Fort Ridgely

Fort Ridgely stood as one of the opening scenes of conflict in the Dakota War of 1862. Because it sat nearer to the Lower Sioux Agency than any other U.S. military post, this thinly defended outpost soon drew both fleeing settlers seeking safety and Dakota fighters seeking a target once violence erupted at the agency. On August 20, 1862, Dakota forces launched their assault on the fort, striking two days after a company of soldiers sent out from Ridgely toward the agency attack had already met ambush and defeat at Redwood Ferry. What followed was a siege that left much of the outpost in ruins, yet the defenders held firm and denied the Dakota a full capture. The arrival of Colonel Henry Sibley on August 27, leading 1,400 men from Fort Snelling, finally forced the besieging warriors to withdraw.

Background

Constructed from 1853 to 1855 in the southern reaches of what was then Minnesota Territory, Fort Ridgely stood as the sole military post separating the Dakota Reservation from settlers living in central Minnesota. By August 18, 1862, its garrison consisted of just 76 enlisted men and two officers from Company B, 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment, led by Captain John S. Marsh, a veteran of the First Battle of Bull Run. No stockade, trench, or other defensive works protected the post.

That same day, Dakota men descended upon the Lower Sioux Agency in Renville County seeking food that had been denied them amid growing hunger. The chief Indian Agent resisted, but colleagues talked him into releasing a modest quantity of porkback and flour. He attached a condition, however: delivery would happen only the following morning, and only if the Dakota went back to the reservation without delay. Despite carrying weapons and enduring the August heat, the Dakota had waited calmly up to this point. This demand unsettled the 67 white men present, vastly outnumbered as they were, and clusters of them began drifting off toward home.

Violence erupted when several Dakota chased down the departing whites while others closed in on those still inside the Agency buildings. Within hours, 20 settlers lay dead and another 10 had been taken prisoner. A portion of the settlers fled toward Fort Ridgely, but most instead rushed homeward to their families, agreeing to regroup come morning and attempt a run for the fort together.

J.C. Dickinson appears to have been the earliest to break away, driving his family by wagon to the fort, where his warning of an assault met with disbelief. As additional settlers streamed in, Captain Marsh became convinced the Agency had indeed come under attack. He instructed Drummer Charles M. Culver, only twelve years old at the time (he would live until 1943, dying at 93 as Company B's final survivor), to sound the long roll. Roughly 74 soldiers assembled, including Marsh himself, Second Lieutenant Thomas P. Gere, about four sergeants, seven corporals, and some 62 privates. From this group Marsh selected 46 men and, accompanied by Dakota interpreter Peter Quinn, marched toward the Agency, passing scenes of burning structures and the fresh bodies of men, women, and children along the route.

At Redwood Ferry, the Dakota under White Dog sprang an ambush on Marsh's column. Quinn fell among the earliest casualties, along with roughly ten soldiers. As the afternoon wore on, Marsh's force had been whittled down to eleven survivors, with twenty-four men lost. He decided to retreat toward the fort and led his remaining men into the Minnesota River. Though a capable swimmer, Marsh was struck by a cramp mid-crossing and began to drown. Sergeant John F. Bishop, now the senior officer present, sent Privates John Brennan, James Dunn, and Stephen Van Buren into the water after him. Brennan got to him first, and Marsh briefly clutched his shoulder before slipping under; the men could only watch

Battle

At one in the afternoon on August 20, Little Crow rode alone into open ground west of the fort, past the picket line, staying near enough to be identified while remaining beyond musket reach. Sergeant Bishop chose to meet him at the picket line instead of charging out to seize him, and it was then that gunfire erupted from a wooded ravine at the fort's northeast corner, exposing the maneuver as a diversion. Four hundred Dakota warriors under Little Crow pushed toward the post, but Lieutenant Gere kept them back by wheeling his howitzer into the open ground northwest of the building, enduring enemy fire as he swept the northern field with canister.

Blocked from breaching the northeast side and unable to overpower the thin garrison in close combat, the Dakota fighters gradually worked their way around the perimeter. Little Crow eventually tried to storm the fort in force from a favorable position to the southwest. There, Sergeant Jones, aided by Lieutenants Culver and Gorman along with the Renville Rangers, kept the attackers at bay using a six-pound field gun