Saturday, March 10, 2018

Minnesota Historical Sites - Dakota War Sites part 1


While the eyes of the nation were turned toward the conflict between North and South in 1862, in Minnesota, a Civil War of another kind burst into flames--a war that most people have never learned about.

The Dakota people, who had been quartered on a small strip of land bordering the Minnesota River in the southwest corner of the state, and who had been promised money and provisions for ceding their land, were facing starvation and hardship as those payments were delayed.

Tricked out of their land and deeply in debt to local traders, the Dakota were ripe for an uprising. In the spring of the year, tensions between the traders and the Indians boiled over, and the Dakota embarked on a rampage that laid siege to the state and resulted in the deaths of 400 Minnesota settlers.

The Minnesota Historical Society operates several sites important to preserving the history of the Dakota War of 1862.

At the epicenter of the War is the Redwood Agency, located in the southern part of what was the Dakota Reservation. The Agency was home to many traders (storekeepers,) the Indian Agent, and their families. It was here that many of the promised provisions were warehoused and kept under lock and key while the Agent waited for the annuity payment to arrive so he could parcel out goods and money at the same time.

The Lower Sioux Agency Warehouse
Photo by Erica Vetsch


It was here at the Redwood Agency, the first major attack of the War happened.

When you visit the site today, you'll see the stone warehouse, the layout of the Agency, an education center, and a short walk down to the river and the former site of the Redwood Ferry, where the occupants of the Agency fled, and where a contingent of soldiers from the nearby Fort Ridgely were massacred in a surprise attack.

My son a few years ago, sitting on a massive fallen cottonwood tree (old enough to
have been standing when the Redwood Ferry Battle occurred) on the Minnesota
River at the Lower Sioux Agency Historical Site: Photo by Erica Vetsch


You can learn much more by visiting a website administered by the Minnesota Historical Society at: http://www.usdakotawar.org/ 

Have you heard of the Dakota War? Are you familiar with the sites and the people involved?


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Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she married her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.comwhere you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!





11 comments:

  1. No, I've not heard specifically about the Dakota War. Thanks for the post. That stone building is beautiful!

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    1. It is a beautiful building and has been fully restored so you can tour it. :)

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  2. The Dakota War is new history to me. Thank you for sharing and the pictures to add to the post.

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    1. Be sure to read up more on the Dakota War. There's so much fascinating history to mine there! :)

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  3. Erica, this is the first I've heard if the Dakota War. Thank you for sharing.
    blessings , Tina

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    1. Mrs Tina, I am glad you stopped by, and glad to be able to share something new with you!

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  4. I am not familiar with the Dakota War and I thank you for sharing your interesting post.

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    1. Hi, Melanie! I'm glad you found the post of interest! :)

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  5. Because one of Dr. Riggs's sons, Alfred, was at the Santee Normal Training School here in Nebraska, in studying Alfred I learned about his father's missionary service in Minnesota and the Dakota War. Learning about that event and the tragic results inspired my 3-book Dakota Moons series. So many stories of exceptional bravery ... and then the tragedy of the aftermath. I'd never heard of this event, either ... probably because we all studied the Civil War at the expense of learning about this terrible time in the north.

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    1. Stephanie, I enjoyed your Dakota Moon series very much!

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