518:, soldiers noticed the glistening of gun barrels in the distance. Strout initially believed this to be a relief column; this was not the case. It was Little Crow's band of 35 men. Scouts ahead of the column on Kelley's Bluff soon heard gunfire and war cries as enemy warriors burst forward. 20 men of the detachment charged with bayonets up the bluff; giving time for the rest of the men to come up and fight from higher ground. Once all of Strout's command was in position, the only thing left to do was to decide on whether to fall back on Hutchinson or fight entrenched on the Bluff. Some scouts including Albert H. DeLong, a well-known local frontiersman, already left the field in an effort to bring reinforcements from Hutchinson.
133:
497:
43:
338:
380:. Strout was warned overnight that the Dakota were encamped with around 100 men nearby split into two groups. Marching southeast on September 3, 1862, Strout's men were attacked by Little Crow's men, then Walker Among Stones' men from the front, rear, and flanks multiple times, but managed to reach the relative safety of the stockaded town of
507:
543:
As his column arrived in
Hutchinson, Strout immediately assumed command of the settlement's defenses. The Captain would count 3 killed and 15 wounded outright, but some estimates put the number of wounded as high as 18 or 23. At least two-three of the wounded men would die of wounds after the battle
530:
then circled around once more to the rear of the column, targeting the wagons and sewing panic among many of Strout's men. 20 men were sent to retake them. After his wagons were reclaimed, he managed to rally his men and finally broke free of the encirclement. The drivers, terrified, nearly left the
526:. Strout's column was then attacked in the front, rear, and flanks by Dakota fighting both on foot and horseback. Food and supplies loaded in the wagons were dumped in exchange for speed. Despite their lack of training and experience, the Minnesotans fought well and managed to get a few volleys. The
483:
that the
Minnesotans had been warned. With the element of surprise lost, the Chief waited until morning to attack. The messengers entered camp at 3:00 am without detection and awoke Strout, who did not place any guards. Strout prepared his company to march at dawn, and stepped off heading southeast
413:
planned their next course of action. Little Crow wished to strike north into the Big Woods. He believed the local settlements to be lightly defended and that supplies such as flour were plentiful. Success in the Big Woods may have also allowed Little Crow to fall on the northern flank of
521:
Soon, Walker Among Stones' men evened the odds by rushing the column's rear. Strout decided that remaining on Kelley's Bluff would be fatal. The dead were left behind and the wounded were loaded on the wagons. The Tenth initially continued their retreat unmolested until they reached
531:
wounded behind. Reportedly, Little Crow observed the breakthrough on a fence line while bullets passed by him. However, the company continued to be harassed in a six-hour running battle along the final eight miles to
422:. Along the way, Walker Among Stones, Little Crow's second-in-command, disagreed with his strategy. Wishing to plunder the countryside, he garnered the support of 75 other men, leaving Little Crow with just 35.
921:
552:, burning and looting numerous outlying buildings but failing to breach either town's defenses, forcing the Chief to withdraw southwest to friendlier ground. Captain Strout's company of the
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warned Strout that hostile Dakota were camped nearby with over 100 warriors. A party of ten Dakota observed the exchange from a nearby house and hurried back to alert
366:
155:
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241:
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Meanwhile, realizing the vulnerability of the settlers of central
Minnesota, the U.S. Volunteer Army preemptively dispatched mustering units from
78:
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in the
Hutchinson Hotel, then being used as a hospital. Dakota casualties are unknown. The next day, the Dakota attacked the settlements of
488:. The soldiers, issued .62 caliber balls for their .58 calibre muskets, had to quickly whittle down 20 bullets per man before stepping off.
458:. On September 2 they camped 2½ miles northwest of the home of Robinson Jones, where the murder of Jones and several others by four young
418:
at Fort
Ridgely and attack his supply trains. Gray Bird, Mankato and Big Eagle, however, chose to continue their campaign along the
234:
632:
The Tenth
Minnesota Volunteers, 1862-1865: A History of Action in the Sioux Uprising and the Civil War, with a Regimental Roster
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353:) was fought between the United States Army and the warrior bands of Chief Little Crow and Walker Among Stones during the
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The Ninth
Regiment's history lists the following as killed in action or died of wounds from the Battle of Acton:
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936:
442:
or were civilian volunteers seeking to protect their communities. Strout's command reported to
Militia General
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656:
462:
men on August 17, in what was later termed the Acton
Incident, had shed the first blood of the conflict.
911:
906:
438:. On this journey, Strout's company consisted of 55-65 men, most of whom originally enlisted for the
361:
led an incursion north out of the
Minnesota River Valley into central Minnesota. A detachment of the
325:
617:
Massacre in Minnesota: The Dakota War of 1862, the Most Violent Ethnic Conflict in American History
370:
72:
434:
to reinforce and protect the frontier. Among these was Captain Richard Strout's detachment of the
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along the Pembina-Henderson trail, with 25 miles between his command and the fortified town of
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535:. Help would come from a group of militia under DeLong along the way.
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Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
527:
357:. Following the defeats at Fort Ridgley and New Ulm, Chief
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On September 2, the detachment made camp near the town of
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Battle between the United States Army and the Santee-Sioux
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810:"The U.S-Dakota War of 1862 and the Battle of Acton"
657:"The U.S Dakota War of 1862 and the Battle of Acton"
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Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
680:
599:
The Dakota War of 1862: Minnesota's Other Civil War
564:Soldiers Killed as a Result of the Battle of Acton
180:Bands of Walker Among Stones and Chief Little Crow
425:
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475:Over the night of September 2–3 messengers from
932:Battles of the American Civil War in Minnesota
880:Mcleod County Historical Society & Museum
668:Mcleod County Historical Society & Museum
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665:Brian, (July 9, 2018) "A Real Frontiersman"
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634:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.
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601:. Minnesota Historical Society Press.
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369:was sent to protect the citizens of
782:"Battle of Acton Historical Marker"
649:"Battle of Acton Historical Marker"
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341:The Frontiersman Albert H. DeLong
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558:Ninth Minnesota Infantry Regiment
514:As Strout's command arrived near
436:Tenth Minnesota Infantry Regiment
363:Tenth Minnesota Infantry Regiment
47:Battle of Acton Historical Marker
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176:10th Minnesota Infantry Regiment
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630:Eggleston, Michael A. (2012).
426:Arrival of Strout's detachment
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1:
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619:University of Oklahoma Press
416:Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley
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195:75 under Walker Among Stones
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393:Dakota change of strategy
349:(also referred to as the
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927:Meeker County, Minnesota
597:Carley, Kenneth (2001).
397:After being repulsed at
351:Battle of Kelley's Bluff
73:Meeker County, Minnesota
874:Brian (July 9, 2018).
615:Anderson, Gary (2019)
511:
510:Captain Richard Strout
503:
367:Captain Richard Strout
342:
265:The Dakota War of 1862
156:Captain Richard Strout
150:Commanders and leaders
937:September 1862 events
876:"A Real Frontiersman"
857:Anderson, 2019 p. 171
768:Anderson, 2019 p. 170
728:Anderson, 2019 p. 167
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202:Casualties and losses
174:Strout's Detachment,
94:45.08417°N 94.66083°W
841:Eggleston, 2012 p.38
756:Eggleston, 2012 p.37
660:Tri County News P. 1
197:35 under Little Crow
164:Walker Among Stones
99:45.08417; -94.66083
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912:American Civil War
907:Dakota War of 1862
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355:Dakota War of 1862
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271:Lower Sioux Agency
253:Dakota War of 1862
35:American Civil War
31:Dakota War of 1862
625:978-0-8061-9199-7
501:Chief Little Crow
405:, Dakota leaders
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432:Fort Snelling
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371:Meeker County
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209:15–23 Wounded
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883:. Retrieved
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789:. Retrieved
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652:www.hmdb.org
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528:Santee-Sioux
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399:Fort Ridgely
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326:Camp Release
305:
301:Birch Coulee
291:Fort Ridgely
144:Santee-Sioux
125:Belligerents
18:
745:Carley 2001
694:Carley 2001
585:N. E. Weeks
550:Forest City
524:Cedar Mills
481:Little Crow
477:Forest City
456:Forest City
407:Little Crow
359:Little Crow
311:Forest City
97: /
901:Categories
674:References
546:Hutchinson
533:Hutchinson
486:Hutchinson
448:Hutchinson
388:Background
382:Hutchinson
316:Hutchinson
85:94°39′39″W
82:45°05′03″N
539:Aftermath
516:Long Lake
440:Civil War
411:Big Eagle
321:Wood Lake
115:Aftermath
207:3 Killed
185:Strength
64:Location
29:Part of
591:Sources
403:New Ulm
281:New Ulm
214:Unknown
638:
623:
605:
466:Battle
460:Dakota
136:
110:Result
452:Acton
378:Acton
306:Acton
887:2023
793:2023
636:ISBN
621:ISBN
603:ISBN
548:and
454:and
401:and
373:.
345:The
113:See
56:Date
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190:55
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243:e
236:t
229:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
