Early fighting
On August 16, 1862, the treaty payments to the Dakota arrived in
St. Paul, Minnesota, and were brought to
Fort Ridgely the next day. They arrived too late to prevent violence. On August 17, 1862, four young Dakota men were on a hunting trip in
Acton Township, Minnesota, during which one stole eggs and then killed five white settlers.
[9] Soon after, a Dakota war council was convened and their leader,
Little Crow, agreed to continue attacks on the European-American settlements to try to drive out the whites.
On August 18, 1862, Little Crow led a group that attacked the Lower Sioux (or Redwood) Agency. Andrew Myrick was among the first who were killed.[
citation needed] He was discovered trying to escape through a second-floor window of a building at the agency. Myrick's body later was found with grass stuffed into his mouth. The warriors burned the buildings at the Lower Sioux Agency, giving enough time for settlers to escape across the river at Redwood Ferry. Minnesota
militia forces and B Company of the
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment sent to quell the uprising were defeated at the
Battle of Redwood Ferry. Twenty-four soldiers, including the party's commander (Captain John Marsh), were killed in the battle.
[10] Throughout the day, Dakota war parties swept the Minnesota River Valley and near vicinity, killing many settlers. Numerous settlements including the Townships of Milford, Leavenworth and Sacred Heart, were surrounded and burned and their populations nearly exterminated.
Early Dakota offensives
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1912 lithograph depicting the 1862 Battle of Birch Coulee, by Paul G. Biersach (1845-1927)
Confident with their initial success, the Dakota continued their offensive and attacked the settlement of
New Ulm,
Minnesota, on August 19, 1862, and again on August 23, 1862. Dakota warriors initially decided not to attack the heavily defended
Fort Ridgely along the river. They turned toward the town, killing settlers along the way. By the time New Ulm was attacked, residents had organized defenses in the town center and were able to keep the Dakota at bay during the brief siege. Dakota warriors penetrated parts of the defenses enough to burn much of the town.
[11] By that evening, a thunderstorm dampened the warfare, preventing further Dakota attacks.
Regular soldiers and militia from nearby towns (including two companies of the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry then stationed at Fort Ridgely) reinforced New Ulm. Residents continued to build barricades around the town.
During this period, the Dakota attacked Fort Ridgely on August 20 and 22, 1862.
[12][13] Although the Dakota were not able to take the fort, they ambushed a relief party from the fort to New Ulm on August 21. The defense at the
Battle of Fort Ridgely further limited the ability of the American forces to aid outlying settlements. The Dakota raided farms and small settlements throughout south central Minnesota and what was then eastern
Dakota Territory.
Minnesota militia counterattacks resulted in a major defeat of American forces at the
Battle of Birch Coulee on September 2, 1862. The battle began when the Dakota attacked a detachment of 150 American soldiers at Birch Coulee, 16 miles (26 km) from Fort Ridgely. The detachment had been sent out to find survivors, bury American dead and report on the location of Dakota fighters. A three-hour firefight began with an early morning assault. Thirteen soldiers were killed and 47 were wounded, while only two Dakota were killed. A column of 240 soldiers from Fort Ridgely relieved the detachment at Birch Coulee the same afternoon.
Attacks in northern Minnesota
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Settlers escaping the violence, 1862
Farther north, the Dakota attacked several unfortified
stagecoach stops and river crossings along the
Red River Trails, a settled trade route between
Fort Garry (now
Winnipeg,
Manitoba) and
Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the
Red River Valley in northwestern Minnesota and eastern Dakota Territory. Many settlers and employees of the
Hudson's Bay Company and other local enterprises in this sparsely populated country took refuge in
Fort Abercrombie, located in a bend of the
Red River of the North about 25 miles (40 km) south of present-day
Fargo, North Dakota. Between late August and late September, the Dakota launched several attacks on Fort Abercrombie; all were repelled by its defenders.
In the meantime,
steamboat and
flatboat trade on the Red River came to a halt. Mail carriers, stage drivers and military couriers were killed while attempting to reach settlements such as
Pembina, North Dakota, Fort Garry,
St. Cloud, Minnesota, and
Fort Snelling. Eventually, the garrison at Fort Abercrombie was relieved by a U.S. Army company from Fort Snelling, and the civilian refugees were removed to St. Cloud.