 I will accompany three people on a day long tour of the sites.  On August 18th another tour is planned.   This tour will consist of two cars with room for eleven people.

If you are interested in joining this group, send me an e-mail.   normanteigen@gmail.com

There are many monuments across the area.  The New Sweden Indian Attack monument is located in Nicollet County.   Double click the image for best viewing.