The Battles of New Ulm, also known as the New Ulm Massacre, were two battles in August 1862 between
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
men and European settlers and militia in
New Ulm, Minnesota
New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the ...
. They were part of the
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
. The Dakota forces attacked New Ulm on two separate days. After the second attack, the town was evacuated.
Location
In 1862,
New Ulm, Minnesota
New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the ...
, had 900 residents and was the largest settlement near the
Sioux reservation. After the
Battle of Fort Ridgely
The Battle of Fort Ridgely was an early battle in the Dakota War of 1862. Built between 1853–1855 in the southern part of what was then the territory of Minnesota, Fort Ridgely was the only military post between the Dakota Reservation a ...
, the town was seen as a tempting target for a Dakota attack. The topography of New Ulm presented an advantage for the Dakota, since the land rises some 200 feet out of the
Minnesota River valley in two large steps (
terraces), with wooded area to provide cover for an attack.
Background
![1904paintingAttackNewUlmAntonGag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/1904paintingAttackNewUlmAntonGag.jpg)
In 1851, the
Santee Dakota
The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided int ...
people of Minnesota had been forced to cede to the government their lands of . In 1852, they were moved into a reservation on the Minnesota River. In 1858, they were swindled of half that land. In August 1862, when the government failed to pay the $1.4 million compensation provided by treaty, and its agents and politicians stole most of the supplies that the treaty granted.
When
Chief Little Crow
Little Crow III (Dakota language, Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Mdewakanton, Mdewakanton Dakota chief who led a faction of the Dakota people, Dakota in a Dakota War of 1862, five-week war against the United States in ...
complained that despite stacks of provisions in clear sight, theirs by treaty, and that his people had nothing to eat, trader
Andrew Myrick
Andrew J. Myrick (May 28, 1832 – August 18, 1862) was a trader, who with his Dakota wife (''Winyangewin''/Nancy Myrick), operated stores in southwest Minnesota at two Native American agencies serving the Dakota (referred to as Sioux at the ti ...
responded, "So far as I'm concerned ... let them eat grass or their own dung". Minnesota political leaders, led by Governor
Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. He was the first Minnesota Territorial Governor.
Early years and fa ...
, in league with commercial interests, advocated expelling all Dakota from Minnesota.
First Battle of New Ulm
On August 18, 1862,
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
warriors began attacking civilians in
Milford Township, Minnesota
Milford Township is a township in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 793 as of the 2000 census.
History
Milford Township was organized in 1858. It was named from a sawmill at a ford.
Geography
According to the United St ...
, killing 54 people and wounding many more. At the same time a recruiting party for
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
volunteers left New Ulm, but was ambushed in Milford. The survivors returned to New Ulm to warn of an impending attack.
At first, New Ulm Sheriff Charles Roos assumed that only a few drunk Dakota were responsible and rushed with a few men to Milford. After finding mutilated corpses and being fired upon, Roos realized that the attacks were much more serious. After returning to New Ulm, he wrote to Ramsey for immediate aid.
In the meantime Franz Czeigowitz, a former
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n soldier and town resident, had organized about 50 poorly armed citizens into a defensive militia. The militia had 12 rifles; the rest of the men were armed with shotguns, other poor quality firearms and farm tools. Roos soon turned over command to Jacob Nix, a veteran of revolutionary fighting in the
revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
in Europe. The townspeople erected barricades on the streets and sent the women and children into three brick buildings.
The first attack came on August 19, with about 100 Dakota warriors firing on the city from the bluff behind the town. According to Sheriff Roos, they were led by Joseph Godfrey, a former slave who had taken wives from Little Crow's band and Wakute's village.
Under the command of Nix, a small number of civilians returned the fire. Later in the day, a thunderstorm discouraged the Dakota from continuing their attack, and there were no leaders present to give orders. The first attack ended with six settlers killed and five wounded.
Second Battle of New Ulm
After the first attack,
Charles Eugene Flandrau and a force of men from
St. Peter and
Le Sueur reached New Ulm. The detachment included doctors Asa W. Daniels, Otis Ayer, and
William Worrall Mayo
William Worrall Mayo (May 31, 1819 – March 6, 1911) was a British-American medical doctor and chemist. He is best known for establishing the private medical practice that later evolved into the Mayo Clinic. He was a descendant of a famous En ...
. Mayo and William R. McMahan of
Mankato
Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...
set up a hospital in the Dacotah House and Ayer and Daniels set up a hospital in a store across the street.
Flandrau's forces were bolstered by about a hundred men from Mankato, two companies from Le Sueur, and militias from
Brown County,
Nicollet County, St. Peter,
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757â ...
, and New Ulm. In all, Flandrau had about three hundred citizen-soldiers under his command, but most were poorly armed. Meanwhile, more than a thousand settlers were barricaded on New Ulm's main street.
On Saturday, August 23, around 9:30 in the morning, the Dakota began their second attack on the city. The defenders attempted to form a defensive picket line several blocks west of town. The Dakota advanced in u-shape/ bullhorn formation, holding their fire until the defenders shot first. The defenders quickly retreated in disorder to the barricades in the town center. The Dakota were superior in numbers and were able to encircle the entire town. Captain William B. Dodd, second in command, was killed near the log
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
shop while leading soldiers beyond one of the barricades. He was attempting to link up with a supposed reinforcement column which actually was a body of Dakota masquerading as militia.
At the climax of the second battle a large body of Dakota used the terrain to mask a large movement below the lower terrace to enter buildings flanking the barricades and thereby give devastating
enfilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
fire. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Flandrau and Nix led a charge out of the barricades down Minnesota Street and swept away the advancing Dakota.
After nightfall, Flandrau ordered the burning of the remaining buildings outside of barricades. In all, 190 structures were destroyed, leaving only 49 residences for 2,500 people. The next morning, August 24, the Dakota reappeared, fired some harmless long-range shots, and then withdrew. Flandrau convened with his officers later that day and decided to evacuate the city (despite objections by Nix and others), due to a shortage of ammunition and food and the outbreaks of disease.
On August 25, 2000 people, including 153 wagons, evacuated from New Ulm to Mankato, escorted by about 150 men; the group made it to Mankato without incident.
William Watts Folwell
William Watts Folwell (February 14, 1833 – September 17, 1929) was an educator, writer and historian who was the first president of the University of Minnesota.
Biography
Folwell was born in 1833 in Romulus, New York. He attended Hobart Coll ...
, a Minnesota historian, remarked, "This was no sham battle, no trivial affair, but a heroic defense of a beleaguered town against a much superior force."
Flandrau's forces at New Ulm
(Note several other units were under Flandrau's command served under his command at the Southern Frontier.
* Captain Flandrau's Company:
** Killed: Lt William Ladd; Privates: Max Heach; Jerry Quane ;
** Wounded:Privates: Ed Andrews; W.C. Estlar; Wm Langharst; George Moser;
** Sick: Private: H.Harm
* Captain Bierbaur's Mankato Company:
** Killed: Privates: N.E. Houghton; Wm Nicolson;
** Wounded: Privates:Geo Andrews; F.M. Andrews; Patrick Burns;John Fassat; Adam Freundler
* 1st Battalion Brown County Militia: :
* Captain Charles Roos Company "A":
** Wounded: Privates: John Peller; Louis Schmitz
* Captain Louis Buggert's Company :
* Captain A.M Bean's Company :
* Captain William Dellaughter's Company "Le Sueur Tigers No 1":
** Killed: 1st Lt. A. M. Edwards; Private: William Luskey; Luke Smithson
** Wounded: Private: John Smith
* Captain A.E. Saunders's Company "Le Sueur Tigers No 2":
** Killed: 5th Sergeant Wm Maloney; Privates: M. Aherin; Wm Kulp;
** Wounded: Captain A.E Saunders ; 4th Corporal Thomas Howard ;
* Lt. William Huey's Company "St Peter Guards:
* Captain Sidel Depolder's "Lafayette Company"
* Captain John Belm's Company of 11th Regiment/3rd Brigade/Minnesota Militia:
** Killed: Privates: Jacob Castor; Eagland; Julis Kirchstein; Malbeans Mayer; John C. Michaels; August Roepke; Leopold Senzke;
** Died of Wounds: Privates: G.W.Otto Barth; Adolph Stumple ;
** Wounded: Privates: L. Fay; R.Fischer; Julius Guething; William Guething; George Guetlich;Hess; Hansmann; Herriman;
:de:Daniel Schillock; August Westphal;
In August 1862, the following units relieved New Ulm:
* Captain Joseph Anderson Company of Mounted Men "The Cullen Guard"
* Captain E/St. Julian Cox Company of "The Frontier Avengers"
September 1862:
1st Battalion Brown County Militia:
* Captain Ignatz Reinartz Company "B" served at New Ulm Sept 15 to Oct 15, 1862;
* Lt. Charles Wagner Company C "Irregular State Militia" of New Ulm served from Sept 15 to Oct 10, 1862. Casualty: Private John Armstrong killed.
[se]
it was estimated that 5 people were killed every 10 minutes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
Colonel Flandrau account of Dakota War – for Battle of New Ulm, see pp. 732–733
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Ulm, Battle of
Battles of the Dakota War of 1862
Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
Battles of the American Civil War in Minnesota
Brown County, Minnesota
August 1862 events