Battle of Redwood Ferry
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Redwood Ferry was a battle in the Dakota War of 1862
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Marsh went to the Lower Sioux Agency with 47 enlisted men and Interpreter Peter Quinn. The remaining inhabitants of the agency were Second Lieutenant Thomas P. Gere
, Post Sutler Ben H. Randall, Ordnance Sergeant John Jones, two sergeants, three corporals, and about 32 privates. Marsh sent Private James C. McLean to Fort Ripley for reinforcements.
Company B was attacked at the Minnesota River
at noon when they stopped for water. Marsh and his men fought until half the men had fallen then went to the Faribault cabin, at the bottom of "Faribault Hill". They later tried to swim the river, but the swift current pulled Marsh under. This made the Indians think that Marsh and the remaining 16 had gone across, so the Indians hid in a dam, ready to ambush.
The surviving members of Company "B" made their way back to Ridgely. Realizing it was getting dark, Bishop sent Privates James Dunn and William B. Hutchinson to Ridgely to tell the post commander what happened. They arrived at Ridgely at 10:00 P.M. The remaining men returned to the fort on August 20.
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
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Description
News reached Captain John S. Marsh at Fort Ridgely (then spelled "Ridgley") that the Lower Sioux Agency had been attacked on August 18, 1862.Marsh went to the Lower Sioux Agency with 47 enlisted men and Interpreter Peter Quinn. The remaining inhabitants of the agency were Second Lieutenant Thomas P. Gere
Thomas P. Gere
Thomas Parke Gere was a Union Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Nashville in the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, Post Sutler Ben H. Randall, Ordnance Sergeant John Jones, two sergeants, three corporals, and about 32 privates. Marsh sent Private James C. McLean to Fort Ripley for reinforcements.
Company B was attacked at the Minnesota River
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
at noon when they stopped for water. Marsh and his men fought until half the men had fallen then went to the Faribault cabin, at the bottom of "Faribault Hill". They later tried to swim the river, but the swift current pulled Marsh under. This made the Indians think that Marsh and the remaining 16 had gone across, so the Indians hid in a dam, ready to ambush.
The surviving members of Company "B" made their way back to Ridgely. Realizing it was getting dark, Bishop sent Privates James Dunn and William B. Hutchinson to Ridgely to tell the post commander what happened. They arrived at Ridgely at 10:00 P.M. The remaining men returned to the fort on August 20.