"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
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