Readers of history, especially those with good imaginations, can explore and experience the early days of this county we call home. I’ve never forgotten the words of the author Dee Brown, “Sometimes there isn’t enough material. There’s a story there and you can’t fill it in with facts, so you let your imagination run wild.” Fortunately, some information about one grand spectacle has surfaced to add facts that help me more accurately understand the story.
We’ll be speaking here about the march of General H. H. Sibley’s army into the territory. To put it simply, this was a big deal. Why? Because of its magnitude. Here’s what I’ve found and further imagine it to be.
Called a punitive expedition, Sibley set out to punish the Indians for their rebellion, called by some the Minnesota Uprising of 1863. Note the year. The Civil War was raging, but even so, the government felt it necessary to expend the money and the manpower to quell the Indians’ unrest and protect white settlers moving into the area. A typical escalation that might’ve been settled much earlier, it involved Indian attacks, revenge taken by white settlers, 38 captured Indians being hung, treaty violations, unfair or unpaid annuity payments, etc.
The expedition consisted of much more than a large column of soldiers riding their horses into the unknown territory of Dakota to pursue Indians. A huge support system needed to be procured to accompany them for purposes of food, forage, muleskinners, wheelwrights, carpenters, blacksmiths, herdsmen, butchers, and probably more.
From the army’s experience in Minnesota, they realized this campaign needed a large number of horses and mules to guarantee success. In 1862 Sibley purchased over 5,000 of them from farmers who of course appreciated receiving the unexpected bonanza. A desperate need for wagons created jobs for wagon builders in St. Louis who shipped them north on the Mississippi River when the ice melted. Harnesses? Yep, leather workers got plenty of work, too. The government coughed up money to buy a herd of cattle to butcher on the trail as well.
Manpower demands in the Civil War years created labor shortages, but an untapped labor pool presented itself: freed slaves and Irishmen. They came north on steamboats with consigned materials after the river ice thawed. Another commodity, Missouri mules to pull wagons, accompanied them and became a source of endless entertainment for onlookers because the new and inexperienced men coming north were tasked with training the mules to work in harness.
After collecting all the necessities for living up to three months on the trail, Sibley’s command departed on June 16, 1863. Such a sight it must have been! Two thousand soldiers were accompanied by all the auxiliary personnel to total a number that one account put at 4,075. The column stretched for five miles and here I’m imagining the cloud of dust it raised. At first, the wagons ran single file, but to shorten it and better utilize the outriding military escort, it was shortened by running two wagons abreast, then further, four wagons abreast.
The number of wagons totaled 225 pulled by that many six-mule teams. Imagine hearing the swearing muleskinners popping their whips over the animals’ ears, the creak of the loaded wagons, and the bawling cattle and spare horses being herded along.
Hot, dry weather met the caravan as they marched deeper into the region. Fresh water ran out. Men sickened after drinking slough water they had strained through their handkerchiefs. Many
times they dug for water, meeting only partial success after great exertion in the hot sun. Animals suffered for lack of water along with the men. Keen eyes were kept out for prairie fires that could sweep through their ranks with little notice.
With great relief, they stopped at a place on the Sheyenne River they named Camp Hayes, near present day Lisbon. Here they stayed for six days waiting for a resupply train of wagons from Fort Abercrombie. Finally, carpenters and wheelwrights made repairs to the wagons built with green lumber that had now shrunken in the heat, blacksmiths shoed animals and fixed broken metal, and men and animals rested.
It’s a long story, but Sibley succeeded in disrupting the lives of the Indians by chasing them from the area and burning their stores of winter meat and clothing. The whole affair stands as one of the elements that comprise our history.
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