Latest / History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier, Part 1 / 033 - Fort Ambercrombie Camp Release

Transcript

033 - Fort Ambercrombie Camp Release · History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier, Part 1

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Section thirty three of the History of Minnesota and Tales
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: of the Frontier, Part one. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: by Mark Sando. The History of Minnesota and Tales of
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the Frontier, Part one by Charles E. Flandrau, Section thirty three.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Fort Abercrombie. The United States Government, about the year eighteen
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: fifty eight erected a military post on the west side
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: of the Red River of the North, at a place
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: then known as Graham's Point, between what are now known
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: as the cities of Breckenridge and Fargo. Like most of
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: the frontier posts of that day, it was not constructed
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: with reference to defense, but more as a depot for
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: troops and military stores. It was then in the midst
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: of the Indian Country and is now in Richland County,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: North Dakota. The troops that had garrisoned the fort had
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: been sent south to aid in suppressing the Southern rebellion,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: and their places had been supplied by one company of
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: the fifth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, which was commanded by
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Captain John van der Hork. There was a place down
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the river and a north of the fort, about fifty
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: miles called Georgetown, at which there were some settlers and
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: a depot of stores for the company engaged in the
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: navigation of the river. At the commencement of the outbreak,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Captain van der Hork had detached about one half of
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: his company and sent them to Georgetown to protect the
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: interests centered at that point. About the twentieth of August,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: news reached Abercrombie from the Yellow Medicine Agency that trouble
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: was expected from the Indians. An expedition was on the
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: way to Bread Lake to make a treaty with the
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Chippewa Indians, consisting of the government commissioners and party, accompanied
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: by a train of thirty loaded wagons and a herd
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: of two hundred cattle. On the twenty third of August,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: news reached Fort Abercrombie that a large body of Indians
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: were on the way to capture this party. A courier
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: was at once dispatched to the train, and it sought
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: refuge in the fort. Runners were also sent to all
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: the settlements in the vicinity, and the warning spread of
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: the approaching danger. Happily, nearly all the surrounding people reached
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: the fort before the arrival of the enemy. The detachment
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: station at Georgetown was also called in. A male coach
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: that left the fort in the twenty second fell into
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: the hands of the Indians, who killed the driver and
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: destroyed the mail. The garrison had been strengthened by about
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: fifty men capable of duty from their refugees, but they
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: were unarmed. Captain vander Hork strengthened his post by all
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: means in his power and endeavored to obtain reinforcements. Captain Freeman,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: with about sixty men, started from Saint Cloud on the
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Mississippi to relieve the garrison at Abercrombie, but on reaching
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Sack's Center, the situation appeared so alarming that it was
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: deemed imprudent to proceed with so small a force, and
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: no addition could be made to it at sack Center.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Attempts were made to reinforce the fort from other points.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Two companies were sent from Fort Snelling and got as
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: far as sock Center, but the force was even then
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: deemed inadequate to proceed to Abercrombie. Part of the third
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: regiment was also dispatched from San Spelling to its relief.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: On September sixth, another expedition consisting of companies under command
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: of Captains George Atkinson and Rollo Banks, with a small
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: squad of about sixty men of the third Regiment under
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: command of Sergeant Dearborn, together with a field piece under
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Robert J. McHenry, was formed and placed under the
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: command of Captain Amil E. Berger. This command started on
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: September tenth, and after a long and arduous march, reached
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the fort on the twenty third of September, finding the
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: weaned and anxious garrison still in possession. Captain Burger had
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: been reinforced at Wyman Station on the Alexandria Road on
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: the nineteenth of September by the companies under Captains Freeman
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: and Barrett, who had united their men on the fourteenth
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: and started for the fort. The relief force monitored quite
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: four hundred men by the time it reached its destination.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: While this long delayed force was on its way, the
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: little garrison at the fort had its hands full to
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: maintain its position. On the thirteenth of August, a large
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: body of Indians made a bold raid on the post,
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: and succeeded in stampeding and running off nearly two hundred
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: head of caps and one hundred head of horses and
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: mules which were grazing on the prairie. Some fifty of
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: the cattle afterwards escaped and were restored to the post
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: by a scouting party. This band of marauders did, not, however,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: attack the fort. No one who has not experienced it
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: can appreciate the mortification of seeing an enemy despoil you
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: of your property when you are powerless to resist. An
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: attack was made on the fort on a third of September,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: and some stacks burned and a few horses captured. Several
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: men were killed on both sides, and Captain van der
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: Hork was wounded in the right arm from an accidental
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: shot from one of his own men. On September sixth,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: a second attack was made by a large force of Indians,
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: which lasted nearly all day, in which we lost two
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: men and had several wounded. No further attack was made
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: until the twenty sixth of September, when Captain Freeman's company
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: was fired on while watering their horses in the river.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: These Indians were routed and pursued by Captain Freeman's company
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: and a squad of the Third Regiment men with a howitzer.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: Their camp was captured, which contained an amount of plunder.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: A light skirmish took place on the twenty ninth of
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: September in which the enemy was routed, and this affair
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: ended the siege of Fort Abercrombie Camp Release. Colonel Sibley's
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: command made Camp release on the twenty sixth of September.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: This camp was in the nerviouscinity of a large Indian
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: camp of about one hundred and fifty lodges. These Indians
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: were composed of Upper and Lower Sioux and had generally
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: been engaged in all the massacres that had taken place
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: since the outbreak. They had with them some two hundred
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: and fifty prisoners, composed of women and children, whites and
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: half breeds. Only one white man was found in the camp,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: George Spencer, who had been desperately wounded at the Lower
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Agency and saved from death by an Indian friend of his.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: The desire of the troops to attack and punish these
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Indians was intense, but Colonel Sibley kept steadily in mind
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: that the rescue of the prisoners was his first duty,
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: and he well knew that any demonstration of violence would
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: immediately result in the destruction of the captives. He therefore
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: wisely overruled all hostile inclinations. The result was a general
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: surrender of the whole camp together with all the prisoners.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: As soon as the safety of the captives was assured,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: inquiry was instituted as to the participation of these Indians
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: and the massacres and outrages which had been so recently perpetrated.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Many cases were soon developed of particular Indians who had
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: been guilty of the grossest atrocities, and the commander decided
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: to form a military tribunal to try the offenders end
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: of Section thirty three.