Houston County, Minnesota - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 34 of those read), 1882

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 34 of those read)

judge flandrau arrives with reinforcements - evacuation of new ulm. On the 18th of August, the day of the outbreak, a volunteer recruiting party for the Union army went out from New Ulm. Some eight miles west of that place several dead bodies were found on the road. The party turned back toward the town, and, to the surprise of all, were fired upon by Indians in ambush, killing several of their party. Another party leaving New Ulm for the Lower Agency, when seven miles above the town some fifty Indians near the road fired upon them, killing three of these men. This party returned to town. One of these parties had seen, near the Cottonwood, Indians kill a man on a stack of grain, and some others in the field. The people of the surrounding country fled for their lives into the town, leaving, some of them, portions of their families killed at their homes or on the way to some place of safety.

The people had no arms fit for use, and were perfectly panic-stricken and helpless. But the news of the outbreak had reached St Peter, and at about one o'clock of August 19th, T. B. Thompson, James Hughes, Charles Wetherell, Samuel Coffin, Merrick Dickinson, H. Cay wood, A. M. Bean, James Parker, Andrew Friend, Henry and Frederick Otto, C. A. Stein, E. G. Covey, Frank Kennedy, Thomas and Griffin Williams, and the Hon. Henry A. Swift, afterwards made Governor of Minnesota, by operation of the organic law, and William G. Hay den, organized themselves into a company, by the election of A. M. Bean, Captain, and Samuel Coffin, Lieutenant, and took up position at New Ulm, in the defense of that beleaguered place. They at once advanced upon the Indians, who were posted behind the houses in the outer portions of the place. By this opportune arrival the savage foe were held in check. These were soon joined by another arrival from St. Peter: L. M. Bordman, J. B. Trogdon, J. K. Moore, Horace Austin (since Governor), P. M. Bean, James Homer, Jacob and Philip Stetzer, William Wilkinson, Lewis Patch, S. A. Buell, and Henry Snyder, all mounted, as well as a few from the surrounding country.

By the time these several. parties had arrived, the savages had retired, after burning five buildings on the outskirts of the town. In the first battle several were killed, one Miss Paule of the place, standing on the sidewalk opposite the Dakota House. The enemy's loss is not known.

On the same evening Hon. Charles E. Flandrau, at the head of about one hundred and twenty-five men, volunteers from St. Peter and vicinity, entered the town; and reinforcements continued to arrive from Mankato, Le Sueur, and other points, until Thursday, the 21st, when about three hundred and twenty-five armed men were in New Ulm, under the command of Judge Flandrau. Captain Bierbauer, at the head of one hundred men, from Mankato, arrived and participated in the defense of the place.

Some rude barricades around a few of the houses in the center of the village, fitted up by means of wagons, boxes and waste lumber, partially protected the volunteer soldiery operating now under a chosen leader.

On Saturday, the 22d, the commandant sent across the river seventy-five of his meu to dislodge some Indians intent on burning buildings and grain and hay stacks. First Lieutenant William Huey, of Traverse des Sioux, commanded this force. This officer, on reaching the opposite shore, discovered a large body of Indians in advance of him; and in attempting to return was completely intercepted by large bodies of Indians on each side of the river. There was but one way of escape, and that was to retreat to the company of E. St. Julien Cox, known to be approaching from the direction of St. Peter. This force, thus cut off, returned with the command of Captain E. St. Julien Cox; and with this increased force of one hundred and seventy-five, Captain Cox soon after entered the town to the relief of both citizens and soldiers.

The Indians at the siege of New Ulm, at the time of the principal attack before the arrival of Captain Cox, were estimated at about five hundred,

"Their advance upon the sloping prairie in the bright sunlight was a very fine spectacle, and to such inexperienced soldiers as we all were, intensely exciting. When within about one mile of us the mass began to expand like a fan, and increasing in the velocity of its approach, continued this movement until within about double rifle-shot, when it covered our entire front. Then the savages uttered a terrific yell and came down upon us like the wind. I had stationed myself at a point in the rear where communication could be had with me easily, and awaited the first discharge with great anxiety, as it seemed to me that to yield was certain destruction, as the enemies would rush into the town and drive all before them. The yell unsettled the men a little, and just before the rifles began to crack they fell back along the whole line, and committed the error of passing the outer houses without taking possession of them, a mistake which the Indians immediately took advantage of by themselves occupying them in squads of two, three and up to ten. They poured into us a sharp and rapid fire as we fell back, and opened from the houses in every direction. Several of us rode up to the hill, endeavoring to rally the men, and with good effect, as they gave three cheers and sallied out of the various houses they had retreated to, and checked the advance effectually. The firing from both sides then became general, sharp and rapid, and it got to be a regular Indian skirmish, in which every man did his own work after his own fashion. The Indians had now got into the rear of our men, and nearly on all sides of them, and the fire of the enemy was becoming very galling, as they had possession of a large number of buildings."

Fight at the Wind- Mill. - Rev. B. O. Coffin, of Mankato, George B. Stewart, of Le Sueur, and J. B. Trogdon, of Nicollet, and thirteen others, fought their way to the wind-mill. This they held during the battle, their unerring shots telling fearfully upon the savages, and finally forcing them to retire. At night these brave men set fire to the building, and then retreated within the barricades, in the vicinity of the Dakota House. During the firing from this mill a most determined and obstinate fight was kept up from the brick post-office, where Governor Swift was stationed, which told most fatally upon the foe, and from

Captain William B. Dodd. - When the attack was made upon the place the Indians had succeeded in reaching the Lower Town. The wind was favoring them, as the smoke of burning buildings was carried into the main portion of the town, behind which they were advancing. "Captain William B. Dodd, of St Peter, seeing the movement from that quarter, supposed the expected reinforcements were in from that direction. He made at once a superhuman effort, almost, to encourage the coming troops to force the Indian line and gain admittance into the town. He had gone about seventy-five yards outside the lines, when the Indians from buildings on either side of the street poured a full volley into the horse and rider. The Captain received three balls near his heart, wheeled his horse, and riding within twentyfive yards of our lines fell from his horse, and was assisted to walk into a house, where in a few moments he died, 'the noblest Eoman of them all.1 He dictated a short message to his wife, and remarked that he had discharged his duty and was ready to die. No man fought more courageously, or died more nobly. Let his virtues be forever remembered. He was a hero of the truest type!" - St. Peter Statesman.

At the stage of the battle in which Captain Dodd was killed, several others also were either killed or wounded. Captain Saunders, a Baptist minister of Le Sueur, was wounded, with many others. Howell Houghton, an old settler, was killed. The contest was continued until dark, when the enemy began to carry off their dead and wounded. In the morning of the next day (Sunday) a feeble firing was kept up for several hours by the sullen and retiring foe. The battle of New "Dim had been fought, and the whites were masters of the field; but at what a fearful price! The dead and dying and wounded filled the buildings left standing, and this beautiful and enterprising German town, which on Monday morning contained over two hundred buildings, had been laid in ashes, only some twenty-five houses remaining to mark the spot where New Ulm once stood.

On Sunday afternoon, Captain Cox's command, one hundred and fifty volunteers from Nicollet, Sibley and Le Sueur, armed with Austrian rifles, shot-guns and hunting rifles arrived. The Indians retreated, and returned no more to make battle with the forces at New Ulm.

But strange battle field. The Indians deserted it on Sunday, and on Monday the successful defenders also retire from a place they dare not attempt to hold! The town was evacuated. All the women and children, and wounded men, making one hundred and fifty-three wagon loads, while a considerable number composed the company on foot. All these moved with the command of Judge Flandrau towards Mankato.

The loss to our forces in this engagement was ten killed, and about fifty wounded. The loss of the enemy is unknown, but must have been heavy, as ten of their dead were found on the field of battle, which they had been unable to remove.

We might fill volumes with incidents, and miraculous escapes from death, but our limits absolutely forbid their introduction in this abridgement. The reader must consult the larger work for these details. The escape of Governor Swift, Flandrau and Bird, and J. B. Trogdon and D. G. Shellack and others from perilous positions, are among the many exciting incidents of the siege of New Ulm.

Omitting the story of John W. Young, of wonderful interest, we refer briefly to the weightier matters of this sad chapter, and conclude the same by the relation of one short chapter.

The Expedition To Leavenworth

During the siege of New Ulm, two expeditions were sent out from that place toward the settlements on the Big Cottonwood, and although not really forming a part of the operations of a defensive character at that place, are yet so connected with them that we give them here.

On Thursday morning, the 21st of August, a party went out on the road to Leavenworth for the purpose of burying the dead, aiding the wounded and bringing them in, should they find any, and to act as a scouting party. They went out some eight miles, found and buried several bodies, and returned to New Ulm, at night, without seeing any Indians.

On Friday, the 22d, another party of one hundred and forty men, under command of Captain George M. Tousley, started for the purpose of rescuing a party of eleven persons, women and children, who, a refugee informed the commandant, were hiding in a ravine out toward Leavenworth.- Accompanying this party were Drs. A. W. Daniels, of St. Peter, and Ayer,, of Le Sueur.

Statement Of Ralph Thomas

Dr. Daniels, who had resided among the Sioux several years as a physician to the lower bands, had, for the first time, some conception of the extent and magnitude of the outbreak.

As the main object of the expedition had already been accomplished - t*. e.t the rescue of the women and children - Dr. Daniels urged a return to New Ulm. The question was submitted to the company, and they decided to go on, and proceeded to within four miles of Leavenworth, the design being to go to that place, remain there all night, bury the dead next day, and return.

It was now nearly night; the cannonading at the fort could still be heard; Indian spies were, undoubtedly, watching them; only about one hundred armed men were left in the town, and from his intimate knowledge of the Indian character, Dr. Daniels was convinced that the safety of their force, as well as New Ulm itself, required their immediate return.

A halt was called, and this view of the case was presented to the men by Drs. Daniels, Ayer, and Mayo. A vote was again taken, and it was decided to return. The return march commenced at about sundown, and at one o'clock a. m. they reentered the village.

Ralph Thomas, who resided on the Big Cottonwood, in the county of Brown, had gone with many of his neighbors, on Monday, the 18th of August, into New Ulm for safety, while William Carroll and some others residing further up the river, in Leavenworth, had gone to the same place to ascertain whether the rumors they had heard of an uprising among the Sioux were true. Mr. Thomas makes the following statement of the doings of this little party, and its subsequent fate:

"There were eight of us on horseback, and the balance of the party were in three wagons. We had gone about a mile when we met a German going into New Ulm, who said he saw Indians at my place skinning a heifer, and that they drove bim off, chasing him with spears. He had come from near Leavenworth. We kept on to my place, near which we met John Thomas and Almon Parker, who had remained the night before in a grove of timber, one and a half miles from my place. About eight o'clock the evening before, they had seen a party of ten or twelve Indians, mounted on ponies, coming toward them, who chased them into the grove, the savages passing on to the right, leaving them alone. They stated to us that they had seen Indians that morning traveling over the prairie southward. We stopped at my place and fed our horses. While the horses were eating, I called for three or four men to go with me to the nearest houses, to see what had become of the people. We went first to the house of Mr. Mey, where we found him and his family lying around the house, to all appearance dead. We also found here Joseph Emery and a Mr. Heuyer, also apparently dead. We bad been here some five minutes viewing the scene, when one of the children, a girl of seven years, rose up from the ground and commenced crying piteously. I took her in my arms, and told the other men to examine the other bodies and see if there were not more of them alive. They found two others, a twin boy and girl about two years old; all the rest were dead.

"We next proceeded to the house of Mr. George Raeser, and found the bodies of himself and wife lying near the house by a stack of grain. We went into the house and found their child, eighteen months old, alive, trying to get water out of the pail. We then went back to my place, and sent John Thomas and Mr. Parker with an ox-team to New Ulm with these children. Mr. Mey's three children were wounded with blows of a tomahawk on the head; the other child was uninjured. We then went on toward Leavenworth, seeing neither Indians nor whites, until we arrived at the house of Mr. Seaman, near which we found an old gentleman named Riant concealed in a slough among the tall grass. He stated to us that a party of whites with him had been chased and fired upon by a party of Inciians. It consisted of himself, Luther Whiton, George W. Covill and wife, Mrs. Covill'8 son, Mrs. Hough and child, Mr. Van Guilder and wife and two children, and Mr. Van Guilder's mother. All these Mr. Biant said had scattered over the prairie. We remained about two hours, hunting for the party, and not finding them, turned back toward New Ulm, taking Mr. Biant with us. We proceeded down opposite my place, where we separated, eleven going down on one side of the Big Cottonwood, to Mr. Tuttle's place, and seven of us proceeded down on the other, or north side of the stream. The design was to meet again at Mr. Tuttle's house, and all go back to New Ulm together; but when we arrived at Tuttle's, they had gone on to town without waiting for us, and we followed. When near Mr. Hibbard's place we met Mr. Jakes going west. He Said that he had been within a mile of New Ulm, and saw the other men of our party. He

44 When we came to the burning stacks we halted to look for Indians. Our comrades were half an hour ahead of us. When they got in sight of the town, one of them, Mr. Hinton, rode up on an elevation, where he could overlook the place, and saw Indians, and the town on fire in several places. He went back and told them that the Indians had attacked the town, and that he did not consider it safe for them to try to get in, and proposed crossing the Cottonwood, and going toward the Mankato road, and entering town on that side. His proposition was opposed by several of the party, who thought him frightened at the sight of half a dozen Indians. They asked him how many he had seen. He said some forty. They came up and looked, but could see but three or four Indians. Mr. Carroll told them they had better go on, and, if opposed, cut their way through. He told Hinton to lead, and they would follow. They passed down the hill, and met with no opposition until they came to a slough, half a mile from the town. Here two Indians, standing on a large stone by the side of the road, leveled their double-barreled guns at Mr. Hinton. He drew his revolver, placed it between his horse's ears, and made for them. The balance of the company followed. The Indians retired to cover without firing a shot, and the company kept on until they had crossed the slough, when the savages, who were lying in ambush, arose from the grass, and firing upon them, killed five of their number, viz. : William Carroll, Almond Loomis, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Riant, and a Norwegian, and chased tjjie balance into the town.

44We came on about half an hour afterward, and passing down the hill, crossed the same slough, and unconscious of danger, approached the fatal spot, when about one hundred and fifty savages sprang up out of the grass and fired upon us, killing five horses and six men. My own horse was shot through the body, close to my leg, killing him Instantly. My feet were out of the stirrups in a moment, and I sprang to the ground, striking on my hands and feet. I dropped my gun, jumped up, and ran. An Indian, close behind, discharged the contents of both barrels of a shot-gun at me. The charge tore up the ground at my feet, throwing dirt all around me as I ran. I made my way into town on foot as fast as I could go. No other of our party escaped; all the rest were killed. Reinforcements from St. Peter came to