St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-23


county, Capt BOardman, arrived at
New UIm and did excellent service in
repelling the first attack Of Indians
upon this city. At about 9
o'clock in the evening of the same
day the main body of the citizen troops
from st. Peter and LIE Sueur arrived
and took possession of the city of New
Ulm. FOrtificatiOns were raised. bar
ricades improviSed and everything done
that could be for the protection of the
inhabitants. For about three days the
whole body of the Sioux nation were
engaged in series OF attacks upon Fort
Ridgely. but the gallant little garrison
which held that post successfully stood
off the beSiegers.
On Saturday, the Esd of August. 1852,
the whole force of the sayageS, number
ing some $50 we'll armed and we'll
mounted men, abandoned the fort and
made descent upon New Ulm. 1t was
very critical moment when they ar
rived. The defenders of New Ulm
were inexperienced as soldiers. and
poorly armed, but they had a
great stake to fight for, and they
did the best they could. They had only
about three hundred guns to exert
against the formidable array OF saVages
which hurled itself against them The
battle ragged from about ten in the morn
ing of Saturday, all through the day
all through the night and up to Sunday
morning, when the firing lulled to some
extent, and the savageS, finding 1t
impossible to drive out the defenders,
began to disappear. In the first hour
and a half or two hours of the fight on
Saturday morning the defenders lost
ten men killed and forty wounded, and
a large detachment under Capt. Huey,
who went to the defense OF
the ferry across the Minnesota river
were cut off and lost to the defender.
One hundred and ninety buildings of ali
characters were burned by the Indians
and by the defenders in this terrific
struggle, and the town was reduced to
the two or three blocks on the main
street. which were surrounded by the
barrieades and an occasional outlying
house which served a good purpose In
holding the savageS at bay. Sun
dav at about noon reinfOrcementS
to the amount of about fifty or sixty
men arrived from st. Peter under the
command of Capt. E. st. Julien Cox.
The next day it was determined to be
Drudent that the town should be evac-
mated. and the population carried to
Mankato, which very dangerous expert
ment was accomplished without loss, as
| the Indians had all gone north towards
the agencies before the movement was
| inaugurated.
The procession which left New Ulm
on that memorable day was, perhaps,
the most graphic and lamentable eXhl-
| bitiOn that was ever witnessed since the
settlement of the country at Plymouth
Rock. 1t consisted of 153 wagon loads
of women. children and wounded men,
guarded by about $50 citizen soldiers,
and was strung along oyer the prairie
| for a distance of over two
miles. These poor people, who had a
| few DAYS before occupied a beautiful
CITY and enjoyed fair degree of pros
peritv and wealth, found themselves all
| at once homeless. beggared and with no
possessions except the clothes they had
on their backs, going forth among
| strangers without hope for The future
| But they were received hospit-
| ably wherever they went, and III a
very short time some of the more enter
prlslng and fearless of the inhabitants
returned to their homes and commenced
the rehabilitation of their city, and how
we'll they succeeded you have but to
cast your eyes around on the beautiful
| prospect which now lies before US and
| say that the inhabitants of New Ulm
| have not only been subjected to terrible
| ealamities, but have had the strength,
| intelligence and courage to live them
| all down and overcome them.
| I have taken the liberty of entering
! somewhat into detail in my statements
| of the causes of this outbreak and its
| consequences. do so because the sub
| iect is one Of historical interest to the
! state of Minnesota, and because SO
many years have passed that its prin-
| hoV hoar, fOrnnttQn
never known by the present generation.
Those who participated in the defense
of New Ulm have, on few occasions,
celebrated the anniversary of these i'm
portant battles by a reunion at this
| town. The legislature of the state of
! Minnesota, at its session before the last,
| felt that it was due to history
and those who calamity sacrificed
| themselves for the protection OF
the state to commemorate the
event by the erection of a monument
| upon the battle field. An appropriation
/ was made and a committee appointed to
| attend to the details Of designing and
erecting the monument. That commit
mittee consisted of Gen. Henry d. Slo-
lev. DR.. Asa w. Daniels, OF st.
| Peter: John f. Meagher, of Mankato,
and your fellow tOwnsman, Col. Will
| lam Pfaender. These gentlemen con-
| tributed their time, their taste and their
intelligence to the work for more than a
year. and the result you see before you,
standing upon the spot where the battle
ragged most furiously. The monument
itself contains succinct history of the
whole transaction. 1t is beautified by
several bas reliefs Illustrating actual
scenes in the various battles. 1t
is constructed of material
which will be as lndestructible
as the result Of this great conflict; and
the day has come when the state of Min
nesota delivers this monument into the
custody and safe keeping of the munich
patty of New Ulm, which will has been
done appropriately by his eXcellency
the much esteemed governor of the
state, who fully appreciates the I'M
portance of the occasion, and honors
your city by his presence to perform
this patriotic duty.
Some critics may say that the battles
of New Ulm were not of sufficient i'm
portance in an historical point of view
TO Justify all this ceremony. l wish to
saw and emphasize it, that the import
ance of battle is never to be meas
ured by the number Of men engaged in
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