New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-08-22
MAI. BROWNS SONS ENJOIN
They Petition the Attorney Gensral to Be-
gin Injunction Proceedings
Against Placing the Birch Coulis Monu'
ment on the Morton Fair Grounds.
They Also Claim that Injustice has Beer
Done to their Father.
Maintaining that he Commanded and Not
Capt. Grant.

The Birch CDulie controversy, as to
where the monument shall be placed and
whose name shall be inscribed thereon
as commander of the white troops in the
battle, is to be settled in the courts. A
petition signed by J. R. and Samuel J.
Brown, sons of Maj. Jos. r. Brown, who
it is claimed, Was the commander at
Birch Coulie, has been presented to At
torncy General sChilds, asking him to be-
gin injunction proceedings,and that off :
Ger is now engaged in the preparation of
the proper and necessary papers. Notice
will be served and the court proceedings
had at an early date.
The petition, among other charges, al
leges that the monument commission
have, in violation of the law, decided to
erect the monument on the fair grounds
of the Morton Fair association, nearly
two miles from the real battlefield, while
the law provides that it shall be placed
on the Gland" where the battle was fought
and that it has further decided to have
engraved the name of Capt. II. P. Grant
as the commander, which the petition
says is not true; that the real command
er was the father of the petitioners, Maj
j. R. Brown, and that this can be proved
by abundant evidence, documentary and
otherwise, ,and asks for an Injunction and
restraining order to compel the commits
sioners to locate the monument on the
battlefield and to erase the name of Capt.
Grant as commander, etc.
1t is Learned that the petition was pre-
pared by Judge Flandreau, and was pre-
:sented to the attorney gene eral by Gen.
Sanborn and ex-Gov. Marshall, and that
these three gentlemen and many others
are strong sympathizers with and sup
porters of the injunction proceedings.
Samuel J. Brown, whose name is signed
to the petition, says:
"We have begun this movement in
earnest, and we have no doubt of the re-
suit. 1t was only last Friday that it was
learned by anybody but the commission
ers and workmen on the monument that
the matter had been definitely settled
that the monument was to be on the
Morton fair grounds, and that Col. Grants
name was to appear as the real command
cr If there has ever been any public an
nouncement of the commissions decision
in these regards neither myself nor any
OF my friends have ever seen il. F. or months
a newspaper controversy has been going
on, and, in the absence of any notice to
the contrary, it was fairly supposed that
no decision had been reached. 1t was
learned, however, from private sources,
that the commission was divided in op-
inion on the subject But when the an
nouncement was made in the newspapers
that the dedicatory exercises would be
held September 8, at Morton, particular
inquiry was made, with the result that
it was learned by letter from the Rock
vile, Minn., Granite company, that the
monument would contain Grants name
as the commander and from other
sources that it would b9 set on the fair
grounds.
''As soon as this intelligence reached
me, my brother and took the first train
for St. Paul to see if we could not pre-
vent this outrage as we deem it. Pre-
viously I and certain friends had sent
communications to the press denying
that Capt. Grant was the commander,
and presenting what I considered full
and conclusive evidence that to my faith
er justly belonged the distinction, had
never supposed that anyone else claimed
it. The first intimation ever had to
the contrary was the appearance of a
short communication in the Pioneer
Press last spring, signed H. P. Grant,
Commander of the Forces at Birch Cou-
le." I at once sent a communication
to the paper in denial and claiming the
honor for my father, and this was pub
lshed, together with long and exhaus-
tive review of the evidence in the case,
which it seemed to me ought to satisfy
the commissioners and everybody else
that Capt. Grants claim was utterly
without ground or foundation. I did
not ask that my fathers name be placed
on the monument as the commander,b but
only contended that Capt Grants name