Minnesota Massacre Information
Battles were fought at Fort Ridgely, now a state park, and at New Ulm. A small band of Indians had killed a Swedish settler's wife and children.
History of Fort Ridgely: In the spring of 1853, the steamboat West Newton left Fort Snelling to journey up the Minnesota River, bound for a plateau above the river in Nicollet County. The steamboat carried soldiers and their families, carpenters, and supplies. The people were assigned to build a fort at the edge of the Dakota reservation. The fort was named "Ridgely" in honor of three men of the same name who had died during the Mexican War. Fort Ridgely was complete by 1855. Before long, Fort Ridgely developed into a self-sufficient community populated by 300 soldiers and civilians. The Fort played a role in the U.S. Dakota Conflict of 1862 when it was attacked twice by Dakota Indians. Fort Ridgely closed in 1872 after which local farmers used the buildings. The first purchase of land for the park occurred in 1896 as a war memorial to those who fought in the U.S. Dakota Conflict. More acres were purchased in 1911 when the site was designated as a state park.
Chief Whitecap(Wapahaska) and Chief Standing Buffalo(Tatankanaje) fled to Canada following the Minnesota Massacre in 1862. The two Chiefs feared for their lives because the United States Government thought that they were directly involved in the massacre. With the United States Government on their trail, they fled north and slipped into Canada via the Souris River. Their escape was dire for it was apparent that Governor Ramsay of Minnesota intended to eliminate every Dakota in the territory because of the massacre and the two chiefs believed that the only place they could seek solace would be in British territory.
Dakota Conflict of 1862
Minnesota Massacre
Fort Ridgely State Park
Minnessota Historic Sites: Fort Ridgely State Park
HPS: Battle Summaries of Fort Ridgely
Fort Ridgely Minnesota American Civil War
Minnesota Civil War Map of Battles
Whitecap Dakota/Sioux First Nation
Battle Summaries of Fort Ridgely (photos)
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