USA > Iowa > Howard County > Lime Springs > History of the Welsh in Minnesota, Foreston and Lime Springs, Ia. gathered by the old settlers > Part 9
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Wednesday morning the Mankato company and about thirty members of the South Bend company went up to New Uhn to hear the news and aid, if necessary, in its defense.
Hugh Edwards and Rev. John W. Roberts took their teams to transport the Baggage of the South Bend company and David T. Davis and his team also were pressed into the same service and went as far as the Little Cottonwood. This company bad been recruiting men all the way through the Welsh towns, and had received many accessions, especially at Hugh Edwards' place and at Judson village, until it numbered over ninety men when it entered New Ulm, about the middle of the afternoon.
The Mankato company arrived an hour or two later. The first thing after their arrival each company was marched up to a building and shown the mutilated bodies of the eleven men who had been ambushed and killed the day before near town when returning from an expedition up the Cottonwood. The ghastly spectacle of those remains spread out upon the floor, heads all scalped and some severed from the body, the arms and legs of some also chopped off and otherwise mutilated, was enough to impress each one with the reality of the Indian outbreak, and many of the boys who had thought that fighting Indians would
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- be a nice pastime began to look serious and wish themselves back home. Judge Flandreau had been selected commander in chief, and he had appointed Capt. Todd, of St. Peter, provost marshal.
Other companies of citizens from Le Sueur and elsewhere also arrived until the defenders numbered 400 to 500 men. Their military organization was perfected as well as could be and the town put into a fair state of defense. The defenders, however, were only a crowd of farmers and town people who knew noth- ing of military life. There was not a soldier among them. They had no idea of drill or discipline. They had not enlisted in any regular way, but had simply come together voluntarily for mutual protection as long as each saw fit. Hence there was not that restraint and subordination among them seen among regular soldiers. They were also poorly armed. Only a few carried good rifles. The great majority had only ordinary shot guns, while many had no weapon whatever except a pitchfork or a scythe. During Wednesday, Thursday and Friday no In- dians appeared in the immediate vicinity of New Ulm. Their attention during those days was taken up with the attempt to capture Ft. Ridgely, and with the destruction of remote white settlements, such as those of Lake Shetek, Norway Lake and others.
Foiled in their plan to capture New Ulm Tuesday afternoon, the Indians concluded to carry out their original plan and cap- ture Ft. Ridgely first. The principal white settlements west of New Ulm lay along the Minnesota and the two Cottonwoods, and these had been completely devastated by fire and tomahawk on Monday and Tuesday, so there was no more fuel convenient to feed the savage fury without the capture of Fort Ridgely and New Ulm.
The hundreds of savages who had been engaged in the fiendish slaughter had returned to their villages near the Lower Agency by Wednesday morning, so that Little Crow was able then to muster a large force to attack the fort.
The fort stands on the high bluff overlooking the valley of the Minnesota. It is almost surrounded by ravines. In front is the valley of the Minnesota. On the cast and north is the deep wooded ravine of Lone Tree creek, which here enters the Min- nesota from the north. On the west a short spur from the Min- , nesota valley projects out a short distance into the prairie. So that the small point on which the fort was situated is connected with the great prairie, of which it is a part, by a narrow strip
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- only on the northwest. Thus located, the fort was quite acces- sible to an Indian attack.
There were now at the fort between ninety and one hundred soldiers, well armed and fairly well disciplined; forty to forty- five Renville Rangers, poorly armed with old Harpers Ferry muskets and without any military training, twenty-five to thirty citizens armed with such guns as could be found in the fort, and Sergeant Jones with six small cannons, only three of which could be manned and used. About 1 o'clock p. m. Wednesday, Little Crow and a few of his warriors showed themselves on the prairie to the west of the fort and seemed to desire a conference. The purpose of this demonstration, however, was simply to draw the attention of the garrison in that direction as soon became apparent. The main body of the Indians had passed down the Minnesota valley unobserved and got into the Lone Tree creek ravine, from which they charged with great fury upon the northeast corner of the fort, where there was an open space be- tween the fort buildings. By a quick movement, on the part of the soldiers, this charge was met and after a short, sharp strug- gle the Indians were repulsed and driven back into the ravine. From this cover they poured deadly volleys into the fort at short range until the cannon could be used upon them.
Among the Renville Rangers were a few half breeds from the Lower Agency who were in secret league with the Indians By some means two of these managed, unobserved, to remove the charges from the cannons and to stuff them with rags, and then that morning under the pretext of going after some kinnikinic deserted to the hostiles. The condition of the cannons was not discovered until it was attempted to use them at this attack. As soon as possible they were got into condition and the Indians shelled from their advantageous position. The battle continued all that afternoon, but towards night the Indians retired having failed in all their attempts to storin the fort. Thursday was spent by the Indians in gathering further re-enforcements from the Upper Agency and elsewhere, and in making preparation for a second attack. Friday afternoon (August 22) about 1 o'clock, Little Crow with from 500 to 600 warriors commenced the second attack on the fort, which continued all that after- noon until dark. The Indians fought with desperate deter- mination and kept a constant shower of bullets and ar- rows pouring against the fort from all sides. The prin- cipal attack, however, was made on the southwest corner, where they captured the government stables. A well directed shell
Mankato. Minn.
The rear of the Normal School is shown on the left, the Court House on the right, and the High School building in the center ..
Grove of Humphrey J. Roberts, Esq., Judson, Minn.,
Where the "Big Meetings" of the C. M Churches have been held for years.
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from Sergeant Jones' cannon set these on fire and they burned to the ground. The Indians tried to fire the fort by shooting burning arrows into the roofs but the shingles being wet from recent rains refused to burn. A number of Indians were massed in the ravine on the north-east corner and a fierce charge was made from that quarter, but it was repulsed. Keeping up a hot fire from this side the Indians tried to hold the attention of the whites here, while they secretly massed a large force in the ravine on the south-west to make another charge from that quarter. The movement was fortunately discovered and one of the unused cannons was put in position on the west side with Sergeant McGraw in charge and the shells from this piece added to those from Jones' piece soon dispersed the savages.
No sooner had the chiefs massed a number of their warriors "at some special point than a shell from one of the cannons would scatter them like autumn leaves. The whites were running short of ammunition and a number of men and women were kept busy making bullets. Nail rods were also cut into slugs and used as bullets, making a most unearthly noise as they passed through the air, greatly terrifying the Indians.
The Indian bullets, which fell thick within the fort, were also gathered and remoukled to be sent back on a second mission of death. Toward night the Indians retired and the second attack on Ft. Ridgely was over. That night Little Crow re- ceived word from his scouts which directed his attention else- where, and the fort was saved. The whites fought from under cover and hence their loss was very small-only three killed and thirteen wounded. The Indians claim their loss in killed was only two, but the whites estimated from fresh graves found around the fort that their dead must have been over a hundred. It is alleged that when the last attempt to mass their forces for a charge was made, that Sergeant Jones slew seventeen of them with one shell. The truth probably lies somewhere between the two reports, as the Indians usually greatly under estimated their loss while the whites generally over estimated it.
Let us now return to New Ulm to trace the course of events there.
This town had not been molested since Tuesday and was wholly in the dark as to the movements of the enemy, expecting another attack any moment. Guards were stationed around the town night and day, and as it rained much of the time this duty was anything but pleasant. Thursday a squad of men was sent out into the country to reconnoiter. They saw no Indians nor
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white refugees, but at every settlement, they came across scores of dead bodies of men, women and children, who had been butchered by the savages.
The departure for New Ulm of the Mankato and South Bend companies had taken from the latter towns most of the able bodied men and about all the guns and ammunition, so that these places were in quite a defenseless condition. There was nothing to prevent the Sioux from passing by New Ulm as they had passed by Ft. Ridgely and fall upon the country to the cast.
The Winnebagoes were known to be on the most intimate terms with the Sioux, and there was abundant evidence that the two nations intended to join in the massacre and that messages were then being passed between them. The Winnebago reser- vation comprised the present towns of MePherson, Decoria, Rapidan, Lyra, Beauford and Medo, in Blue Earth County, and the four towns adjoining on the east in Waseca County. Thus they adjoined the townships of Mankato and South Bend. Fri- day morning the rumor came to New Ulm that the Sioux and Winnebagoes were going to unite in an attack on South Bend and Mankato. The horrible butchery and mutilation of women and children they had seen in their excursions west of New Ulm and upon bodies brought into town by burial parties had made our stout hearted volunteers shudder for their dear ones at home left in such a defenseless condition. The rumor that the savages were about to attack them, therefore, determined the South Bend company to return home imme- diately. There was a little opposition to their departure on the part of some of the other defenders, but with Judge Buck to champion their cause, they were allowed to depart in peace. About a dozen of the company remained at New Ulm and were incorporated into the Mankato company. Of this number were Joshua Wigley, John C. Jones, A. S. VanPatten, Geo. Gilley and others. The balance of the South Bend company, about seventy-five strong, marched home. In passing through the woods and ravines of the Big Cottonwood they were in momen- tary expectation of an ambush by the Indians, and it was evi- dent that there were Indians in the vicinity, for Indian dogs were noticed crossing the road a number of times.
This same Friday morning a refugee came to New Ulm seeking help to rescue eleven persons, who were hid in a clump of bushes on the Big Cottonwood, near Sleepy Eye. An expedi- tion of about 140 men was at once sent upon this mission; and they took with them nearly. all the best guns in New Chn.
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Those left to guard the town were less than a hundred in num- ber and very poorly armed. The expedition found the refugees and then decided, as it was late in the day and the distance back to New Uhn rather too much to undertake, to go on to Leaven- worth and pass the night there and next day scour the country in that vicinity in the hope of saving other refugees. As they were marching, however, they thought they heard the boom of can- non in the direction of Ft. Ridgely. Climbing upon an emi- nence on the prairie, they could plainly hear the cannonading and knew that the Indians were then attacking the fort. A consultation was at once held. Those expert in Indian cus- toms had noticed Indian signs, consisting of small loops made of grass hung on the tallest bunches of grass on the prairie in such a way as to indicate to their comrades the direction in which they had gone. A number of times also they had caught glimpses of Indians skulking behind knolls. Dr. Daniels, of St. Peter, had been the Indian physician at the Lower Sioux Agency for years, and knew them well, and he and Dr. Ayres, of LeSueur, made strong speeches urging the return of the expedition to New Ulm at once, as they were sure there was mischief brewing. The matter was put to a vote and the ma- jority favored returning. After a hard march they reached the town by 2 o'clock in the morning.
That night, when Little Crow met his braves in council in the ravines of Ft. Ridgely, his spys brought important news. New Ulm was in a defenseless condition. Seventy to eighty of her defenders had returned home toward South Bend, while 140 others were wandering over the prairies near Leavenworth.
Now was a splendid opportunity to capture this important town, with all its rich spoil, slaughter its 1,500 to 1,800 inhabi- tants, including refugees, and then turn and annihilate the force out at Leavenworth. The plan was admirable and doubt- less would have succeeded had not the defenders, contrary to the Indian expectation, returned. as we have stated, that night.
With the dawn next morning (Saturday, August 23) the Indians raised the siege of Ft. Ridgely, much to the relief of that garrison, worn out with fighting and constant guard duty and worse than all with ammunition nearly exhausted.
About & o'clock the people of New Ulm noticed a number of fires breaking out on the opposite, or Nicollet, side of the Min- nesota river. Through spy-glasses a few Indians could be seen going from farm to farm setting fire to the houses, barns and stacks of grain. A company of sixty-five to seventy men, well
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armed, mostly citizens of Nicollet County and interested in property on that side of the river, volunteered under Capt. Win. Huey, of Traverse, to go across the river and drive the Indians away.
A few of the defenders, best posted in Indian warfare, pro- tested against the move, claiming that this Indian demonstra- tion was a mere feint to draw the men across the river and cut them off from the town. That the real attack would come from another quarter. The warning, however, was not heeded and the company passed over the river, leaving twenty men to guard the ferry. No sooner had they gone some little distance up the Nicollet side than a number of Indians concealed in the brush attacked the ferry guards, who fled for their lives. The Indians, after crossing over to the New I'lm side, cut the ferry loose.
Capt. Huey and his men then found that they could not get back to town, as the river much swollen with recent rains, could not be crossed without the ferry, and the Indians were firing upon them from the brush. They, therefore, retreated toward St. Peter.
The success of this part of the programme the Indians an- nounced by means of fire signals, and the main body of Little Crow's army was seen to issue from a point of timber about two or three miles northwest of town on the Brown County side of the river. As they kept pouring out of the timber and weaving in and out among each other like a great swarm of bees, it seemed as though there were thousands of them. The whites marched out to meet them and formed in line of battle on the high table-land about a quarter of a mile west of town. The Indians made a very grand spectacle as they swarmed over the prairie in apparently countless numbers, with their weapons glistening in the sun. When within a quarter of a mile of the whites they spread out like a fan, advancing on a run, firing their guns, brandishing their tomahawks and yelling their war- whoops.
The whites were only a crowd of raw, undisciplined recruits fresh from the farm and shop who had never been under fire be- fore, and as the Indians outnumbered them more than two to one and approached in such a fierce manner, it is no wonder they were seized with a panic and fled into town as fast as their feet could carry them. Many hid in cellars and other places of concealment and nearly all got into houses. A few of the bravest, however, retreated in a more orderly manner, firing at the Indians as they retired and holding them a little in check.
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The Indians followed the rout to the edge of town and there paused as though afraid to enter. Had they then rushed in, there is no doubt but they might have taken New Ulm and slaughtered all the people without much resistance ; but, as they afterwards explained, they thought the precipitate flight of the whites was a mere ruse to draw them into an ambush, hence they did not dare advance between the houses. The hesitation on the part of the Indians gave the whites an opportunity to rally. A squad of men under John F. Meagher, took possession of an unfinished brick buikling on the ridge west of town and opened a brisk fire on the enemy. As this position was too far out for the best service in defending the village they soon retired on the run, though in order, toward town and Mr. Meagher, with most of the Mankato company under him, was assigned to the southeast side of town, on the main street leading toward St. Peter and Mankato. Another squad in which were John c. Jones and Joshua Wigley got into another unfinished brick building on top of the ridge just mentioned where they fought bravely, keeping the Indians at bay until about 4 o'clock p. m., when they retreated to the wind mill near by. This they found occupied by Evan T. Jones, of Le Sueur County, E. P. Freeman, of Mankato, J. B. Trogden, Rev. C. A. Stines and a number of other excellent shots.
The Indians were thick on the ridge when this first squad reached the mill and they had to pass through a shower of bul- lets. They all reached it, however, ahead of the Indians, and Rev. Stines was the only one hit, and he but slightly in the shoulder. Once inside they barricaded the door and from the windows quickly opened a deadly fire on the enemy and drove them from the ridge into the slough beyond.
New Ulin is beautifully located at the V of the high table land, where the valleys of the Minnesota and the Big Cotton- wood come together and on the side of the V facing the Minne- sota. The highway from South Bend, Mankato and points east passed through its principal street, in a north, north- westerly direction to Fort Ridgely, the Sioux agencies and points west. Most of the houses then, as now, were built along this street, called Broadway. Within a block to the right comes the bluff, sloping to the valley of the Minnesota one hundred and fifty feet below, while about two blocks distant to the left a rounded ridge rises forty or fifty feet, extending the entire length of town. Not daring, as we have stated, to charge into town, the Indians proceeded at once to surround it. Some passed
THE WELSH IN MINNESOTA.
down the river valley and were joined by those crossing from the Nicollet side, but the main body circled round the town back of the ridge, to the southwest until they came to the South Bend and Mankato road at the extreme southeast end of town. In massing their main force here the Indians may have intended to cut off the retreat of the whites, or stop their communications and re-enforcements, or they may have thought this the most advantageous point of attack. However, this may have been, here Little Crow fixed his headquarters in a small store building opposite where the old pottery stood. From this side now came the principal attack.
Taking shelter in the houses which the whites had hastily deserted the Indians began to work their way from house to house toward the center of town. Seeing this, the whites began to fire the building's as they retreated from them. In the excite- ment, however, one large store building on the main street was passed and twenty or thirty Indians seeing the advantage quickly got behind it. Just then the watchmen stationed on the flat roof of Crone's store noticed a large number of men standing near the brow of the bluff where the road from Mankato and St. Peter enters town. As re-enforcements were expected from Col. Sib- ley, it was thought at once that they had come and on ascending the hill and seeing the houses burning all around were afraid to enter thinking the Indians had full possession. Capt. W. B. . Todd, of St. Peter, who was next to Col. Flandrau in command. suggested to John F. Meagher that they take a detachment of men out to meet these people and bring them into town.
The captain was warned that there were Indians back of the store building just mentioned. He wanted the men to charge and drive them away. This they refused to do, and, put- ing spurs to his horse. the captain galloped down the street, declaring he would drive them out himself.
The moment he passed the corner of the building he was met by a fearful volley. He managed to wheel his horse round and gallop back a short distance, when horse and rider fell dead in the street riddled with bullets. The captain was a brave and able man, but had one failing he was fond of liquor and this the people of New Um foolishly distributed in unlimited quan- tities to all the defenders free of cost. Mr. Meagher and his men, among whom were Thos. Y. Davis and two or three other Welshmen, crossed the street and got into a blacksmith shop which commanded the front of the building in question, while another squad covered the rear. Two men advanced toward the
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side of the building to fire it. The Indians then beat a hasty retreat followed by a volley from Mr. Meagher's command. The supposed re-enforcements turned out to be Little Crow and his chiefs in council.
As the wind blew from the southeast it drove the smoke of the burning buildings towards town, affording concealment to the Indians as they wormed their way in, and, therefore, to in- crease the smoke, they also fired houses. Fortunately, however. the wind changed and the advance of the Indians was then checked.
The greatest fear of the whites was that the savages would concentrate at one point and charge into town. During the afternoon the sentries on Crone's building noticed a strong con- centration taking place behind a clump of trees and brush on the brow of the hill to the northeast of town, and a number of the whites were gathered to meet the attack, which soon came with much fury. The whites were now in good fighting temper and bravely charged to meet the enemy, routing them with much loss. The whites, however, lost one of their best shots and bravest men in this charge-Newell Houghton of the Mankato company. The Indians had completely invested the town in a short time after their first attack, as we before stated, and since that time they had been slowly working their way in from the outskirts toward the center of town, where the whites soon con- centrated all their force in the four principal blocks. The In- dians had posted a strong force at the head of every street and alley and their bullets whistled through town in every direction, making it dangerous to cross any street. Most of the killed and wounded were shot in crossing streets. James Shoemaker, of Mankato, and the other officers were exposed to special danger in going from place to place to encourage and direct the men. One of the most hazardous duties of all was that of distributing ammunition to the men at the front in the outside circle of houses. Thos. Y. Davis, now of Mankato, finally volunteered to perform this perilous work, and he tells of many a narrow escape he had that Saturday dodging Indian bullets on the streets of New Uhn. Once or twice he made his way through the midst of the enemy to supply ammunition to the garrison at the windmill.
The large quantity of ammunition and good guns which the Indians had secured at the Agencies, at the Ferry from Capt. Marsh's company and from the settlers they had killed, in addition to the rather plentiful supply they had themselves to
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begin with, gave them great advantage over the whites, who had very few good rifles and a very limited supply of ammuni- tion. So the firing of the Indians could be readily distinguished by the loud reports of their well loaded guns. During the tight the Indians also kept up a constant yelping and yelling like packs of wolves. This they did partly to communicate orders and encourage each other.
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