SERVICES IN MINNESOTA AGAINST THE SIOUX INDIANS--1862-63.
Immediately after the organization of the company the usual recruit
life began. Military clothing and equipments were issued, squad drill
commenced, and light guard duty done in and around the fort. The
quarters of the company were two rooms on the northern side of the
parade grounds, with a kitchen and dining room below. Fritz Stirneman,
a civilian, but an ex-soldier of the First Regiment, assisted by
Rossion, was hired to do the cooking.
The monotony of barrack life, however, did not last long. The news of
the outbreak of the Sioux Indians in the western part of the state
turned all thoughts from anticipations of Southern campaigns to the
necessities of the hour. The regiment was put on a war footing, orders
to march were issued, and arms and accoutrements supplied to the men;
four Sibley tents being allowed for the enlisted men of each company.
On the 20th of August the first battalion of the Sixth Regiment,
consisting of three companies, left Fort Snelling for the scene of the
massacre, and, together with Company A, which had been ordered to march
across the country, arrived at St. Peter on the 22nd. All being ready,
the second battalion, including Company E, embarked on the evening of
the 22nd, on the steamboat _Wilson_ for the upper Minnesota River. At
the time of embarkation the aggregate strength of the company was 94,
the number present being 84; the absentees being Lieutenant Exel, on
recruiting service; John, Harrfeldt, Kraemer, Martin, Meyer, Praxl, and
Radke, on furlough; Dreis and Fandel, who had not yet joined; and
Porth, left behind at the fort on account of inability to march.
On the morning of the 23rd we disembarked at Shakopee, 24 miles from
the fort. From this day commenced the official organization of the
regiment, it being the date of Colonel William Crooks' commission. The
route followed was through Jordan, Belle Plaine, and Henderson, to St.
Peter, where we arrived on the 24th. All the companies of the Sixth
were now concentrated at this point, where an expeditionary force was
collecting for the relief of Fort Ridgley, then sorely pressed by the
Indians. On the 26th the expedition commenced the march, and arrived at
the fort on the 28th; the regiment encamping on the prairie near by.
H. Henricks was appointed wagoner of the company on the 30th. Also on
that day Louis Thiele, a Prussian settler of the neighborhood, whose
family had been murdered by the Indians, enlisted in the company as a
private.
On the 31st an expedition under the command of Major Joseph E. Brown,
consisting of the Union Guards (Company A), under Captain Grant, and a
detail of men from the other companies of the Sixth Regiment, and the
Cullen Guards under Captain Anderson, was dispatched to the Lower
Agency to bury the dead, and ascertain if possible the position of the
enemy.
Early on the morning of September 2nd, rapid firing was heard in the
direction of the Agency. The scouts reported that the detachment under
Major Brown was attacked and surrounded at Birch Coolie, 20 miles from
the fort and 3 miles from the Lower Agency. A second detachment under
Colonel McPhail, consisting of the Hickory Guards (Company B), Sigel
Guards (Company E), Young Men's Guard (Company G), of the Sixth
Regiment, under Major McLaren, also some cavalry and one howitzer under
Captain Mark Hendricks, was at once sent forward to their relief. When
within three miles of the beleaguered force, the demonstrations of the
Indians became so threatening--coming near enough to shoot one of the
horses--that the commander of the relieving party, not daring to fight
his way through, made a halt, had the horses unhitched, and disposed
the men to meet the expected attack, but, as the enemy did not return
any nearer to us, we shortly fell back some distance to a better
position. Night soon came on and it was spent watchfully by the men
behind their corralled wagons, the silence being broken only by the
occasional firing of the howitzer. The firing had been heard at the
fort and towards morning the little force was strengthened by the
arrival of the remainder of the Sixth Regiment, the Seventh Regiment,
which had just arrived at the fort, and two pieces of artillery. About
daylight on the 3rd, the combined forces were drawn up in line of
battle, ready to move; the Indians soon appeared and commenced the
attack, but the return fire was so heavy, and evidently so unexpected,
that they almost immediately retreated to the woods in the coolie, from
which they were driven by the heavy fire delivered by the artillery.
The Indians having been repulsed, the whole force continued their march
to Birch Coolie camp, and the Indians then abandoned the attack of the
party there, though the soldiers of the first relieving party were not
allowed the honor of driving them, which was given to the Seventh
Regiment. After burying the dead and attending to the wounded, the
troops returned to their camp at Fort Ridgley.
Five men of the company were with the original detachment at the battle
of Birch Coolie. R. Mueller and Klinghammer were severely wounded, the
former in the side and arm, and the latter in the leg. They were cared
for at the post hospital. Dreis and Fandel were there, having
accompanied the volunteer cavalry from St. Paul; Dreis joined on the
4th and Fandel, being wounded in the hand, went to the hospital.
Thiele, too, was present at this fight. About this time Lieutenant Exel
with the seven furloughed Winona men returned.
Shortly after this affair the order of the adjutant general of the
state was received and published, fixing the letters of the companies
according to the rank of the respective captains. The Sigel Guards were
the fifth company, and so became E; in position it was therefore the
seventh from the right wing of the regiment, and had, when marching
during the summer, Company A of the Ninth Regiment in front, and
Company K of the Sixth in the rear.
While preparations for the campaign were progressing, the troops were
drilled daily in the "school of the soldier" and "of the company;" and,
among other things, trenches were dug at the fort, and beyond the
camps. About the middle of the month Eberdt was detailed as regimental
pioneer.
On the 18th of the month the expeditionary force took up the line of
march from its base at Fort Ridgley. Crossing at the ferry near by, the
route pursued was on the south side of the Minnesota River, fording the
Red Wood at the usual place, and touching Wood Lakes, about three miles
from Yellow Medicine, which was reached on the 22nd. On the morning of
the 23rd the Indians surprised a foraging party half a mile distant
from the camp. The Third Regiment formed in line, and, crossing a
ravine, opened fire on the Indians, but immediately received orders to
fall back. The Third recrossed the ravine, and, the Renville Rangers
coming to their support, the Indian advance was checked. Captain
Hendricks placed his artillery in a raking position at the head of the
ravine, and soon dislodged the enemy. On the right, Colonel Marshall
with five companies of the Seventh Regiment, and Companies A and I of
the Sixth under Lieutenant Colonel Averill, charged and drove the
Indians from their position. On the left, a similar flank movement was
repelled by Major McLaren with Companies F and K of the Sixth, while
the remainder of the regiment was held in reserve. The action lasted
about two hours, at the end of which time, the Indians being unable to
withstand the murderous fire of shot and shell rained upon them, fled
with great precipitation, and thus ended the battle of Wood Lake. The
whole plan of battle seems to have been of defense, fought on the old
lines of chivalry--man for man, instead of bringing all the troops in
line of action and dealing the enemy a crushing blow at the beginning.
This mode of action may have been very nice from an Indian's point of
view, but the men in the reserve who stood in line of battle for nearly
two hours, and those engaged at the front who were held back and not
allowed to drive the enemy, would have preferred a little less chivalry
and a few more dead Indians.
On the 25th the line of march was again taken up, and on the 26th we
arrived at the camp of the "so-called" friendly Indians, where were
most of the white captives taken during the insurrection, and who in a
day or two were delivered up. This place was nearly opposite the mouth
of the Chippewa River, and near by, about a quarter of a mile south of
the Minnesota River, was formed the camp ever afterwards to be known in
local history as Camp Release, from this memorable surrender of
captives there.
On the 4th of October, Captain Whitney, with two companies of the Sixth
and one from the Seventh, was sent below in charge of the Indian
prisoners to gather the crops in the vicinity of the Yellow Medicine
Agency. On the 5th all the company present, 91 in number, were mustered
into the military service of the United States, "for three years from
their respective dates of enrollment." On the 13th, Colonel Marshall
was sent to the westward with a detachment consisting of Company G of
the Sixth Regiment, 100 men of the Third, and one howitzer, in quest of
the Indians reported to be near the headwaters of the Lac qui Parle
River and Two Lakes (Mde-nonpana) in the Coteaus. The expedition
returned on the 21st, having penetrated the prairies nearly to the
James River, and having in charge about 150 Indian prisoners, including
men, women and children.
By company order of September 22nd, Corporal Huth was promoted to fifth
sergeant, and Privates J. Smith and Martin appointed seventh and eighth
corporals, respectively. On October 13th warrants bearing the same date
were made out and signed by the colonel for all the non-commissioned
officers, making the grades agree with said order, but causing them to
take effect from the 18th of August. On the 14th Company F left for
Yellow Medicine to reinforce Captain Whitney. On the night of the 15th,
Captain Merriman, with Company B and 35 mounted men (including 25
scouts), made a raid beyond the lower Lac qui Parle, and captured 23
lodges, in all 67 Indians. On the 18th W. A. Hill rejoined. While at
Camp Release the duty performed was chiefly guarding the Indian
prisoners, foraging, and serving on camp guard,--a very strict and
irksome one. Company drill in the morning and battalion drill in the
afternoon were also required.
Though within sixty miles of depots of supplies, and though the
majority of the fighting men of the insurgent Indians had either been
captured, or had surrendered, or retreated further up the Minnesota
river, the rank and file of this small army had here to suffer for the
want of commissary stores,--truly following the advice of the ancient
philosopher to leave off eating with yet a little appetite. Had it not
been for the potatoes of the Indian gardens and cattle of the
slaughtered and fugitive settlers--which provisions, though costing
nothing to the government at the time, were made to offset the amounts
due for non-issued rations, the source of "company funds"--we would
have been nearly starved.
The return march was begun on the 23rd of October, on which day the
weather turned suddenly cold and a high wind rose, which blew down many
of the tents at Yellow Medicine that night. Arrived at the Lower Agency
on the 25th, and then went into camp at Camp Sibley; and remained there
till the 8th of November, and then resumed the march. The next day the
company was detailed as guard for the prisoners, two men being assigned
to each wagon. Though the troops left the village of New Ulm a mile or
more to the left, yet the citizens, exasperated at the sight of the
Indians in the wagons guarded by the soldiers, lined the road opposite
the town in great excitement, hurling stones and endeavoring to get at
the Indians, in which they partly succeeded. On the 10th we arrived at
Blue Earth River bridge, and camped a little beyond it, on the townsite
of Le Hillier (L'Huillier) and immediately south of the isolated bluff
at the mouth of the river,--the camp being called Camp Lincoln.
Here Eberdt was relieved. Fischer left on the 15th on furlough, from
which he never returned; Juergens and Knobelsdorff, sick, were sent to
the hospital at Mankato the same day. Gaheen, Gantner, Meyer and Parks
had been detailed or detached as regimental teamsters during parts of
October and November, but by this time were all with the company again
for duty.
The regiment marched, by the way of Mankato, to St. Peter, on the 17th,
having traveled to the latter place, since leaving Fort Snelling in
August, as a regiment of the expeditionary brigade, about 350 miles.
The campaign being terminated, the companies departed to their various
assigned winter stations,--Companies A, B, G, H, and K for Fort
Snelling; D for Forest City; E for Hutchinson, McLeod county; and C, F,
and I for Glencoe. Lieutenant Holl was detailed as quartermaster and
commissary for the company during its separation from the regiment.
On the 18th of November we left St. Peter with Companies C, D, and F:
four miles beyond New Auburn parted with C and F, and with D at
Hutchinson, where we arrived on the 20th. This place was already
garrisoned by Company B of the Ninth Regiment, quartered in good log
houses, but there was no accommodation for the newly-arrived company,
and fatigue parties had at once to be set to work cutting and hauling
logs for building. The season, however, being too far advanced, the
work was abandoned, permission having been obtained to hire quarters at
Kingston instead. On the 24th Dreis died of diphtheria. He was buried
in the village burial-grounds near by. Seven men had to be left at
Hutchinson on departure,--five sick and two as nurses.
On the 28th we left for Kingston, traveling by the way of Greenleaf,
Round Lake, and Forest City, and reaching destination the next day. An
old frame store near the mill on the west bank of the Crow River was
used for barrack purposes, and by the erection of a log kitchen and
bake house, with some other improvements, served the purpose very well.
Duties were light, provisions good and ample in quantity, and the time
passed pleasantly enough. A system of furloughs was inaugurated, and
every man had the privilege of fifteen days' leave of absence. After
the departure of Fischer, Koenig had to cook alone, and when he went on
furlough, December 16th, Gantner and Rossion conducted the kitchen in
the interim. Sergeant Burch left on furlough on the 16th, but being
detailed in St. Paul at District Headquarters he did not return to the
company at the expiration of his leave of absence; also Griebler, who
did not return to Kingston either. Sergeant Scheer was reduced to the
ranks at his own request on the 20th, and on the same day Corporal
Burch was, by company order, promoted to fifth sergeant; also privates
Neierburg and Eheim were appointed, respectively, seventh and eighth
corporals, on the 4th of January, 1863, to fill vacancies, the enlisted
men having shown their preferences by special election; the same day
also Gaheen and Hauck were similarly recommended for company cooks, and
were detailed as such. Juergens rejoined on the 13th. A. J. Hill left
for Washington, D.C., in obedience to orders from the Headquarters of
the Army requiring him to report there for duty; same day John left on
furlough, but, becoming ill, did not return to the company at its
expiration. Sproesser was detailed as company fifer on February 1st.
Klinghammer rejoined, sick, on the 6th; he having been mustered in at
Fort Ridgley on the 13th of October.
The company being ordered to Fort Snelling, where the headquarters of
the regiment were, left Kingston on the 27th of February, on the
arrival of Company H, which relieved it, and traveled, in sleighs
mostly, by the way of Clear Water and Dayton, reaching the fort on the
1st of March. Quarters were assigned it in the old barracks, near the
sutler's store, and the usual routine of drill and guard duty began
again. Here Fandel joined, sick, and Griebler rejoined. Jakobi was
detailed as company bugler on the 22nd, and John rejoined on the 29th.
Private Kobelitz was on the 1st of April honorably discharged, for
disability. The regiment went into camp on the river, about a mile
above the fort, on the 4th, and Sibley tents were issued as before.
George Paulson left on detached service for Yellow Medicine on the
12th, afterwards (in June) acting as orderly at regimental
headquarters. William Gabbert, a Prussian, resident of St. Paul,
enlisted as private in the company on the 13th. Privates Griebler and
Maurer left on the 17th on a (forged) pass, but did not return at the
proper time, and were afterwards found to have deserted. Privates
Harrfeldt, W. A. Hill, and Meyer were, by District order of the 1st of
May, transferred to the Third Minnesota Battery.