Latest / History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier, Part 1 / 029 - Battle of New Ulm Part 2

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029 - Battle of New Ulm Part 2 · History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier, Part 1

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  Speaker 1: Section twenty nine of the History of Minnesota and Tales
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  Speaker 1: of the Frontier Part one. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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  Speaker 1: by Mark Sando. The History of Minnesota and Tales of
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  Speaker 1: the Frontier Part one by Charles E. Flandrau, Section twenty nine,
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  Speaker 1: Battle of New Alm, Part two. The enemy, seeing his
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  Speaker 1: advantage in firing the buildings in the lower part of
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  Speaker 1: the main street and thus gradually nearing our barricades with
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  Speaker 1: the intention of burning us out, kept up his work
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  Speaker 1: as continuously as he could, with the interruptions we made
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  Speaker 1: for him by occasionally driving him out. But his approach
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  Speaker 1: was constant, and about two o'clock a roaring conflagration was
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  Speaker 1: raging on both sides of the street, and the prospect
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  Speaker 1: looked discouraging. At this juncture, Asa white and old frontiersman
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  Speaker 1: connected with the Winnebagoes, whom I had known for a
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  Speaker 1: long time and whose judgment and experience I appreciated and valued,
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  Speaker 1: came to me and said, Judge, if this goes on,
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  Speaker 1: the Indians will bag us. In about two hours. I said,
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  Speaker 1: it looks that way. What remedy have you to suggest?
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  Speaker 1: His answer was we must make for the cottonwood timber.
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  Speaker 1: Two miles and a half lay between us and the
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  Speaker 1: timber referred to, which, of course rendered his suggestion utterly impracticable.
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  Speaker 1: With two thousand non combatants to move and I said, White,
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  Speaker 1: they would slaughter us like sheep should we undertake such
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  Speaker 1: a movement. Our strongest hold is in this town, and
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  Speaker 1: if you will get together fifty volunteers, I will drive
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  Speaker 1: the Indians out of the lower town, and the greatest
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  Speaker 1: danger will be passed. He saw at once the propriety
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  Speaker 1: of my proposition, and in a short time we had
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  Speaker 1: a squad ready and sallied out, cheering and yelling in
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  Speaker 1: a manner that would have done credit to the wildest comanches.
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  Speaker 1: We knew the Indians were congregated and forced down the street,
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  Speaker 1: and expected to find them in a sunken road about
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  Speaker 1: three blocks from more we started, but they had worked
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  Speaker 1: their way up much nearer to us, and were in
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  Speaker 1: a deep swale about a block and a half from
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  Speaker 1: our barricades. There was a large number of them, estimated
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  Speaker 1: at about seventy five to one hundred, some on ponies
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  Speaker 1: and some on foot. When the confirmation of the ground
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  Speaker 1: disclosed their whereabouts, we were within one hundred feet of them.
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  Speaker 1: They opened a rapid fire on us, which we returned
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  Speaker 1: while keeping up our rushing advance. When we were within
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  Speaker 1: fifty feet of them, they turned and fled down the street.
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  Speaker 1: We followed them for at least a half a mile,
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  Speaker 1: firing as well as we could. This took us beyond
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  Speaker 1: the burning houses, and, finding a large collection of saw logs,
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  Speaker 1: I called a halt, and we took cover among them,
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  Speaker 1: lying flat on the ground. The Indians stopped when we
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  Speaker 1: ceased to chase them, and took cover behind anything that
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  Speaker 1: afforded protection, and kept up an incessant fire upon us.
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  Speaker 1: Whenever a head or hand showed itself above the logs.
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  Speaker 1: We held them, however, in this position, and prevented their
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  Speaker 1: return toward the town by way of the street. I
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  Speaker 1: at once sent a party back with instructions to burn
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  Speaker 1: every building, fence stack, or other object that would afford
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  Speaker 1: cover between us and the barricades. This order was strictly
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  Speaker 1: carried out, and by six or seven o'clock there was
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  Speaker 1: not a structure standing outside of the barricades in that
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  Speaker 1: part of the town. We then abandoned our saw logs
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  Speaker 1: and returned to the town, and the day was won,
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  Speaker 1: the Indians not daring to charge us over an open country.
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  Speaker 1: I lost four men killed in this exploit, one of
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  Speaker 1: whom was especially to be regretted. I speak of Nwell Houghten.
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  Speaker 1: In ordinary warfare, all men stand for the same value
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  Speaker 1: as a general thing. But in an Indian fight, a
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  Speaker 1: man of cool head, an exceptionally fine shot, and armed
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  Speaker 1: with a reliable rifle is a loss doubly to be regretted.
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  Speaker 1: Houghton was famous as being the best shot and deer
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  Speaker 1: hunter in all the Northwest, and had with him his
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  Speaker 1: choice rifle. He had built a small steamboat with the
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  Speaker 1: proceeds of his gun, and we all held him in
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  Speaker 1: high respect as a fine type of frontiersman. We had
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  Speaker 1: hardly got back to the town before a man brought
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  Speaker 1: me a rifle which he had found on the ground
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  Speaker 1: near a clump of brush, and handing it to me, said,
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  Speaker 1: some Indian lost a good gun in that run. It
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  Speaker 1: happened that White was with me and saw the gun.
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  Speaker 1: He recognized it in an instant, and said Newell Houghton
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  Speaker 1: is dead. He never let that gun out of his
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  Speaker 1: hands while he could hold it. We looked where the
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  Speaker 1: gun was picked up and found Hoton dead in the brush.
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  Speaker 1: He had been scalped by some Indian who had seen
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  Speaker 1: him fall and had sneaked back and scalped him. That
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  Speaker 1: night we dug a system of rifle pits all along
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  Speaker 1: the barricades on the outside, and manned them with three
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  Speaker 1: or four men each. But the firing was desultory through
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  Speaker 1: the night, and nothing much was accomplished on either side.
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  Speaker 1: The next morning Sunday open bright and beautiful, but scarcely
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  Speaker 1: an Indian was to be seen. They had given up
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  Speaker 1: the contest and were rapidly retreating northward up the river.
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  Speaker 1: We got on occasional a shot at one, but without
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  Speaker 1: effect except to hasten the retreat, and so ended the
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  Speaker 1: second and decisive Battle of New Alm. In this fight
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  Speaker 1: between ourselves and the enemy, we burned one hundred and
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  Speaker 1: ninety buildings, many of them substantial and valuable structures. The
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  Speaker 1: Whites lost some fourteen killed and fifty or sixty wounded.
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  Speaker 1: The loss of the enemy is uncertain, but after the
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  Speaker 1: fight we found ten dead Indians in burned houses and
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  Speaker 1: in Chapparal, where they escaped the notice of their friends.
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  Speaker 1: As to their wounded, we knew nothing, but, judging from
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  Speaker 1: the lengthened character of the engagement and the number of
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  Speaker 1: their dead found, their casualties must have equalled, if not
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  Speaker 1: exceeded ours. About noon of Sunday the twenty fourth, Captain E.
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  Speaker 1: Saint Julian Cox arrived with a company from Saint Peter,
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  Speaker 1: which had been sent by Colonel Sibley to reinforce US.
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  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Hughey, who had been cut off at the ferry
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  Speaker 1: on the previous day, accompanied him with a portion of
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  Speaker 1: his command. They were welcome visitors. There were in the
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  Speaker 1: town at the time of the attack on the twenty third,
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  Speaker 1: as near as can be learned, from one thousand, two
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  Speaker 1: hundred to one thousand, five hundred non combatants, consisting of
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  Speaker 1: women and children, refugees, and unarmed citizens, all of whose
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  Speaker 1: life lives depended upon our success. It is difficult to
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  Speaker 1: conceive a much more exciting state to play for, and
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  Speaker 1: the men seemed fully to appreciate it and made no mistakes.
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  Speaker 1: On the twenty fifth, we found that provisions and ammunition
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  Speaker 1: were becoming scarce, and pestilence. Being feared from stench and exposure,
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  Speaker 1: we decided to evacuate the town and try to reach
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  Speaker 1: man Cato. This destination was chosen to avoid the Minnesota River,
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  Speaker 1: the crossing of which we deemed impracticable. The only obstacle
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  Speaker 1: between us and man Cato was the Big Cottonwood River,
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  Speaker 1: which was fordable. We made up a train of one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty three wagons, which had largely composed our barricades,
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  Speaker 1: loaded them with women and children and about eighty wounded men,
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  Speaker 1: and started a more heart rending procession was never witnessed
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  Speaker 1: in America. Here was the population of one of the
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  Speaker 1: most flourishing towns in the state abandoning their homes and property,
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  Speaker 1: starting on a journey of thirty odd miles through a
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  Speaker 1: hostile country, with the possibility of being massacred on the way,
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  Speaker 1: and no hope or prospect but the hospitality of strangers
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  Speaker 1: in ultimate beggary. The disposition of the guard was confided
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  Speaker 1: to Captain Cox. The march was successful, no Indians were encountered.
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  Speaker 1: We reached Crisp's farm, which was about half way between
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  Speaker 1: New Alm and man Cato about evening. I pushed the
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  Speaker 1: main column on, fearing danger from various sources, but camped
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  Speaker 1: at this point with about one hundred and fifty men,
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  Speaker 1: intending to return to Nuwalm or hold this point as
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  Speaker 1: a defensive measure for the exposed settlements further down the river.
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  Speaker 1: On the morning of the twenty sixth, we broke camp,
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  Speaker 1: and I endeavored to make the command return to Nualm
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  Speaker 1: or remain where they were, my object, of course, being
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  Speaker 1: to keep an armed force between the enemy and the settlements.
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  Speaker 1: The men had not heard a word from their families
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  Speaker 1: for more than a week and declined to return or remain.
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  Speaker 1: I did not blame them. They had demonstrated their willingness
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  Speaker 1: to fight when necessary, but held the protection of their
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  Speaker 1: families as paramount to mere military possibilities. I would not
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  Speaker 1: do justice to history. Did I not record that when
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  Speaker 1: I called for volunteers to return, Captain Cox and his
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  Speaker 1: whole squad stepped to the front read day to go
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  Speaker 1: where I commanded. Although I had not then heard of
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  Speaker 1: Captain Marsh's disaster, I declined to allow so small a
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  Speaker 1: command as that of Captain Cox to attempt the reoccupation
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  Speaker 1: of New alm My staff stood by me in this
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  Speaker 1: effort and a gentleman from Lessour County, mister Freeman Talbot,
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  Speaker 1: made an impressive speech to the men to induce them
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  Speaker 1: to return. The train arrived safely at Mancato on the
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  Speaker 1: twenty fifth, and the balance of the command on the
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  Speaker 1: following day, whence the men generally sought their homes. I
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  Speaker 1: immediately on arriving at man Cato, went to Saint Peter
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  Speaker 1: to inform Colonel Sibley of the condition of things in
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  Speaker 1: the Indian country. I found him on the night of
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  Speaker 1: August twenty sixth in camp about six miles out of
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  Speaker 1: Saint Peter, and put him in possession of everything that
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  Speaker 1: had happened to the westward. His mounted men arrived at
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  Speaker 1: Fort ridgely on the twenty seventh of August and were
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  Speaker 1: the first relief that reached that fort after its long siege.
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  Speaker 1: Sibley reached the fort on the twenty eighth of August
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  Speaker 1: in trenchmans were thrown up about the fort, cannon properly placed,
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  Speaker 1: and a strong guard maintained. All but ninety men of
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  Speaker 1: the culling Guard under Captain Anderson, returned home as soon
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  Speaker 1: as they found the fort was safe. The garrison was
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  Speaker 1: soon increased by the arrival of forty seven men under
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  Speaker 1: Captain Sterret, and on the first of September, Lieutenant Colonel
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  Speaker 1: William R. Marshall of the seventh Regiment arrived with a
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  Speaker 1: portion of his command. This force could not make a
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  Speaker 1: forward movement on account of a lack of ammunition and
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  Speaker 1: provisions which were long delayed. End of Section twenty nine