Fort Ridgely was a frontier

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

outpost from 1851 to 1867, built 1853–1854 in

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota and the w ...

. The

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

called it Esa Tonka. It was located overlooking the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

southwest of Fairfax, Minnesota. Half of the fort's land was part of the south reservation in the Minnesota river valley for the

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

and Wahpekute tribes. Fort Ridgely had no defensive wall,

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

, or

guard tower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

s. The Army referred to the fort as the "New Post on the Upper Minnesota" until it was named for two Maryland Army Officers named Ridgely (Randolph and Lott Henderson), who died during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. (Many sources also cite Captain Thomas P. Ridgely as a namesake, but he died at a residence in Baltimore.)

History

Construction

The War Department hired Mr. Jessie H. Pomeroy of St. Paul to build both Fort Ridgely and Fort Ripley. At Ridgely there were two Companies of troops that assisted in quarrying the granite two miles away, transporting it to the site, and the erection of a 400-man stone barracks. The barracks formed the east side of the 90 square yard parade ground of the wall-less fort. In 1854–55, Congress approved $10,000 for the clearing of timber on a military road from St Anthony Falls to Fort Ridgely. On July 22, 1856, Congress approved another $50,000 to build a wagon road from Fort Ridgely to South Pass, Nebraska Territory. William H. Nobles was appointed superintendent of the road's construction. He encountered problems receiving disbursements to cover the basic labor costs incurred. March 8, 1857, the

Spirit Lake Massacre The Spirit Lake Massacre (March 8–12, 1857) was an attack by a ''Wahpekute'' band of Santee Sioux on scattered Iowa frontier settlements during a severe winter. Suffering a shortage of food, the renegade chief Inkpaduta (Scarlet Point) led 14 ...

took place across the border in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Fort Ridgely sent troops commanded by Captain Bee to investigate. They found that

Inkpaduta Inkpaduta ( Dakota: Iŋkpáduta, variously translated as "Red End," "Red Cap," or "Scarlet Point") (about 17971881) was a war chief of the Wahpekute band of the Dakota (Eastern or Santee Dakota) during the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre and later W ...

and his band had departed, but Lt. Murray and 25 men were left to search while Capt. Bee and the others returned to Fort Ridgely. The sole survivor was a 14 year old named Abbie Gardner who was made a

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

for four months. On March 26 the band made a raid on

Springfield, Minnesota Springfield is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,152 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 14 serves as a main route in the community. This location is in the middle of some of Minnesota's most productive far ...

and according to Abbie, Lt. Murray and his men came into sight two days later, unaware how close they came to encountering the band. Two Wahpeton bargained for the Government for her release and took her to the Upper Sioux Agency. From there she was moved to the Fort Ridgely where she was put on a

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...

St Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Sioux Uprising

The fort played an important role in 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, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

. It would go into American West history as the only fort to come under attack as it experienced. On August 18 Captain Marsh, the fort commander, took most of the garrison to the

Lower Sioux Agency The Lower Sioux Agency, or Redwood Agency, was the federal administrative center for the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation in what became Redwood County, Minnesota, United States. It was the site of the Battle of Lower Sioux Agency on August 18, 1 ...

upon receiving reports that the Agency had been attacked. Second Lt. Gere and a few men were on duty there. Marsh and his men came under attack when they stopped for water. That action became known as the

Battle of Redwood Ferry The Battle of Redwood Ferry took place on August 18, 1862, on the first day of the Dakota War of 1862. A United States Army company responding to the Dakota attack at the Lower Sioux Agency from Fort Ridgeley was ambushed and defeated at Redwood ...

. Earlier in August Capt. Marsh had requested assistance from C Company at Fort Ripley to oversee the annuity and provisions exchange at the Upper Sioux Agency. Fort Ripley's executive officer, 1st Lt. Sheehan brought two Mountain Howitzers and 40 men to do the job. Initially, Indian Agent Thomas Galbraith refused to extend

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt) ...

to the Sissiton and Whapeton. However, after a heated exchange Lt. Sheehan with his howitzers convinced all parties that an orderly distribution of food was best. With that done and thinking their task was completed, C Company departed for their own post the morning that the lower Agency was overrun. Unbeknownst to Sheehan, Galbraith had refused to extend credit to the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute at the Lower Sioux Agency. B Company did not have the same military force presence at the Lower Sioux Agency and the situation there spiraled out of control. When Capt. Marsh learned of the outbreak he sent a runner to catch up with C Company for their support. Lt. Sheehan and his men were near

Glencoe, Minnesota Glencoe ( ) is a city and the county seat of McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,744 at the 2020 census. History Glencoe was laid out in 1855 and named after Glen Coe in Scotland. A post office has been in operation ...

, about 40 miles distance, when they were caught up with. Sheehan marched his men through the night making it back to Ridgely by noon that day. Their reinforcement of the garrison changed the Fort's defense as it had more

firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It involves the whole range of potential weapons. The concept is generally taught as one of the three key principles of modern warfare wherein the enemy forces are destroyed or ...

than it could use with eight artillery pieces. When 2nd Lt. Gere learned of Capt. March's death he sent a Private William Sturgis to inform Fort Snelling. Sturgis rode through the night covering the 125 miles in eighteen hours. The Sioux attacked Ridgely's combined military/civilian force twice, on August 20 and August 22. B and C Companies of the 5th Minnesota together with militia and settlers of the

valley totaling 230 were opposed by 800 Mdewakanton and Wahpekute led by

Little Crow Little Crow III ( Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Wahpekute Dakota chief who led a faction of the Dakota in a five-week war against the United States in 1862. In 1846, after surviving a violent leadership contest w ...

. Some of the civilians were native

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

members of the Renville Rangers

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

that had been in the process of departing for Fort Snelling to enlist in a Minnesota Volunteer Infantry unit. Private Sturgis gave them the word they were needed at Fort Ridgely. Fort artillery is credited with repulsing the overwhelming force. Ordinance Sergeant John Jones was the sole regular Army at the fort. He is credited with Ridgely's successful defense by organizing men with artillery experience to man three cannons, two 12-pounders and the 24-pounder."Massacre!", ''American Heritage''. Vol. 13, Iss. 3, American Heritage Publishing Co., Ralph K. Andrist, April 1962, p.

/ref> With all the Limbers and caissons, caissons available, while one was servicing a gun position another was restocked and readied to immediately replace it when it was depleted. This allowed the guns to be fired non-stop when needed. C Company remained at the fort until after Col. Sibley arrived with the 6th Minnesota, Companies A, B, F, G 7th Minnesota, Company A 9th Minnesota and Companies G & I 10th Minnesota. With dead laying all over the frontier, Sibley dispatched 170 men as burial parties. Two of those burial parties met and bivouacked 16 miles from Fort Ridgely. On Sept 2nd they were ambushed in the

Battle of Birch Coulee The Battle of Birch Coulee occurred on September 2–3, 1862, and resulted in the heaviest casualties suffered by U.S. forces during the Dakota War of 1862. The battle occurred after a group of Dakota people, Dakota warriors followed a U.S. buri ...

. Lt. Sheehan and his men were part of the relief force. Afterwards Sibley ordered them back to Fort Ripley to get their garrison back to strength with the frontier in turmoil. On 4 September the 3rd Minnesota arrived back at Fort Snelling and joined Sibley at Fort Ridgely on the 12th. As the war against the Sioux expanded, three Companies of the

30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a United States Volunteers, volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 30th Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin, ...

later transitioned Fort Ridgely and New Ulm en route to

Fort Wadsworth Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower bays, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay, Manhattan, and beyon ...

(Sisseton). For a period a battery of the 3rd Minnesota light Artillery was posted to the fort. Sergeant Jones resigned from the U.S. Army for a Captain's commission in the 3rd Minn. Artillery. Postwar Capt. Jones served one term as the Chief of the St. Paul Police Department. The Companies of the 7th Minnesota would garrison the Fort next, followed by the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry, Becketts Cavalry, and a Company of the 1st U.S. Volunteers. They were Confederate prisoners of war that had been sworn into federal service. In March 1863 General Sibley ordered a general court martial be convened at Fort Ridgely on the March 18. The accused was a Lt. George V. Mayhew. The charges were not identified, but were written by his commanding officer Captain Libby of Libby's Company. ,

Notable Officers posted to Fort Ridgely

Notable officers posted to Fort Ridgely included: *Major Samuel Woods (6th U.S. Infantry), first post commander 1852–53, would become a Lt. Colonel and paymaster of the

Department of Dakota A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866, to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory. The Dep ...

. *Major George W. Patten, post commander twice, 1856 and 1861. Lost a hand at the

Battle of Cerro Gordo The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, was an engagement in the Mexican–American War on April 18, 1847. The battle saw Winfield Scott's United States troops outflank Antonio López de Santa Anna's larger Mexican army, driving ...

, Mexico and became a Lt. Colonel. *Lt. Alfred Sulley 1855 made Major General by end of

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

. *Lt. John C. Kelton (6th U.S. Infantry) 1852 would become the Adjunct General United States Army *Lt.

Winfield Scott Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...

1853 would become a Major General and commander of the

*Lt. Henry E. Maynadier (10th U.S. Infantry) 1856–57, became a brevet Major General *Lt.

Frederick Steele Major General Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was an American military officer who served in the Army in the Mexican-American War, Yuma War, and American Civil War. He is most noted for capturing the Arkansas state capi ...

1854, became a Major General *Capt. John J. Abercrombie 1854, also served at Fort Ripley and established

Fort Abercrombie Fort Abercrombie, in North Dakota, was a United States Army fort established by authority of an Act of Congress, March 3, 1857. The act allocated twenty-five square miles of land on the Red River of the North in Dakota Territory to be used for ...

. Became a Brigadier General. *Colonel Edmund Brooke Alexander, post commander, 10th U.S. Infantry 1857 would become a brevet Brigadier General *Major Thomas W. Sherman (3rd U.S. Artillery) at post when the post was made the Artillery School for Practice Fort Ridgely. He was there 1858–1861 except while commander of an expedition to Kettle Lake in Dakota Territory in 1859. He would become a brevet Major General *Major William W. Morris (4th U.S. Artillery) at post 1861 became a brevet Major General *Capt. John S. Marsh replaced Major Morris and was killed in action at Redwood ferry 1862, (B Co. 5th Minnesota Infantry) *2nd Lt.

Thomas P. Gere Thomas Parke Gere (December 10, 1842 – January 8, 1912) was a Union Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Nashville in the American Civil War. Biography He was born December 10, 1842, in Wellsburg, ...

(B Co. 5th Minnesota) assumed command when Capt. Marsh was killed. He received the Medal of Honor at the

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 18 ...

*1st Lt. Timothy J. Sheehan assumed post command from 2nd Lt. Gere 1862 (C Co. 5th Minnesota Infantry) wounded twice defending the post, made Lt. Colonel by end of Civil War, wounded 2 twice more * Major John Parker post commander, 1st Minnesota Mounted Rangers * Major E.A.Hatch, was at the Battle of Fort Ridgely as a civilian hired by the Northern Superintendency of Indian Affairs to accompany the annuity payment from St Paul. He would be enlisted as a Major in 1863 and made commander of the 1st Minnesota Indian Volunteer Regiment better known as Hatch's Battalion. *Capt. Barnard Bee became Brigadier General CSA and is credited with giving

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

his nickname at the First Battle of Bullrun, where he was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

. *Major J.C. Pemberton post commander 1859–61 became a CSA Lt. General and would surrender to

Ulysses Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as commanding general, Grant led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War ...

at Vicksburg. *Lt.

Lewis A. Armistead Lewis Addison Armistead (February 18, 1817 – July 5, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On July 3, 1863, as part of Pickett's Charge during ...

post commander (6th Infantry), became a CSA

Lt. General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

*Corporal Daniel W. Burke(Companies B & E 2nd U.S. Infantry) 1858–59 would become Brigadier General. He received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

during the Civil War at the

Battle of Shepherdstown The Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, at Boteler's Ford along the Potomac River, during the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. After the Battle of Antietam on Sep ...

. * Capt. James L. Fisk (3rd Minnesota Infantry special assignment Quartermaster Corps) 1863, 64.

Units assigned to the outpost

In its time, numerous units were assigned to the outpost. From the U.S. Army: Companies of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, 6th, and 10th Infantry Regiments as well as batteries of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th Artillery Regiments, as well as I Co. 1st U.S. Volunteer Regiment. Until 1859 the garrison was typically three companies of infantry of 30-40 men each. That year the Army designated the fort as an Artillery School for Practice and supplied six pieces of various calibers: two

M1841 6-pounder field gun The M1841 6-pounder field gun was a bronze smoothbore muzzleloading cannon that was adopted by the United States Army in 1841 and used from the Mexican–American War to the American Civil War. It fired a round shot up to a distance of at 5° e ...

s, 12-pounder, M1841 mountain howitzer, 12 pound Napoleon, and

M1841 24-pounder howitzer The M1841 24-pounder howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece adopted by the United States Army in 1841 and employed from the Mexican–American War through the American Civil War. It fired a shell to a distance of at 5° ...

. From 1857 to 1861, Companies G, I, L 2nd Artillery were variously posted to northern forts: Snelling, Ridgely, and Ripley. In 1859, Companies F and K of the 4th Artillery were posted to the Fort. May 1861 saw E Company 3rd Artillery withdrawn to the east because of the rebellion. During the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

Companies from Minnesota Volunteer Regiments served in place of the regular army. These included the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

, 6th,

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

, 9th, and 10th regiments, 2nd Cavalry, 1st Mounted Rangers, Brackett's Cavalry and a battery from the 3rd light artillery.On Duty at Fort Ridgely, Minnesota 1853–67, Paul Hedren, South Dakota Historical Society Press, 1977, pp. 168–92, appendi

/ref>

1864 wagon train

On July 15, 1864, Capt. James L. Fisk of the

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of quartermaster corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

lead 97 wagons of pioneers out of Fort Ridgely to meet Gen. Sulley at

Fort Rice Fort Rice (Lakota: ''Psíŋ Otȟúŋwahe''; "Wild Rice Village") was a frontier military fort in the 19th century named for American Civil War General James Clay Rice in what was then Dakota Territory and what is now North Dakota. The 50th Wiscon ...

for escort to the gold fields in

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

. Gen.Sulley departed early, so Fort Rice provided a 40-man escort. On September 2, one hundred eighty miles west, the train ran into

Sitting bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

's warriors. The wagon train made a 300' diameter defense of sod that was named

Fort Dilts Fort Dilts was a makeshift sod fort built near Rhame, North Dakota, United States, in September 1864 to fend off attacks by Hunkpapa Sioux Indians led by Sitting Bull upon an encircled wagon train of would-be gold-miners and a small military e ...

. General Sully organized a rescue expedition consisting of 300 men 30th Wisconsin, 200 8th Minnesota, 100 7th Iowa Cavalry(dismounted) and 100 each from the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry, Brackett's Battalion and the 6th Iowa Cavalry. The Minnesota units rendezvous at Fort Ridgely to head west and rescued the outpost on the 20th. However, a wagon of

poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

ed food was left by Minnesotans that had lost family in the 1862 uprising. Upon reaching Fort Rice the wagon expedition disbanded.Fort Dilts, Fort Dilts State Historic Site, State Historical Society of North Dakota, 612 East Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, North Dakota

/ref>

1865 Abandonment of the post

In 1865-6 Captain Kellogg, Commander of Fort Ridgley, formed three settlements of friendly Sioux before the Lake Traverse Reservation was created. The first was directly west of Fort Ridgely at

Lake Hendricks Lake Hendricks is a lake in the U.S. states of Minnesota and South Dakota. Lake Hendricks was named in about 1857 for Indiana governor and Vice President of the United States, Thomas A. Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819 � ...

on the Minnesota-Dakota Territory border. The other two were southeast of Lake Hendricks at Lake Titaukhe, and Lake Thompson.Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Minnesota for the Year ending 31 December, 1866 and of the Military forces of the State from 1861-1866, Pioneer Printing Company, St Paul, Minnesota, 1866, p.

/ref> In June 1865 the 10th Infantry returned to Fort Snelling and Companies B and H were posted to Fort Ridgely. The Army abandoned Fort Ridgely in 1867 and posted the garrison to

(Sisseton). Civilians occupied the vacant buildings and later dismantled them for the building materials. In 1863 one of the 6-pounders from the fort was given to the New Ulm Battery by General Sibley.

State Recognition

Fort Ripley Chippewa Monument at Fort Ridgely

In 1895 the Minnesota legislature authorized $3,000, roughly $102,000.00 in 2020 dollars, for the construction of a monument to the Minnesota citizens who had defended the fort. On 20 August 1896 the

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

structure was dedicated with many of the surviving defenders attending. Werner Boesch, the ex-Swiss artilleryman that had helped man a 12-pounder during the attacks, had a Fort Ridgely Defender Medal made for the occasion. On it he quoted Big Eagle's comment about the Fort: "Ti-Yo-Pa Na-Ta-Ka-Pi" or they "Kept the Door Shut" to the lower Minnesota river valley. The reverse reads: Presented by the State of Minnesota. The State erected another large monument to the Chief Mou-zoo-mau-nee and the

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Mille can refer to: People * Constantin Mille, Romanian journalist and politician * Mathieu Mille, French ice hockey player Places * Mille Lacs County, Minnesota * Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. * Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River ...

in 1914. Chief Mou-zoo-mau-nee sent 300 warriors to the Fort Ripley to augment in its defense during the uprising."A monument to loyalty and service", Aug 22, 2007, ''Moccasin Telegraph'', MessAge Media, 280 West Main Street, Isle, M

/ref> The State held a large dedication and the Milles Lacs band sent a

delegation Delegation is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person.Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Woods, P., Simon, A., & McBarron, E. (2017). ''Management'' (6th ed., pp. 282–286). Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons Australia. ...

to represent the band. In June of 1918 the 6th Battalion of Minnesota Home Guard was mustered into the State National Guard with A Company at Fairfax. Fort Ridgely was used as an encampment site by A Company.

Site of the fort today

Today the building foundations have been exposed by State archeologists. The

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Educational institution, educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the Minnesota Terr ...

maintains the publicly owned portion within

Fort Ridgely State Park Fort Ridgely State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, on the Minnesota River south of Fairfax. It preserves Fort Ridgely, site of the Battle of Fort Ridgely during the Dakota War of 1862. It was the only Minnesota state park with a 9-hole ...

. The old commissary building (partially reconstructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

in the 1930s) now houses the Park's museum. Fort Ridgely was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1970, with much of the park added in 1989.

References

Works cited

External links

Fort Ridgely State Park
from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Historical Society: Fort Ridgely

Fort Ridgely watercolor by Lt. Sulley 1855
at the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma {{Protected areas of Minnesota Dakota War of 1862 Ridgely Military and war museums in Minnesota Military sites of the wars between the United States and Native Americans Minnesota in the American Civil War Minnesota state historic sites Museums in Nicollet County, Minnesota Minnesota Historical Society Ridgely 1853 establishments in Minnesota Territory Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Nicollet County, Minnesota Native American history of Minnesota