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MINNESOTA'S 2nd CAVALRY                                  1863-1865

When the Civil War began, many Irishmen new to America embraced the cause of freedom for the slaves because they too had fled oppression. They had been forced off their lands by the English. It is ironic then that my great-grandfather, John Carey of Company I, and others signed up to help fight for freedom in the South, but found themselves instead riding through Minnesota out across the prairies pushing the Dakota Indians from their ancestral lands.  Did these thoughts cross his mind, or was he caught up in the frontier frenzy against the culture of the Dakota, which the tide of homesteaders crushed as they moved ever westward? This page is dedicated with the pain of hindsight to the brave Dakotas and the brave soldiers who  could not look into each other's eyes and see the eyes of their own sons and fathers; Who were so blinded by their cultures that they could not look upon a mother cradling her child and see that the hearts of all mothers beat with the same unspeakable joy and with the same unspeakable grief; And to the hope that we can learn from the past and break each other's hearts nevermore..                                                                                   -Linda Schultz

THE DAKOTA

THE STORY                                       from               "Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars"

Ink-pa-du-ta and many brave Sioux of the Dakotas

NARRATIVE OF THE SECOND REGIMENT OF CALVARY By First Lieutenant Martin Williams     In presenting the history of this organization it is proper to state that the more important facts and dates have been obtained from Mrs. Anna McLaren, St. Paul, widow of the late Bvt. Brig. Gen R.N.McLaren: Lieutenant Colonel William Pfaender of New Ulm; Captain James M. Paine, Minneapolis; Major E.A. Rice; Dr. Jared W. Daniels, Fairbault; and United States Marshal W. M. Campbell of ST. Paul.  Before the expiration of the time of service of the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers, the organization of another regiment of cavalry was authorized by the War Department, and a call was issued by the adjutant general of the state on the 12th of October 1863.  Recruiting commissions were immediately issued by Governor Henry A. Swift to those who could be most influential and active in raising volunteers to fill such a regiment. At this time the Minnesota troops in the South were seeing hard service, and with the prospect, and almost certainty, that the new organization would be ordered to the front, recruiting was for a time slow, as Minnesota had already placed a relatively large number of men in the field, and the additional call was a severe tax upon the younger portion of her then sparse population.  Nevertheless, by hard work, the regiment was soon filled, the several companies being largely composed of veteran soldiers and officered by those who had experienced hard service in the field.   Prior to the completion of the organization, however a cavalry rendezvous had been established at Fort Snelling, and among the first to respond to the call were the volunteers enlisted at Minneapolis under Captain Paine, who had rendered valuable service as an officer of the Mounted Rangers.  He was placed in command, and directed the drilling and organization of the recruits until the ranks of the regiment had been filled.  In this work he was assisted by the regimental adjutant and quartermaster, who had received their appointments soon after the issuance of the call.   On the 11th of January, 1864, the organization was completed as the "Second Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry, U. S. Volunteers, " with the following field officers: Colonel, Robert N McLaren, Red Wing; lieutenant colonel, William Pfaender, New Ulm; majors, E. A. Rice; Waseca county, J.M. Thompson, Houston county, Robert H. Rose, Scott county;  adjutant, John T. Morrison, Dakota county; surgeon, Jared W. Daniels, St. Peter; quartermaster, Martin Williams, St. Peter.  Immediately thereafter Colonel McLaren assumed command of the regiment, but instead of being sent South as expected, a number of the companies were ordered to garrison posts on the Minnesota frontier, where the settlers were exposed to constant danger from bands of hostile Indians, notwithstanding the fact that the Sioux tribes had been driven across the Missouri River by General Henry H. Sibley and his troops.  The winter of 1863-64 was not eventful, the time being spent in the discharge of garrison duty, with an occasional expedition by scouting parties in pursuit of the Indians.  Early in the spring of 1864, the secretary of war ordered the regiment to report to General N, P. Banks at New Orleans, and to be transported down the Mississippi by steamers.  A portion had started southward when the order was countermanded, owing to the threatening attitude of the Indians, supposedly under Sitting Bull, who was even then monarch of the plains, and contemplating the depopulation of the country west of the Mississippi.     At the earnest solicitation of Gov. Swift, Senator Ramsey and General Sibley, the secretary of war decided to send out a strong expedition to crush the hostile chiefs and their allies west of the Missouri. General Alfred Sully, who had won his title by bravely fought battles at the front, and who now rests in the                                                                                                                                                           Page 544 Cemetery at Philadelphia, was placed in command.   The wisdom of the order was fully demonstrated by the subsequent events.  His bravery, thorough knowledge of Indian character and admirable provision for the comfort and safety of the men under him, became proverbial during the ensuing campaign.                                                                    INDIAN CAMPAIGN    Late in May, 1864, the Second Cavalry left Fort Snelling for the rendezvous agreed upon on the Missouri, accompanied by its excellent band mounted on white ponies, and which subsequently cheered the command after weary marches over deserts and under a blazing sun. The expedition was divided into two brigades, the first composed of Iowa and Kansas cavalry and Thirtieth Wisconsin Infantry under Colonel Dill, coming up the Missouri with General Sully, and the second, under command of Colonel M. T. Thomas, composed of the Eighth Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, eighth companies of the Second Cavalry, Brackett's Battalion and Jones' battery.  The Minnesota troops were accompanied as far as Fort Ridgley by General Sibley and staff.  The Second Brigade left the latter post on the 5th of June, and on the 9th camped at Wood Lake, on the site of the battle of 1862.  The Minnesota troops were joined by a company of miners and their families, with a train of one hundred and sixty wagons, en route for Idaho.  They were escorted in safety as far as the second crossing of the Missouri at Fort Union, near the present Fort Buford.  The march  to the rendezvous on this stream was made through intense heat, the mercury ranging from ninety to one hundred and five degrees in the shade, according to the record kept by Colonel McLaren.  But little rain had fallen since the melting of the snow, and consequently the lakes and streams were either dry or very low and the grass poor.  After leaving Fort Ridgley not a white man or occupied dwelling was found and Minnesota contingent discovered its first buffalo near Lake Kameska, where the flourishing city of Watertown S.D., is now located. At that time the shores of the handsome lake were covered with dead fish, creating a sickening stench, and defying too close inspection.  On at least two occasions wagons were over turned and tents leveled by violent storms, which with the appropriation of blankets by lizards from the adjacent lakes, formed the principal diversion during the first portion of the march.  Toward its conclusion, however, the regiment grew indifferent to the discomforts suffered by men and animals, owing to the ever present dangers from small bodies of hostile Indians, who formed a most skillful signal corps and alert enemy on either side of the marching column. In the interest of safety, straggling was prohibited, and all were compelled to deny themselves the pleasure of a hunt in a region where game was abundant.     The junction of the First and Second brigades was effected on the 1st of July when the Minnesota troops reached the Missouri opposite old Fort Sully, where the general commanding had preceded their arrival by one day only.   The Minnesota regiments camped on the east side and in a short time were joined by the First Brigade.  General Sully then assumed active command and moved up the Missouri, crossing by steamers to the west bank, where Fort Rice was subsequently built.  The Indians were reported to be encamped to the number of 1, 800 lodges on the banks of the Cannon Ball River, but they fled at the approach of so large a force of pursuers, keeping close watch and ready to pick off any who straggled from the command.  Each night the Indians signaled the movements of the expedition by attaching burning wisps of grass to arrows and shooting them upward from some high point of ground.  Each day picturesque hieroglyphics were found along the line of march, which were worse than Greek to the white men, but perfectly intelligible to their savage foes, who managed to keep themselves thoroughly concealed, except for these interesting evidences of their presence in all directions.                                             BATTLE OF TA-HA-KOUTY MOUNTAIN.     The troops continued their chase until the last of July when they reached the Little Heart River. Here the Indian and half-breed scouts reported that the hostile Sioux were encamped in very strong force at Ta-ha-kouty (on the                                                                                                                                                   Page 545 Eastern border of the Bad Lands), or, "the place where they kill the deer, " about fifty miles distant in a northerly direction." All teams and tents were strongly corralled, and left in charge of a sufficient guard to protect them in case of a sudden attack, the Second Cavalry Band being among its defenders.  The remainder of the expedition was provided with light rations, and , after being relieved of every impediment to a rapid march, started for the Indian camp, with the intention of capturing or annihilating the formidable force concentrated there. On the morning of July 28th, while the command was marching toward a finely wooded range of hills directly in front, Laframboise, a scout, reported to General Sully that the camp of which he was in search was only two and a half or three miles distant.  In the shortest possible time, General Sully was in his saddle, the small train and unused horses of the infantry were parked in four lines, with the different portions of the command formed in the shape of a square around the train, and the batteries stationed to render prompt service whenever called upon.  The command then moved rapidly forward in the midst of the intense heat and clouds of dust, but instead of Laframboise's three miles, at daybreak, but this was frustrated by the vigilance of the savages.  Soon after the command was placed in fighting order, squads of mounted Indians sprang as if by magic from the ground itself, and every knoll in front, on either side or in the rear, was dotted with them.                                                      GENERAL SULLY'S OFFICIAL REPORT     The following account of the battle is from official report of General Sully, dated Camp on Heart River, D.T., July 31, 1864: "I found the Indians strongly posted on the side of a mountain called Ta.ha.kouty Mountain, which is a small chain of very high hills, filled with ravines thickly timbered and well watered, situated on a branch of the Little Missouri Gros Ventreslatitude 47 degrees 15'---as laid down on the government map.  The prairie in front of the camp is very rolling, and on the left, as we approached, high hills. On the top and sides of these hills, and on my right, at the base of the mountains, also on the hillocks in front on the prairie, the Indians were posted.  There were over 1, 600 lodges, at least 5,000 or 6,000 warriors, composed of the Unk.pa,pahs, Sans Arcs, Blackfeet, Minneconges, Yanck.ton.ais, and Santee Sioux.  My force consisted as follows: Eleven companies of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel Pollock commanding; three companies of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel Pattee commanding; two companies of Dakota Cavalry, Captain Miner commanding; about seventy scouts, and a prairie battery of two sections, commanded by Captain N. Pope.  This formed the First Brigade.  Ten companies of the Eighth Minnesota Infantry, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Rodgers: six companies of the Second Minnesota Cavalry, under Colonel McLaren; and two sections of the Third Minnesota Battery, under Captain Jones, formed the Second Brigade, under command of Colonel Thomas.  The whole of my force numbered on the field about 2, 200 men.  Finding it was impossible to charge, owing to the country being intersected by deep ravines filled with timber, I dismounted and deployed six companies of the Sixth Iowa on the right, with three companies of the Seventh Iowa, and on the left six companies of the Eighth Minnesota Infantry; placed Pope's battery in the center, supported by two companies of cavalry.  The Second Cavalry on the left drawn up by squadrons, Brackett's Minnesota Battalion on the right in the same order; Jones' battery and four companies of cavalry as a reserve.  The few wagons I had closed up, and the rear guard, composed of three companies, followed.  In this order we advanced, driving in the Indians till we reached the plain between the hills and mountains.  Here large bodies of Indians flanked me; the Second Cavalry drove them from the left.  A very large body of Indians collected on my right for a charge.  I directed Brackett to charge them.  This he did, gallantly driving them in a circle of about three miles to the base of the mountains and beyond my line of skirmishers, killing many of them.  The Indians, seeing his position, collected in                                                                                                                                                     Page 546 large numbers on him, but he repelled them, assisted by some well directed shots from Jones' battery.  About this time a large body of Indians, who we ascertained afterward had been out hunting for me, came upon my rear.  I brought a piece of Jones' battery to the rear, and with the rear guard, dispersed them.     "The Indians, seeing that the day would not be favorable for them, had commenced taking down their lodges and sending back their families.  I swung the left of my line round to the right and closed on them, sending Pope with his guns and the Dakota cavalry (two companies) forward.  The artillery fire soon drove them out of their strong position in the ravines, and Jones' battery with Brackett's Battalion moving upon the right soon put them to flight, the whole of my line advancing at the same time.  By sunset no Indians were on the ground; a body, however, appeared on top of the hill, putting the Indians to flight, and killing several.  The total number of killed, judging from what we saw, was from one hundred to one hundred and fifty.  I saw them during the fight carry off a great many dead or wounded. The very strong position they held, and the advantages they had to retreat over a broken country, prevented me from killing more.  We slept on the battle ground that night." ATTACK ON THE PICKETS.     Camping on the battlefield that night, General Sully next took up his line of march south, and cavalry and artillery, horses and men being much exhausted for want of water, he determined to go into camp some six miles south of the battle ground, where we found good water.  Here occurred a serious affair, where two brave men of Company D, Second Cavalry, gave up their lives, -David La Plant and Anton Holzgen, privates.   As usual, after going into camp, cavalry pickets were posted on the highest ground, three to four miles out, to give warning of the approach of the enemy, and in case of an attack, prevent stampede of cavalry horses while grazing,   Company D was on this detail with a part of Company A, making in all some twelve to fifteen picket posts of three men each.  Most of these pickets were established in full view of the Indians, now in their safe place of retreat in the mountainside.  The officer of the day, who was Major G. A. Camp of the Eighth Regiment Infantry, Minnesota Volunteers, commanded the outposts at the time, but a good share of these posts were personally in charge of Sargent William M. Campbell of Company D, Second Cavalry, our late United States marshal.  Seeing and knowing well the position of the pickets, the Indians, in the evening, just as the sun was going down behind the mountains, stole up and made an attack on them, killing two, as before stated; and had it not been for the presence of mind of Sergeant Campbell, who promptly rallied and consolidated his little force of pickets, and drew them out of the foothills onto the open plain, where they could not be surprised and picked off a post at a time, the slaughter would doubtless have been complete.  By the time these arrangements were effected, darkness had taken the place of daylight, and owing to some oversight, the relief of the pickets, which should have taken place before dark, was neglected.  Under these circumstances, in the absence of either officer of the guard or officer of the day, it was deemed proper by the sergeant in charge to make the camp.  This was rendered extremely difficult by the fact that it was then very dark and some four or five miles distant, and in consequence of an attack by the hostiles on the camp, all lights had been extinguished, so that this handful of men found themselves totally separated from any assistance by a distance of four or five miles, without track or guide, surrounded by darkness and a wily, savage foe.  Fortunately, however, the camp was reached between one and two o'clock in the morning.  That we are not called upon to record the loss of the balance of the pickets is, indeed, under the circumstances, marvelous.  Both of these brave soldiers fell after exhausting their ammunition, and were found the next morning, facing the foe, and were buried where they fell.                                                                                                                                                    Page 547     The command then returned to its camp on the Little Heart, which had been undisturbed except by the dismal howling of the wolves and coyotes at night and on August 3d General Sully resumed his line of march due west toward the Yellowstone, where he expected to meet his supply boats at a place known as "Brazeau's house, " a trading post on the river, about eighty miles above old Fort Union.  This was the most difficult movement attempted by the expedition.  For a portion of the distance every particle of vegetation had been destroyed by immense swarms of locusts, which proved a veritable plague by day, and compelled the men to feed their half-starved horses on the bare limbs of trees and bushes.  The only green thing visible for two days or more where the clusters of cactus, then in beautiful bloom, and whose natural defenses defied the assaults of the devastating myriads, which had passed over them.  After crossing this desert waste left by the insects, the march was comparatively easy and pleasant, lying through occasional stretches of buffalo grass and across small streams of water, until the celebrated Bad Lands of the Little Missouri were reached.  Upon arriving at the edge of this curious freak of nature, General Sully, after surveying the wonderful scene presented, condensed his description into a few words: "Hell, with the fire put out!"  That night a council was held in the camp of the scouts, and one, the oldest in the group, burdened with name of Fool Dog, predicted that we would smell the blood of his enemies within two days." PASSAGE OF THE BADLANDS     The following reference to the passage of the Bad Lands was prepared by Mrs., McLaren from the diary of her husband: "The next day the command moved west, crossing through most difficult passes where it seemed almost impossible for men or horses to go.  Only one of these guides, a young Blackfoot Indian was confident that the passage could be made, and remarked that he only knew of one route through which a bird could fly.  The rest shook their heads, considering the undertaking too hazardous in view of the difficulties, as well as the fact of the proximity of so many enemies.  General Sully decided to make the attempt in spite of the arduous nature of the undertaking, and early next morning the train moved forward.  All day they toiled up and down among the clay peaks, barren as rocks and precipitous as mountain cliffs, through gorges and gullies where the foot of the white man had probably never before trod, suffering for water, with only half-rations, and constantly expecting an attack from their savage foe.  Nor were their expectations groundless, for scarcely had they emerged from the first labyrinth of the volcanic upheaval when picket fire announced that their wily enemy was in the pursuit."     Upon reaching the valley of the Little Missouri the grass was found abundant, and General Sully ordered a halt for the next day, in order to give men and animals needed rest.  About noon, however, an attack was made on a foraging party under Anson Northrup, who was in charge of the transportation.  Northrup brought his men and animals into camp without loss, and General Sully ordered another advance, the command crossing the Little Missouri late in the afternoon.   Its subsequent experiences are recorded by Mrs. McLaren, as follows: "They found themselves beset by a strong force of Indians, who evidently hoped, by taking advantage of the embarrassed situation of our men, to fall upon and destroy them, thus taking vengeance for their defeat.  It was a sharp conflict, lasting at intervals through two days and two nights, and was designated as the battle of the Little Missouri.  The principal engagement took place near two high points, known to the Indians as "the hills that look at each other, " Colonel McLaren leading the advance.  On the second day, having lost many warriors without gaining any advantage worthy of note, the Indians gave up the battle and disappeared.  No correct estimate could be made of the number of Indians killed in this second battle."  The Blackfoot Indian was shot through the shoulder in this battle  and became delirious from the effects of the wound; as a result the command veered from its prearranged course to the Yellowstone, and suffered much, owing to the shortage of supplies for men and horses.  Instead of reaching the river at Brazeau's house, as intended, General Sully, on the 13th of August; found                                                                                                                                            Page 548 himself forty miles below; but, providentially, the supply boats had been grounded on sand-bars near by, and proved a most welcome sight to the men, whose slender stock of hard bread was nearly exhausted.  By means of these steamers, also, most of the heavy luggage was transported across the Yellowstone, while the horses and mules forded the stream with riders on their backs.  Nine men of the Idaho emigrant train, and perhaps twenty horses, were lost in the rapid and dangerous stream.  It is permissible, in this connection, to remark that the trail of the Sully expedition through the Bad Lands was closely followed by the first engineers of the Northern Pacific road in mapping out their route over that remarkable formation, and the tracks of Sully's wagons are visible up to the present time in numerous localities.  Under the circumstances the Blackfoot Indian guide is entitled to the honor of being the pioneer of that gigantic enterprise through a region christened Mauvais Terres by the early French voyageurs and traders.     The march was again resumed down the west bank of the Yellowstone, through a country abounding in game, but which as unmolested by the soldiers on account of positive orders against firing guns, which would inform the hostile Indians of the exact location of the command.  There were no events worthy of special mention on this portion of the march except one.  Just before the expedition had reached the Missouri again, opposite Fort Union, the Indians had fired the woods in front of the column, but it passed through the burning timber safely, unusual precautions being taken to prevent burning limbs from falling on the ammunition wagons and causing a disastrous explosion.  Most of the command forded the Missouri on the 18th of August, with the loss of only one man, the driver of General Sully's transportation train.  At that time the foundation timbers of Fort Buford, five or six miles below Fort Union, were being laid.  The night before reaching Fort Union the Indians had stolen all the horses at the fort except two.  The Second Cavalry with a detachment of infantry were ordered to pursue them up the Missouri, following the trail they had made.  On the approach of the troops, the Indians divided up into small squads. The cavalry and infantry did like wise, but the enemy scattered out among the hills and valleys, leaving no trail, and the pursuit was necessarily abandoned.  Here the expedition parted company with the Idaho emigrant train, which continues its journey toward its ultimate destination near Fort Benton, General Sully marching down the valley of the Missouri. VALLEY OF THE BUFFALO     September 1st, the command, being three days' march from Fort Berthold, came into the range of the buffalo, which when first seen were quietly feeding, gathered in large herds, as far as the eye or field-glass could see.  A desire for a hunt was strong, so much so that General Sully at one o'clock ordered a halt and gave permission for all who chose to engage in it, and hundreds accepted the privilege.  The buffalo soon saw the situation, and then commenced the stampede and strife.  A great number of the huge creatures were slaughtered, and the troops were well supplied with fine, juicy buffalo steak.  The following day, while on the march, the command was obliged to park to allow the herds to pass in their wild flight.  When near Fort Berthold we made a short halt for rest, and there General Sully issued his famous and characteristic circular, which is familiar, and will long be remembered by the troops in the northwest Indian expedition, creating much merriment and reminding us all that we were again nearing civilization.  On reaching the point where the city of Bismarck now stands General Sully received information through his scouts that he had sent out previously that Ink-pa-du-ta, with a large party of warriors, were at or near what was called the Dog's Den, on the old Gov. Stevens trail, some sixty or seventy miles north.  He here left his trains, taking a few rations and a part of his best troops, making a rapid march with the intention of surprising and capturing old "Inky" if possible.  But he was not found asleep, discovering us in time to make good his escape, so all we found were his camp-fires still burning.  Knowing that he had considerable the start,                                                                                                                                   Page 549 and that he could get into the British territory, General Sully decided not to pursue him further, but making a halt and taking a short time to rest, again returned to the Missouri River and his supply trains.  At this point occurred a small engagement with some of Ink-pa-du-ta's rear guard, in which only two of our men were engaged.  Major Rose and Captain Paine of our regiment obtained permission of General Sully to remain in the rear of our troops for a little direction.  Waiting, according to orders, until the command was out of hearing distance, they commenced their attack on the bulls, each taking a different direction, although keeping within sight of each other.  Each had succeeded in killing his bull and cutting out his tongue, when they in turn were attacked by a party of Ink-pa-du-ta's warriors who had been watching their movements.  But, luckily, they were not surprised, and met them with shots form their carbines, unhorsing one or two of them and holding them in check.  At this time our command was on the march, and distant some ten or twelve miles, but they succeeded in gaining the smooth ground of the open plains, where they had a fine race with some fifteen or twenty of the redskins.  They were soon discovered by Captain P.B. Davy of Company H of the Second Cavalry, who was in command of the rear guard, composed of two companies of cavalry and a section of artillery, and who, taking one company of his best mounted troops, rescued these officers, who otherwise might have fallen into the hands of the Indians. RESCUE OF CAPTAIN FISK'S PARTY     General Sully arrived at Fort Rice September 8th, and his troops the next day.  He learned that Captain James L. Fisk, assistant quartermaster, had arrived there about two weeks previously with an emigrant train of from eighty to a hundred wagons destined for Idaho, and had obtained from Colonel Dill, Thirtieth Wisconsin, an escort of a lieutenant and fifty cavalrymen to the Yellowstone River.  The lieutenant had returned to Fort Rice with fourteen men on the 7th of September, with a letter from Captain Fisk stating that he was surrounded by Indians about two hundred miles west of that place and needed reinforcements.  In his official report General Sully says: "In questioning separately the soldiers who returned I found that not over three hundred Indians were there; that they (Fisk's Party) were attacked three days before they made their corral by about  sixty Indians, while the train was stretched out on the road, and two wagons, one of which had upset, were about two miles in the rear, with a guard of six soldiers.  One of these wagons, unfortunately, contained arms and ammunition.  Six soldiers and two citizens were killed, and the wagons captured; one citizen escaped.  They had skirmishes after that, and then they corralled.  They were burning parts of their wagons and feeding the cattle on bread and flour when the party left, which they did in the middle of a stormy night."  Fearing that Captain Fisk's party would soon be overpowered, he sent the following strong detachment to rescue and bring them back, namely: Colonel Dill with 300 of the Thirtieth Wisconsin, 200 of the Eighth Minnesota, 100 of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry, all dismounted, and from the Second Minnesota Cavalry, Brackett's Battalion and Sixth Iowa Cavalry, 100 men each, mounted on the best of the horses.  This detachment crossed to the west side of the Missouri September 10th, marched the next day and returned September 30th, having accomplished its object.  The commissioned officers of the Second Cavalry, who accompanied it were Captain P.B. Davy, First Lieutenant Thompson and Second Lieutenant Briley.  Mr. D.I. Dodge, corporal of Company C, Second Cavalry, who went with the detachment, says:  "It followed our old trail for about one hundred miles and then left it on our right, reaching Fisk's train near the foothills in about ten days from date of leaving Fort Rice.  Our arrival was a great relief to the emigrants, especially to the women and children, who were only too glad to be taken back to the fort.  In due time we returned to Fort Rice with the rescued party, where the detachments were sent to their respective commands, the troop from the Second Cavalry returning over the trail made by Colonel Thomas on his return form the Missouri River to the state.  The                                                                                                                                              Page 550 trip after Fisk was without particular interest.  The command lost one man, who fell in rear of the column and was not again seen.  Whether he was killed by the Indians or the wolves was never known.  One other incident occurred which had its interest for the members of the Second Cavalry.  The Sixth Iowa Cavalry had done considerable bragging over the Second during the campaign, claiming they were older in service, especially in Indian warfare. "The Indians couldn't pull the wool over their eyes.  On, no!"  But on the trip we convinced them that our troops were not to be caught napping.  One day on our outward trip fresh Indian trails were crossed by the command.  That night at roll call Captain Davy requested the men of his company , that if any of them wished to graze their horses in the morning to hold them by the halter while grazing, otherwise to leave them on the picket line.  Boots and saddles had just sounded the following morning when about thirty Indians dashed over the bluffs surrounding the flat where the Sixth Iowa Cavalry horse were grazing, and with a few shots and whoops created a stampede, and in a few seconds the Sixth Iowa Cavalry were short fourteen horses."     The main body of the regiment resumed the return march about the 15th of September, and arrived at Fort Ridgley again on the 8th day of October.  Company H. however, went to Fort Wadsworth, arriving October 12th.  During the winter of 1864-65 the regiment was divided amongst the several forts and frontier posts of the stare, with headquarters at Fort Snelling, and in the spring of 1865 a regular patrol service was established between the sundry smaller frontier posts and the regular forts, -Wadsworth, Abercrombie, Ripley and Ridgley, -in order to prevent prowling war parties of the hostile Sioux from making raids on the frontier settlements.  At the close of the War of the Rebellion the companies of the regiment were mustered out as fast as they could be relieved by regular troops, and it was expected that they would be discharged in the order in which they enlisted; but, contrary to expectation, Company A, stationed at Fort Ridgley, the company which had been longest in service, was ordered to march to Fort Wadsworth, while other companies were ordered to Fort Snelling to be mustered out, and this apparent injustice to a company which had always been noted for promptness and efficiency created a feeling of dissatisfaction among the men which bordered on mutiny.  The appeals of the commanding officer at Fort Ridgley in their behalf availed nothing at department headquarters, and had it not been for the high esteem in which they held their captain and commanding officer there would have been open mutiny.  The company marched to Fort Wadsworth, and being ordered back in the dead of winter to be mustered out, was caught in a terrible blizzard between Forts Wadsworth and Abercrombie, and Captain Field and three of his men perished about Feb. 14, 1866, while the balance of the company suffered terribly.  The last company of the regiment (Company L) was mustered out May 4, 1866, The casualties of the regiment were Privates David La Plant and Anton Holzgen of Company D, killed by Indians July 29, 1864, and Private Jolly of Company F. killed in a fight with marauding Indians May 7, 1865, besides a number wounded in the two actions with Indians during the expedition under General Sully. * *     The following observations on the health of the regiment are from the pen of its surgeon, Dr. J. W. Daniels, M.D.: "During the Indian campaign of 1864 the Second Cavalry endured the extremes of temperature varying from one hundred and five degrees in the shade to six degrees above, with snow and blizzard.  The prevailing diseases were diarrhea, dysentery, rheumatism, and mountain fever.  On the march between Fort Ridgley and Fort Rice we had good water and scarcely any illnesses.  At Fort Rice, where we arrived July 11th and were in camp one week, there were a large number of cases of sickness, the result of indiscretion in the use of the post trader's supplies and not of bad water.  When we left there the worst cases were ordered to the hospital; until we crossed the Little Missouri River, and we had very few on sick report.  Three camps were made between the Little Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, where the water was bad, and a magnesia or an alkali.  In many cases the vital organs of the person were so depressed by the water that the disease assumed a typhoid condition within twenty-four hours after being reported.  At the Yellowstone the sick were transferred to the hospital boats and taken down to Fort Rice. Coming from Fort Union, the north side of the Missouri, we made four camps where the water was the same, with same results; also between Long Lake and James River on our return from Fort Rice.  I believe that in most cases the primary cause of so much sickness on the marches was the solar heat, which so debilitates the system that the bad water, or any indiscretion in eating or drinking, acts as an exciting cause of disease.  The health of the men was much better when they could get the fruit of the country, which consisted of plums, service and buffalo berries, with plenty of game, as the wild meat was an improvement on that furnished by the commissary department.  In the treatment of mountain fever and dysentery, sulphate of quinine was an indispensable remedy.  Given in doses of from fifteen to thirty grains in twenty-four hours, it acts as a sedative, and its febrifuge virtues are very perceptible.  This remedy, with beef  tea, or the extract of beef, as a diet, I have found most satisfactory.  Brandy with quinine was given in some cases, but with caution.  The mortality of the regiment during the campaign was:  Two killed by the Indians while on picket duty, two died in camp, and three on hospital boats." .

THE SOLDIERS

Company I

OFFICERS Captain- Isaac Bonham First Lieutenant William L Sherman... Second Lieutenant Henry F. Phillips... ENLISTED MEN Adamson, John.. Andrews, Charles W. Andrews, Obed.. Anderson, Abraham.. Artz, Anton Balch, Daniel W Barncard, Jasper W... Barnes, Horace.. Barker, N... Bandy, Charles.. Bartholomew, Harvey... Berkers, John. Bisbee, Albert Bingham, George W. Bingham, Lewis L Boardman, Columbus S... Born, Peter... Breed, Nelson... Brown, Thomas . Bristol, Nathan. Burkitt, Van B.. Call, Charles. Cassiday, Samuel A. Cassiday, George W. Carey, John Cater, John Churchill, Charles E.. Christopherson, Hagen.. Clark, Albert E.. Cox, Ferdinand.. Cook, Lewis A.. Cole, George. Crow, George H Crow, John W... Downs, Mark. Donald, George W Dobney, Dennis. Dunning, Austin S. Dunn, Jacob... Eaton, Frank.. Eaton, Albert. Emmerson, Joseph W Evanson, Evan... Felton, Ezra V... Ferris, George Field, Frank P French, John E.. Galvin, Andrew. Gage, Charles M... Garvay, John. Gage, Rufus.. Geisreiter, Sebastion. Gerard, John B.. Gowdy, Lewis... Goss, Moses.. Green, Edward R.. Green, Charles.. Green, Nathan..                                                                  Grover, William Hathaway, Scott Hathaway, Byron  F.. Hazen, John.. Hazen, Benjamin... Hayworth, John. Harod, Alonzo... Hewitt, Arthur... Huddleston, David Jones, David.. Jones, Alfred M. Johnson, James.. Kane, John E. Kelley, Phillip... Knettle, Robert H.. Ladoen, Martin.. Lee, Joseph Little, George Livingston, Hugh.. Low, J. Q. Adams.. Mack, William.. McCoy, John F. Mongers, John F Masher, Johnathan Nelson, Ole O'Hara, Michael Oleson, John.. Oliver, Joshua Ourcus, Price, B Paine, Pike. Palmer, Herber C Pears, Tomlinson... Putney, Elijah W... Radabaugh, George... Ray, William A. Rowley, James D... Roland, Joseph V.. Robash, John. Ryckman, Tobias N... Ryan, Edward Sherman, Nathan E... Smith, David G. Small, Morris M Smith, Daniel Smith, A.H Strawbridge, Wm. I... Streeter, William... Swendson, Torger. Todd, Simeon Traver, David. Traver, Peter, Jr Van Alstine, David.. Warren, Harry W. Welch, Bradford.. Whittier, George H.. Whitehouse, La Fayette Williams, Henry S Williams, John.. Williams, Julius E. Wright, John H.. Zander, Fritz..

E-mail me for soldier's age, date of muster in and out, remarks-if any, or information about other Companies. -Linda Schultz (Great-grandaughter of John Carey)

MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL AND INDIAN WARS 1861-1865 Prepared and Published Under the Supervision of THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONER Appointed by the Act of the Legislature of Minnesota Of April 16, 1889

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