Thomas J. Galbraith (1825–1909) was an American politician. In 1857, he signed the Republican version of the

Minnesota State Constitution The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Minne ...

. Galbraith served in the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives in 1856. He then served the 18th district in the

Minnesota State Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

in 1861, living in Scott County at the time. In 1862, Galbraith worked as an Indian agent for the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

at the Lower Sioux Agency, succeeding Joseph R. Brown. On August 15, 1862, he was involved in a confrontation with Mdewakanton tribesmen and his trading partner Andrew Myrick at the Lower Sioux Agency. Galbraith refused to distribute food on credit, although they were suffering hunger and the government's treaty annuity was late. It proved one of many causes 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 ...

that began twelve days later. Myrick, who made derogatory comments in the incident, was killed on August 18, 1862 while Galbraith managed to escape. When the hostilities were over he compiled a list of the known Minnesotans casualties both civilian and military. He died in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

February 3,1909, where he was a resident for many years .Thomas J. Galbraith, Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
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References

The Political Graveyard.
Thomas Galbraith at Find A Grave
1825 births 1909 deaths Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Minnesota state senators People of Minnesota in the American Civil War Dakota War of 1862 United States Indian agents {{Minnesota-politician-stub