Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle
Number of Pages: 1432

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Fort Abercrombie, which was the protector of the valley of the Red river of the North, was first built in ·1858, but after being held but a short time was abandoned and the property sold. In July, 1860, the necessity for a post in that vicinity hav- ing grown greater, Major Day came to that point with a detachment of troops and rebuilt the fort.

This was situated upon the west bank of the Red river, in what is now Richland county, about fif- teen miles north of the present site of the city of Wahpeton. For a year Major Day with two com- panies of regulars occupied the post. In July, 1861, he, with his command, was ordered to Washing- ton, D. C., and was succeeded by a Captain Mark- ham with two companies of regular troops. These were withdrawn by the exigencies of the Civil war, then raging, and were succeeded by Captain Inman with some companies of the Fourth Minnesota Vol- unteer Infantry. On these troops leaving for the front during the war with the South, they were succeeded by Captain John Van der Horck, with one or two companies of the Fifth Minnesota Vol- unteer Infantry. These were at the post when the massacre broke out. The fort was kept up until 1877, when it was abandoned, and the following year the buildings were sold and scattered among the early settlers of that region, who built houses and barns of the material. The various officers who filled the position of post commander at this fort from the time of its first upbuilding until its final abandonment by the government were the fol- lowing named :

General Abercrombie, Major Day, Captain Markham, Captain Inman, Captain Van der Horck, Captain Burger, Captain Pettler, Major Camp, Captain Chamberlain, General C. P. Adams, Cap- tain Whitcomb, Major Hall and General Slidell.

On the 23d of August, 1862, the Indians com- menced hostilities in the valley of the Red river of the North. But part of the little garrison was at at the fort at the time, a part of the command being stationed at Georgetown, Minnesota, and the east bank of the river, fifty miles north. They had been sent there for the purpose of overawing the Indians in that vicinity, who had threatened some ob- struction of the navigation of the stream and to destroy the property of the Transportation Com- pany. The interpreter at the post, who had gone to the Lower agency at the time of the payment of the Indians, returned on the 20th of August and reported to his commanding officer that the exasperation of the Indians was increasing and that he expected hostilities to be commenced in the near future. Action was at once taken to guard against a surprise ; guards were doubled and every effort made to put the little post in proper shape for de- fense. About this time officers of the government were on their way with a train of some thirty wagons, loaded with goods and attended by about

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two hundred head of cattle, toward the lodge of the Red Lake Chippewas, to conclude a treaty with these tribes. They had arrived, about this time, in the neighborhood of the fort.

On the morning of the 23d of August word was brought to the commander of the post that a band of five hundred Sioux had crossed the Otter tail river with the intention of cutting off and captur- ing the train and cattle. Word was sent at once to the train to come into the fort, which they quickly did. Messengers were also sent to Breckenridge, Old Crossing, Graham's Point and all the principal settlements telling the people to flee to the fort, as the garrison was too small to do much else than defend that post and could not afford protection to the scattered villages or settlers in the vicinity. The great majority of the settlers paid heed to the warning and the same evening the most of them had arrived at the fort and had been assigned such quarters as could be furnished them. Most, if not all, of these, dwelt upon the east side of the river, in Minnesota, as but few settlers had then located on the west side, south of Pembina, as is shown elsewhere.

Several men, among them being a Mr. Russell, however, preferred to stay at Breckenridge, and took possession of a large hotel building and therein undertook to defend themselves and their property, but foolishly threw away their lives in the attempt.

On the evening of the same day a scouting party of six men moved over in the direction of Brecken- ridge from the fort and found that the place was in the hands of a large body of Indians. The little party were seen and pursued, but being mounted, while the Indians were afoot, they escaped.

The detachment that had been stationed at Georgetown was ordered to rejoin at once. On the 24th a reconnoissance was made toward Breck- enridge by a detachment, and the place was found deserted by the Indians. The bodies of the three men who had undertaken its defense were dis- covered, horribly mutilated. When found chains were bound upon their ankles by which they had been dragged around until life had fled. An old settler in the neighborhood, Nick Huffman, who was in the fort at the time, in speaking of this ex- pedition, says :

"While the boys were engaged in burying the remains they thought they could see an Indian in the sawmill, so Rounseval, a half-breed, went to see if that was the case. The mill was half a mile

away. He found an old lady by the name of Scott who had been living with her son. Her son was killed and her grandson taken prisoner. She had a bullet wound in her breast and had crawled on her hands and knees sixteen miles to the mill. She also told the boys where they would find the body of Joe Snell, a stage driver, three miles out from Breckenridge. The buried the body of Snell and took the old lady to the fort. On the way in the Indiaus attacked them and killed the teamster, named Bennett, and came very near taking Cap- tain Mull's wagon containing the old lady. But Rounseval made a charge and brought back the team, the old lady and the body of Bennett. They buried Scott the next day."

The mail taken in the stage coach, spoken of above, was taken from the sacks and scattered about the prairies, but much of it was gathered up by the detachment, which was under the command of Judge McCauley.

Over fifty men capable of bearing arms had taken refuge with the garrison and willingly played the part of soldiers. Unfortunately, many of them were destitute of arms, and the post com- mander had none to spare, so the men helped strengthen the position by building outside in- trenchments. Says an eye witness: "The fort was hard to fortify. There was a stockade along the river. The headquarters and barracks for one company were on the prairie. We fortified the company quarters. using the barrels of pork and corned beef and flour in part for this purpose, with cordwood and earth. The women and children and the sick, and the picket guards, also, had special provision made for them."

"About this time some thousand or fifteen hun- dred infuriated savages had gathered around the fort, fully determined to capture the place and carry off the stores. On the 25th of August a messenger was dispatched to headquarters stating the circum- stances under which the post found itself and the danger of a severe attack. Owing to the stress of war at the south, most of the young, vigorous and able-bodied men of Minnesota and Iowa were away" at the front. It was impossible to relieve the fort for some time, although steps looking to that event were at once placed in train. The garrison watched closely for the cunning advances of the Sioux and by sleepless vigil balked their wily foes." On the 27th of the month a party went out from the fort and buried several more bodies of murdered set- tlers. On Saturday, August 30, a small party set

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

out with the intention of proceeding to Old Cross- ing to reconnoiter and to collect and drive to the fort such live stock.as they could find. After pro- ceeding about ten miles they came upon a party of Sioux in ambush, who fired upon them. One of the party was killed, but the rest escaped to the post with the loss of their wagon, five mules and camp equippage.

At two o'clock the same afternoon Indians in large numbers displayed themselves to the sight of those within the beleagured fort. At that time most of the stock belonging to the post, as well as that belonging to the settlers who had taken refuge therein, together with the cattle intended for the Chippewas, with whom the government was about to make a treaty, were all grazing upon the prairie in the rear of the fort over a range extending from one-half a mile to three iniles from it. Much to the mortification of both the soldiers and the citizens, the Indians boldly advanced and drove off the larger part of the stock, the little garrison not being strong enough to move out and drive the savages off and at the same time defend the fort. The Indians got about two hun- dred head of cattle and a hundred horses and mules. They made no demonstration toward the garrison, except by this bold defiance. On the second of Sep- tember another party went out from the fort, in the direction of Breckenridge, but returned in the afternoon, having seen no Indians, but picking up about fifty head of the cattle driven off by the In- dians, which they had found wandering about on the prairie.

At daybreak on the following morning, Sep- tember 23, the garrison was suddenly called to arms by the report of alarm shots fired by the sen- tinels in the vicinity of the stock yards belonging to the post. The firing soon became sharp and rapid in that direction, developing the fact that the enemy were advancing upon that point in consid- erable force. Commands were issued for all those stationed outside to fall back within the fortifica- tions. About the same time a couple of the hay- stacks were discovered to be on fire. The settlers, emboldened by the sight and inflamed by the thoughts of seeing their remaining cattle carried off or destroyed before their eyes, rushed, with great hardihood and ardor for the stables, and as the first two entered on one side two Sioux entered from the other. The foremost of the white men killed one of the Indians and captured his gun. The second white man was shot in the shoulder by

his réd antagonist, but notwithstanding that shot the Sioux and finished him with his bayonet. Two horses had been taken from the stable and two killed. The conflict was kept up for three hours, during which three of the little garrison were wounded, one mortally, by shots from the enemy. The post commander was severely wounded in the right arm by an accidental shot from one of his own men. After a brisk skirmish the Indians were forced to retire, without having been able to effect an entrance into the fort or to carry off the stock, which seemed to be the main object of the attack. Active measures were taken to strengthen the out- works of the fort. The principal materials at hand were cordwood and hewn timber, of which there was a great store, and Napoleon once said, "with wood in plenty and earth men can intrench and fortify themselves well, anywhere." A breast work was built around the barracks. This was constructed with cordwood, well filled in with earth, and raised to a height of eight feet. This was cap- ped by hewn timbers, eight inches square, with loop holes between them from which a fire could be opened on the approaching foe. This was designed as a keep or means of a final rallying place and harbor of protection in case the outer works were forced or the main fort destroyed by fire.

A second attack was made on Saturday, Sep- tember 6. About dawn, the Indians' favorite time for an onslaught, about fifty Indians, mounted on horseback, appeared on the open prairie, in the rear of the fort. It was evidently their intention, by boldly defying the garrison in this manner, with a small force, to tempt the troops to leave the forti- fication and march out to punish them for their temerity. By thus doing it would be giving the redskins the chance to take them at a disadvantage. Foiled in this plan, for there were shrewd and ex- perienced heads within the fort who were a match for the Indian craft outside, the Sioux threw off all disguise and, displaying themselves in large numbers in different directions, entered upon a con- flict. Their principal object of attack in this, as in former instances, was the stables of the govern- ment. They seemed to be possessed with the idea of getting hold of the remaining horses and cattle at almost any sacrifice.

The stables were upon the edge of the prairie, with a grove of heavy timber lying between them and the river. The Sioux were quick to grasp the advantage of making their approach from the lat-

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

ter direction. The shores of the river on both sidse were lined with Indians for a considerable distance, as their war-whoops, when their preparations for the attack were concluded, soon gave evidence. They were determined, if possible, to frighten the garrison into cowardly inactivity, or to drive them from their outposts by their unearthly whoops and yells, which they indulged in to a large extent. They, in return, however, were saluted, surprised and partially quieted by the opening upon them of a six-pounder and the sharp explosion of a shell in their midst. A large force was now led by one of their principal chiefs from the river through the timber until they were as close to the stables as they could go without quitting the shelter and pro- tection of the big trees. In vain their chief tried to get them to make a rush, but the Indian nature recoiled from exposing themselves in the inter- vening opening space. Again and again their leader tried to induce them to charge for the tempt- ing stables. Once a part of the band advanced to storm the place, but were met with a withering vol- ley. This seemed to take all desire to advance in that direction out of them and they rapidly fled back to the timber, each seeking a big tree to protect himself from the searching fire.

An anecdote is told in this connection that prob- ably should be retold here, as showing the manner in which the fight was continued. Walter P. Hills, a citizen, who had distinguished himself several times by riding through the Indian lines with dis- patches either to the headquarters or from the lat- ter to the fort, was the hero. It seems that he had but just returned to the post with dispatches the evening before. He took part in the engagement and killed an Indian in the early portion of the fight. Taking up a position at one of the loopholes of the fort, he soon found a particular antagonist in a brawny Sioux, who had posted himself behind a convenient tree. Mr. Hills, being somewhat acquainted with the language of his opponent, saluted him, and they conversed back and forth, each taking a shot at the other whenever the chance came. For over an hour they kept this up. The Indian, in changing his position so as to fire from the other side of the tree, hastily exposed his per- son. It was but a fleeting moment, but a party in the upper bastion observed it and the sharp crack of a rifle was heard from that direction. The Indian started backward and two other shots rang out, and the polite antagonist of Mr. Hills lay stretched out upon the earth, dead. That gentleman, it is added,

felt much dissatisfaction and annoyance that any but his hand had sped the bullet that had found his enemy's life.

Several of the enemy were shot as they skulked through the timber, from tree to tree. The artil- lery, most dreaded by the Indian, did effective service. A body of horsemen gathered on a knoll on the prairie, about half a mile away, and it was suspected that they had collected in order to make a charge. A small gun was brought to bear upon the group. A shell hissed and shrieked through the air, plumped itself down in the middle of the horse- men and the explosion was followed by the imme- diate disappearance of the whole troop.

The desultory combat lasted until nearly noon, when the savage foe sullenly withdrew, carrying off nearly all his dead and wounded. Their loss was never ascertained, but from various sources it is believed to have been quite heavy. Our loss was one man killed, two wounded. Mr. Hills left the fort the same evening with despatches for head- quarters at St. Paul, where he arrived Septem- ber 8.

About this time, at St. Paul, efforts were being instituted for the relief of the fort. Captain Emil Buerger was appointed by special order from head- quarters to organize and take command of an ex- pedition with that end in view. This brave and gallant officer, a native of Prussia, had served in the army of his native land for a period of some ten years. On coming to Minnesota he became a naturalized citizen. He enlisted in the Second Company of Minnesota Sharpshooters, and was wounded and taken prisoner at the hard-fought field of Fair Oaks, Virginia, in the spring of 1862. Being paroled, he was sent to Benton barracks, Missouri, and was there at the time the ill-fated Minnesota Third Volunteer Infantry was ordered home. That body of men being entirely without officers, Captain Buerger was appointed to take charge of it from St. Louis to St. Paul. His known experience and bravery pointing him out as the fit commander, he was selected to lead the expedition then fitting out for the relief of Fort Aber- crombie.

On the 9th of September he was informed by the commandant at Fort Snelling that the com- panies commanded by Captains George Atkinson and Rolla Banks, together with some sixty men from the Third Volunteer Infantry, under Sergeant Dearborne, were to constitute his command. This made up an aggregate force of about two hundred

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

and fifty men. The next day arms and equipments were served out, and before noon, September 11, Captain Atkinson's company and the company formed from the members of the Third regiment, were ready for the march. With these Captain Buerger set out, leaving Captain Banks' company to follow as soon as they had received their cloth- ing and equipments. The latter joined the main coulumn the next day. It was deemed expedient to send with this force the only remaining field piece belonging to the state, and Lieutenant R. J. McHenry was appointed to the command of the battery and succeeded in reaching Captain Buer- ger's force September 13, near Clearwater. Muddy roads, rain, lack of transportation and other causes delayed the column. The fitting out of so many other expeditions and detachments at the same time had drawn so heavily upon a sparsely settled coun- try that scarcely a horse or wagon could be had either by contract or by impressment. In the meantime two companies of soldiers, under Cap- tains George W. McCoy and Theodore H. Barrett, were also marching to the relief of Fort Aber- crombie. They had gone to various points in the state of Minnesota that were threatened by the In- dians, and rendered excellent service. The time had now come for them to resume their march for . the point of their original destination. During the night of September 15, while in camp near Lake Amelia, on the old Red river trail, they were over- taken by a courier with orders to join Captain Buerger's column and place themselves under his command. On the 19th they accordingly made the junction with the other column. By this accession the force at the disposal of the commander was in- creased to over four hundred' men. The line of march was now taken, and after an uneventful jour- ney of several days the coltunn reached Old Crossing, on the Otter Trail river, between Dayton and Breckenridge, about fifteen miles from the latter place. This was on the 23rd of September. The next morning the march was resumed, and all were in expectation. Nothing occurred until the expe- dition had reached a point about a mile from the Red river, and almost within sight of Fort Aber- crombie. A dense smoke was observed in the direction of the fort. The impression was that they had arrived too late, and that the fort had fallen beneath the attacks of the redskins, and that it was being reduced by fire, the Indians' favorite weapon in war. All hastened to an eminence, when the sight of Old Glory still waving above the

still standing battlements of the post cheered their hearts and brightened their eyes. The Indians, who were well posted upon the march of the expe- dition, had set fire to the prairie between the com- mand and the post, with the design of cutting off the crossing of the river by the relieving column. On the resumption of the march, as they still approached nearer the river, a band of some thir- teen savages appeared upon the opposite shore, who discharged their rifles at the marching troops, at a distance of fifteen hundred yards, without effect, and hastily and in great fear fled into the bushes. A detachment, consisting of twenty mounted men of Captain Freeman's company and twenty skirmishers from the Third Regiment com- pany, all under the command of Lieutenant Tay- lor, was directed to cross the river as quickly as possible. Fired by the sights they had seen in their arduous march and service, the soldiers entered upon this duty with an alacrity that boded ill for any Sioux they encountered. They crossed the river and followed in the direction taken by the Indians they had seen. Captain Buerger took the balance of the Third Regiment and the field piece to a point above where he thought the Indians would cross in their retreat. Finding, however, that the Sioux were retreating, under cover of the woods, across the prairie, in the direction of the Wild Rice river, he ordered the whole force to cross the Red river. This was effected in less than an hour, the men not waiting to be carried over in wagons, but, with the true spirit of the American soldier, plunged into the river, there breast deep, and waded across. By this time the Indians had retreated some three miles, and had reached the heavy tim- ber which skirted the prairie. Pursuit was consid- ered useless, and the line of march was resumed for the fort. About four o'clock in the afternoon of that September day they reached the post to the great joy of the garrison and the citizens therein beleaguered. They were received with cheers and every demonstration of delight and enthusiasm. When the moving column of troops had been first descried from the ramparts of the fort they had been taken for Indian reinforcements advancing to the attack, and all was excitement. The reaction when it was discovered that it was the long-ex- pected, long-delayed relief column, was the greater for their few minutes of alarm. Charles S. Bryant, in his history of the Minnesota Massacre, gives the description of the scene of these last moments of the siege in the words of an eye-witness, a lady

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

who had been cooped up in the fort for those per- ilous weeks, waiting for coming of relief. The account says :

"About five o'clock the report came to quarters that the Indians were again coming from up toward Bridge's. With a telescope we soon discovered four white men, our messengers riding at full speed, who upon reaching here informed us that in one-half hour we would be reinforced by three hundred and fifty men. Language can never express the delight of all. Some wept, some laughed, others hollooed and cheered. The soldiers and citizens here formed in line and went out to meet them. We all cheered so that the next day more than half of us could hardly speak aloud. The ladies all went out, and as the soldiers passed cheered then. They were so dusty I did not know one of them."

That same morning, but at an early hour, a mes- senger was despatched again with a more urgent call for help. The gates of the fort opened and the messenger, Walter Hills, mounted upon a fleet horse and escorted by some thirty-two volunteers, partly soldiers, partly citizens, emerged. The Indians were in ambush all around, and, every moment the little band expected to hear the deadly crack of the rifle and see the fall of some comrade or receive himself, the fatal missile. For some unaccountable reason, however, the savages withheld their fire and the party rode on and crossed the river, and themessen- ger was soon riding eastward for suecor. The es- cort turned toward the fort, but about a mile from the post fell into an ambush of the Indians and lost two of their number. One of these was a settler named Edward Wright, and a soldier by the name of Shulty. The rest fled for the fort and by ex- traordinary exertion escaped and reached the gar- rison.

The next morning about two-thirds of the mounted company under command of Captain Free- man, escorted by a strong force of infantry, went out to search for the bodies of those slain the day before. After seouring the woods for a considerable dis- tance the bodies were found upon the prairie about eighty rods apart, mangled and mutilated to such a degree as to be almost deprived of human shape. The body of Mr. Wright had been ripped open from the center of the abdomen to the throat. The heart and liver were entirely removed, while the lungs were torn out and left upon the outside of the chest. The head was cut off, scalped, and thrust within the cavity of the abdomen with the face toward the feet. The hands were cut off and laid side by side

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Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 13

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle Number of Pages: 1432

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle
Number of Pages: 1432