The Other Minnesota Regiment

The 3^rd Minnesota was completely mustered into Union service November 14^th 1861 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

Mustered into the Union Army by companies at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, between October 2^nd and November 14^th 1861, the 3^rd Minnesota was sent to Kentucky.  There the unit was placed on garrison duty in Kentucky and Tennessee.  Must of the men of the 3^rd were taken prisoner July 13^th 1862 by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest at Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  The men were paroled and sent to Benton Barracks in St Louis, Missouri to wait for exchange.  The official exchange took place August 27^th 1862, and the 3^rd was transferred back to Minnesota.  In it’s home state the men were used to suppress the September 1862 Dakota War.

The 3^rd was reorganized at Fort Snelling following the Dakota War, and they returned in January 1863 to garrison duty in Kentucky and Tennessee.  They were called to join the Siege of Vicksburg, and they participated in the capture of Little Rock, Arkansas on September 10^th 1863.  The 3^rd would remain in the city on garrison duty until April 28^th 1864.  The 3^rd took part in an expedition up the White River in Arkansas, which ended in the Battle of Fitzhugh’s Woods April 1^st 1864.

The 3^rd was discharged from military duty September 16^th 1865 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.  They lost 17 men who died in battle or of their wounds.  They also saw 279 soldiers die from disease.

End Of The Sioux Uprising

The Battle of Wood Lake in Minnesota on September 23rd 1862 was the beginning of the end of the Minnesota Sioux uprising.

Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley set out on September 19th 1862 with about 1,400 volunteers; among them 300 members of the 3rd Minnesota who were on parole after being captured by the Confederates at Murfreesboro. They left from Fort Ridgely to put down the Santee Sioux who were raiding in Minnesota. The soliders were nearly ambushed by 700 Indians under Chief Little Crow on September 23rd 1862 as the force approached Wood Lake. Sibley’s men were saved from ambush by some of the soldiers from the 3rd Minnesota Regiment who were looking for food. The Sioux shot at them, they returned the fire, and the sound of battle brought the rest of Sibley’s troops into the fray. The fight went on for two hours. US forces inflicted heavy casualties on the Sioux, winning the day.

Sibley was promoted to Brigadier General for his actions during this command. The battle led to the release of white captives held by the Sioux, who had been taken during the Sioux uprising.