US ResearchConflictsCivil WarCamp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp
Civil War

Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp

1862
Minnesota
Era
Civil War
Year
1862
Location
Minnesota
Status
Historical record
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Outcome
269 captives freed; ~2,000 Dakota surrendered.
The Battle

History & Significance

End of active Dakota War hostilities; liberation of captives and mass Dakota surrender. After Wood Lake, Col. Sibley's forces reached Camp Release where 269 white and mixed-blood captives were freed from Dakota custody. Approximately 2,000 Dakota surrendered here. Military tribunals were subsequently held leading to the largest mass execution in U.S. history (38 Dakota hanged at Mankato).

Historical context

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.

Casualties & Losses

No combat casualties at surrender

Forces Involved

Sibley's column

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp take place?
Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp took place in 1862.
Where was Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp fought?
Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp was fought in Minnesota, United States.
What was the outcome of Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp?
269 captives freed; ~2,000 Dakota surrendered.
What was the significance of Camp Release — Dakota Prisoner Camp?
End of active Dakota War hostilities; liberation of captives and mass Dakota surrender. After Wood Lake, Col. Sibley's forces reached Camp Release where 269 white and mixed-blood captives were freed from Dakota custody. Approximately 2,000 Dakota surrendered here. Military tribunals were subsequentl
More from this era

Other Civil War Engagements

Spirit Lake Massacre Aftermath — Minnesota Frontier Defense
1857
Minnesota
Battle of Wood Lake – Dakota War
1862
Minnesota
Captain Marsh Ambush at Redwood Ferry
1862
Minnesota
Massacre at Lake Shetek
1862
Minnesota
First Attack on Fort Ridgely
1862
Minnesota
Dakota War — Hutchinson Fight 1862
1862
Minnesota
Second Attack on Fort Ridgely
1862
Minnesota
Fort Snelling Internment Camp 1862–1863
1862
Minnesota
Redwood Ferry Ambush
1862
Minnesota
Redwood Agency Attack
1862
Minnesota
Yellow Medicine Agency Attack
1862
Minnesota
Lower Sioux Agency Attack
1862
Minnesota
Battle of Apple River Fort
1862
Minnesota
Minnesota — Action at New Ulm (Federal Relief Column)
1862
Minnesota
Battle of Redwood Agency — Trader Stores Attack
1862
Minnesota
Mankato Execution Site — Dakota War Aftermath
1862
Minnesota
Upper Sioux Agency — Sisseton and Wahpeton Resistance to War
1862
Minnesota
Siege of Fort Abercrombie
1862
Minnesota
All battles in Minnesota
Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Aubrey Research

Explore the history around Minnesota

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the US, drawing on NRHP records, battlefield archives, census history and geological data to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near MinnesotaView a free sample report
All Civil War Battles