Largest Execution In American History

President Abraham Lincoln notified General Henry H Sibley on December 6th 1862 that he should execute thirty nine of the three hundred and three Santee Sioux.

In early winter of 1862 three hundred and three Santee Sioux were tried by a military tribunal, and convicted of murder and rape. They were sentenced to death by hanging. Some trials didn’t even last five minutes. President Lincoln reviewed the records of the trials distinguishing between those who committed crimes against civilians and those who warred against the United States. An Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota; Henry Whipple who worked with the Dakota Sioux urged Lincoln intervene and use leniency. On December 6th 1862 Lincoln commuted the death sentence of all but thirty nine of the Santee. One more was given a reprieve.

At about ten am on December 26th 1862 the remaining thirty-eight Sioux were executed in Mankato Minnesota. The hangings held before three thousand people, were performed on a single scaffold platform and remains the largest mass execution in the history of America.

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Dakota War of 1862

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.