|
Staff, General Henry H. Sibley’s Command of Minnesota Volunteers
Loren Webb
participated in the opening stages of what would become known as the Sioux
Uprising of 1862. Loren had been
attending war meetings and trying, unsuccessfully, to enlist recruits to form a
company in Cherry Grove and Red Wing to send against the impending crisis in
the North. The first meeting was held
at Pine Island, but Loren could not attend. The next day, after cutting wheat, Loren traveled to Cherry Grove and
attended another war meeting with Professor Wilson and Mr. Graham, who were
acquaintances of his. On the 15th, at a
war meeting in Red Wing he made a speech to a large assembly before retiring to
the home of another acquaintance, Mr. Wellington.
On 16 August, the day before the attack by Dakota Sioux on
Litchfield, Loren embarked by steamboat to St. Paul, disembarked at 6:00PM and
stayed the night at the Winslow Hotel. The next morning he went to Fort Snelling, where it was quiet because
news of the Litchfield attack had not yet reached the fort. The 18th saw more
excitement, several companies arrived at the Fort with news of attacks by
Little Crow’s men and the fort was stirred with activity. Loren proceeded directly to St. Paul and
applied for a position in the Minnesota Volunteer forces. Loren was already known to Governor Ramsey
and had met him while on duty in Illinois with the 9th Regiment and on the 19th
he appointed Henry Sibley as General (or Colonel) of the expedition, Loren Webb
as Adjutant-General and assigned four companies of soldiers to proceed
immediately to quell the uprising.
Tuesday, 19th
Pleasant till noon, then rainy. I went
to the Fort (Snelling) again to day. While there news came of Indian outrages. Gen. Sibley was chosen to go, and I was requested to go as
Adjutant General of the expedition against them. We got 4 companies ready to go and remained till morn.
Wednesday, 20th
Cool and damp. This morning early, we
took boat for the scene of outrages. We
went up the Minnesota River to Shakopee, then stopped and distributed the arms
and ammunition to the troops, and went into quarters for the night.
Thursday, 21st
Rainy. We went up the river today as
far as Bell Plain. There camped for the
night. All is excitement to day. Hundreds of people are leaving their homes
and rushing towards places of safety.
[...from the Diary of Captain Loren Webb...]
Saint Paul, Minn, August 21, 1862 – 4P.M.
Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War : The Sioux Indians on our western border have risen, and are murdering
men, women, and children. I have
ordered a party of men out, under Col. H. H. Sibley[i], and
given the command of the Sixth Regiment, also ordered up, to Capt. A. D.
Nelson, U. S. Army. I must have
Nelson. Telegraph at one.
-Alex. Ramsey
Saint Paul, Minn, August 21, 1862
Hon. C. P. Wolcott. Assistant Secretary of War : A most frightful insurrection
of Indians has broken out along our whole frontier. Men, women, and children are indiscriminately murdered; evidently
the result of a deep-laid plan, the attacks being simultaneous along our whole
border. The Governor has ordered out
infantry. It is useless. Cannot you authorize me to raise 1,000
mounted men for the special service?
-J. H. Baker, Secretary of State
War Department, Washington, August 22, 1862.
Brigadier-General Schofield, Saint Louis, Mo. : Send the Third Regiment
Minnesota Volunteers against the Indians on the frontier of Minnesota.
-H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief
[...from ‘Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies’...]
Friday, 22nd
Pleasant. We pressed teams into service
this morning and started for St. Peter distant 25 miles. We arrived there after a hard march about 7
P.M. and went into camp.
[...from the Diary of Captain Loren Webb...]
(previous pages missing) ...of safety. As we
advanced we learned more of the true state of affairs; and owing to the
strength of the Indians, word was dispatched to Capts. Grant, and Straight to
change their course, and meet us a St. Peter, that the entire force might be
combined; much fatigued, we arrived at St. Peter at 8PM, and camped for the
night.
Aug.23rd. To day a battalion was sent
to the relief of Newulm. Our numbers
were increased by about 500 horsemen, who joined us, from all parts of the
country. We organized them into
companies, and supplied them with arms, so far as we could.
[...from the papers of Loren Webb (at McKendree College)...]
Saturday, 23rd
Pleasant. We remained here all day
drilling and waiting for ammunition. Great excitement prevails and hundreds are flocking in. The Indians have attacked New Ulm
today. Some dead bodies are brought in.
Sunday, 24th
Pleasant. 6 companies of the 6th regt.
Came to day. We sent out scouting
parties but found nothing. The Indians
are trying to take Ft. Ridgely we hear to day.
[...from the Diary of Captain Loren
Webb...]
Aug24th. A
dispatch was received from the Governor this morning, to the effect that he had
started two boats, loaded with arms, ammunition and provisions; also two pieces
of artillery; we remain for their arrival. Six companies of the 6th Regiment under command of Col Crooks, joined us
to day. About 1 o’clock P.M. Messengers
on foaming steeds, came dashing into town, with the report, that the Indians
but twelve miles out are murdering the inhabitants, and burning their
houses. The people are panic stricken,
and came rushing into the city; so that by night, there was not a house, hut,
hovel or chamber that could afford shelter, but it w(?) (were) filled with the
refugees. The cavalry was sent out, but
the Indians were mounted on fleet Ponies and made good their retreat. Our horsemen, upon their return, brought
several dead bodies with them to the city. This filled the people with wild consternation, women wringing their
hands, walking the streets, weeping for their friends and neighbors, who had
fallen. Amid this excitement, a well
known man, by the name of Fraser, comes galloping feverishly into the
place. He has made his escape from the
“Fort”. Had very daringly ventured out
on a pony, in the night, and dashed through the Indian’s lines; was several
times fired upon, but unhurt. He
reports the Fort in great danger; they have been fighting continuously for
nearly a week and are almost worn down, for but 150 men were opposing several
hundred Indians. There too are 300
women and children who have escaped from the surrounding country to the Fort
for safety. – Our messenger sits down
to eat, and rest. – The General, prepares messages, for the commander of the
Fort. Fraser, or as he is more generally
called “jack”, says he will try to return with them, though with but little
hope of escaping with his life; but let us see who Jack is; As I am informed, he is a man of mixed
blood, three fourths Scotch, and one fourth Indian. When but six years old he was captured by Indians, when they were
about to cut off his hair he resisted, and struck one of the Indians in the
face telling him at the same time that they might kill him, but could not cut
off his hair. Discovering this spirit
of native bravery they kept him. He
grew up among them, and became one of their most daring warriors, lead them in
several battles, against the Chippewa’s and Pembina (?) tribes, but several
years since through the influence of Gen Sibley (who was then Indian agent) he
adopted the customs, of the whites, has since been a farmer, and a staunch
friend to them. He is now ready and
start on his dangerous mission, which is to encourage the people at the Fort to
hold out a little longer, and they will be relieved. Just as night was closing in upon us, our transports arrived with
arms, provisions, &c. The word
comes also that the Indians have abandoned the siege of Newulm (sic) and have
combined their force to reduce the “Fort”. We pressed teams and loaded our provisions onto wagons.
Aug. 25th. At 10 A.M. we marched and
proceeded about 12 miles and camped for the night. Here our messenger, Jack, comes to us, and states that he could
not reach the Fort; that he was several times fired upon and that a large
number of Indians were there determined to take the Fort, and murder the women
and children, as well men before we could get there with our
reinforcement. General Sibley steps out
in front of the camp and states these facts, and calls for volunteers from the
cavalry, to go to the fort tonight. 180
men, well mounted and armed are ready, and followed by the cheers of their
comrades, they gallop to the relief of their besieged friends. The word was seen communicated to the
Indians by means of their skulking parties, that a large body of horsemen were
coming. With a furious yell, they rush
upon the Fort, and at the point of the bayonet, they contend (h...) of the cannon
and the determined resistance of the soldiers compels them to fall back. Again they raise deafening cry, and disperse. Our cavalry arrived there just as the sun
had begun to illuminate the Eastern Horizon, but the Indians had gone. A messenger returned with the word that the
Fort was safe; and those faithful soldiers, weary with watching, and fighting
for several days, were at last relieved. - We will now turn back to trace
the movements of the main army. The
second days march was pleasant but tiresome; at night we camped in the prairie
on an eminence, the better to defend ourselves, in case of a night attack. In the morning, quite early, we again set
forward. Today we examined all the
houses that were on our course, and buried the dead that we found at them. We arrived at the Fort at 6 P.M. and my
eyes, beheld, the scene of the terrible conflict. The people were filled with fury, and the cannon spoke the
gratitude they could not express. We
camped here for the night. In the
morning, one company of Cavalry, and one of infantry... (no more pages)
[...from the papers of Loren Webb (at
McKendree College)...]
Monday, 25th
Pleasant. This morning the army starts
for the Fort. I did not get started to
day.
Tuesday, 26th
Pleasant. This morning, Quarter master
Mills and myself started to over take the train. We got out 9 miles and saw 6 Indians and had to wait for some
cavalry that were coming. The Lieunt.
Governor came up also. I made his
acquaintance and am most pleased with him. The Indians left and we went on. Overtook the train at 2 P.M. Saw
where houses had been burned and families murdered. The country is deserted and the grain in the sheaf to rot. 80 cavalry went with the train to the Fort
to day. The Indians are gone.
[...from the diary of Captain Loren Webb...]
Saint Paul, Minn., August 26, 1862 – 2 P.M.
Major-General Halleck, General-in-Chief : Could not Minnesota and Dakota be
organized into a military department and General W. S. Harney sent to chastise
the Sioux?
-Alex. Ramsey, Governor of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minn., August 26, 1861 – 7 P.M.
Hon. E. M. Stanton : When the Indian outbreak was first known here, on the 20th
instant, I at once called upon the people everywhere to mount horses and with
what arms they had to march to the scene of difficulty[ii]. Hundreds have done so, and they should be
mustered as well as can be at once, and I would suggest Maj. Howard Stansbury,
a retired officer of the Regular Army, resident here, for that purpose, and
report to me.
-Alex. Ramsey
Saint Paul, Minn., August 26, 1862 – 10 P.M.
President Lincoln : With the concurrence of Commissioner Dole I have
telegraphed the Secretary of War for an extension of one month of drafting,
&c. The Indian outbreak has come
upon us suddenly. Half the population
of the State are fugitives. It is
absolutely impossible that we should proceed. I appeal to you and ask for an immediate answer. No one not here can conceive the panic in
the State.
-Alex. Ramsey, Governor of Minnesota
[...from ‘Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies’...]
Wednesday, 27th
Pleasant. We started again this morning
and reached them Fort at 4 P.M. We
buried 2 men on the way that had been murdered by the Indians. The governor had a hard time but held out a
defeated the Red Skins.
Thursday, 28th
Pleasant. We remained here all
day. All is excitement and thirst for
revenge. A woman and 4 children came in
this morning nearly starved and three of them badly wounded. They had wandered 11 days. The general feeling is to exterminate the
Indians. We learn to day that the
Indians have murdered 1000 people and have 200 prisoners, the greater number
women and children.
Friday, 29th
Rainy. Our ammunition and provision
train arrived to day, but we made no move.
Saturday, 30th
Pleasant. We remained here again to day
for our cavalry all went home but a few, and we could not move well. The Indians have started North.
Sunday, 31st
Pleasant. We sent a party ahead to bury
the dead at the Lerner Agency. I
started for home this morning, arrived at St. Peter to night at 10 P.M. Remained all night. Saw a part of the 7th regt. That is going to
reinforce the 6th.
[...from the diary of Captain Loren Webb...]
Roster of General Sibley’s Command
Field and Staff Officers :
Brevet Major-General Henry Hastings Sibley
Adjutant Loren Webb : Webb, age 24, formerly a Captain in the 9th Regiment Illinois
Infantry, was commissioned 19 August 1862 as Adjutant-General to Colonel Sibley
and four companies of men of the 6th Regiment Minnesota Infantry. He resigned, or was discharged on or about 3
September 1862.
Colonel William Marshall
Colonel William Crooks, commander 6th Regiment Minnesota Infantry Volunteers
Captain Grant
Captain Straight
Non-Commissioned
Officers and Field Staff :
Quarter-Master Mills
Sources :
Webb, Loren.
Diary of Captain Loren Webb, 1861 - 1863, Firelands Historical Society.
Norwalk, Ohio. 1995. Transcribed by Matthew L. Burr.
Letter, or
diary entry of Loren Webb – August 1862, Minnesota (found among
loose-leafed papers of the Platonian Literary Society 'Old Plato', McKendree
College (Archives), Lebanon, Illinois, From McKendree College Archives
McKendree College Lebanon, Illinois. Transcribed by Jonathan Webb Deiss; archival assistance provided by Dr.
Mark Young, Historian and Archivist at McKendree, 28 September 2001.
War of the
Rebellion, a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1880. Courtesy of
Cornell University Digital Library Project, located online http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa
The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and
Confederate armies. / Series 1 - Volume 13, Chapter XXv Correspondence, Etc
Union, Page 597
Orders
Mo., Ark., Kans., Ind. T., and Dept N. W.
Series
One, Volume 13, Chapter xxv
Compiled
by Jonathan Webb Deiss Back to Webb’s in the Military
[i] Under this order, Loren
Webb, was Commissioned as Adjutant to the four companies of soldiers sent by
the Governor to meet the Sioux on 18 August 1862.
[ii] Loren left the scene of the
outrages a few days after this communiqué was sent; he had a new term to attend
at McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois.
|