AUG 17: US-Dakota War Erupts

On Aug. 17, 1862, violence erupted in Minnesota territory as members of the Dakota tribe attacked white settlers along the Minnesota River. Four young warriors were returning from an unsuccessful hunt when they stopped to steal some hen’s eggs from a white settlement. The hen’s owner objected and the subsequent encounter turned ugly when the Dakotas killed five members of the family.

It turned out to be the start of the US-Dakota War of 1862.

Dakota chief Little Crow. (Credit: Library of Congress)

Sensing that white settlers would want to settle the score, Dakota leaders decided war was at hand and they took the initiative and, led by chief Little Crow, began attacking local agencies and the settlement of New Ulm. More than 500 white settlers lost their lives, along with 150 Dakota warriors.

Union troops and Gen. John Pope were dispatched to the area to organize the Military Department of the Northwest. (This was occurring at the height of fighting in the Civil War, where troops and resources were first sent.)

Some Dakota fled to North Dakota, but in excess of 2,000 were rounded up and more than 300 warriors were sentenced to death. President Abraham Lincoln requested court documents from their trials and after analyzing many of them personally, he commuted the sentences of most of the Dakotas. But, on Dec. 26, 1862, 38 Dakota men were executed in Mankato, Minnesota. It was the largest mass execution in U.S. history.