On August 17, 1862, four young Sioux warriors were returning from a frustrating hunt. They stopped at a farm to steal some eggs when a dispute broke out that resulted in the deaths of five whites. The Indians continued on to the home of Taoyateduta (Little Crow to whites) to inform the chief of what happened. A council was held during which Little Crow (who had visited Washington) argued that the whites were thicker than locusts and could not be easily defeated. However, when he was accused of cowardice, the war was on. The Indians knew there was no time like the present since they were aware the whites were preoccupied with the Civil War. At the time, the Minnesota Sioux were divided between the ”cut hairs” who wanted to accept white ways and the “blanket Indians” who wanted to hold onto Indian ways. In the 1850’s, the Indians were forced to sign treaties giving up 24 million acres of prime farmland in exchange for money (called annuities) equivalent to a paltry 30 cents per acre. The idea was the annuities would be used to buy food and supplies from white traders. The annuities were usually months late and the promised amounts were cut into by corrupt Indian agents and traders. The harvest of corn in 1862 was particularly bad and white hunters had killed a lot of the game the Indians relied on for meat, so frustration was high. Traders refused to offer credit and the leading trader Andrew Myrick told them to “eat grass or their own dung”. So, the initial killing unleashed great anger in Little Crow’s people. Soon the prairies were aflame. Myrick’s agency was attacked and he and 20 others were killed. His body was shot full of arrows and his mouth stuffed with grass. The rebellion quickly spread and many farmsteads were wiped out. On August 20, the main Indian force assaulted Fort Ridgely, which did not have a wall, but did have several cannons. The garrison fought off several assaults with the help of cannon fire. The nearby town of New Ulm was next. It was a juicy target with lots of goods and young women. The townsfolk put up barricades and the fight was touch and go for a few days. 190 buildings were burned and the Indians almost took the town. Fort Ridgely was relieved when a force under Col. Henry Sibley arrived. By September, he was ready to go on the counteroffensive. He marched on Wood Lake with 1,600 men (double the Indian force) and encamped. Little Crow’s force prepared an ambush, but it was blown when some warriors attacked a foraging party. Once again, cannon fire won out. The rebellion was broken. Over 800 whites had died. Many Indians surrendered and they gave up their captives. Over 300 warriors were sentenced to death. Pres. Lincoln commuted the sentences of all but 39 (after reviewing all of them). On Dec. 26, 1862, the largest single-day mass execution in American History was held. The prisoners of war were all hanged at the same time. Little Crow had escaped to Canada, but he returned a few months later and was killed while picking raspberries by a hunter who did not even know who he was. It was not murder to shoot an Indian picking berries.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dakota-uprising-begins-in-minnesota
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_War_of_1862
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/dakota-war-of-1862-what-caused-the-great-sioux-uprising/
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