In summer 1862, Minnesotans found themselves fighting
interconnected wars--the first against the rebellious Southern
states, and the second an internal war against the Sioux. While the
Civil War was more important to the future of the United States,
the Dakota War of 1862 proved far more destructive to the people of
Minnesota--both whites and American Indians. It led to U.S.
military action against the Sioux, divided the Dakotas over whether
to fight or not, and left hundreds of white settlers dead. In
"Columns of Vengeance," historian Paul N. Beck offers a reappraisal
of the Punitive Expeditions of 1863 and 1864, the U.S. Army's
response to the Dakota War of 1862.
Whereas previous accounts have approached the Punitive
Expeditions as a military campaign of the Indian Wars, Beck argues
that the expeditions were also an extension of the Civil War. The
strategy and tactics reflected those of the war in the East, and
Civil War operations directly affected planning and logistics in
the West. Beck also examines the devastating impact the expeditions
had on the various bands and tribes of the Sioux. Whites viewed the
expeditions as punishment--"columns of vengeance" sent against
those Dakotas who had started the war in 1862--yet the majority of
the Sioux the army encountered had little or nothing to do with the
earlier uprising in Minnesota.
Rather than relying only on the official records of the
commanding officers involved, Beck presents a much fuller picture
of the conflict by consulting the letters, diaries, and personal
accounts of the common soldiers who took part in the expeditions,
as well as rare personal narratives from the Dakotas. Drawing on a
wealth of firsthand accounts and linking the Punitive Expeditions
of 1863 and 1864 to the overall Civil War experience, "Columns of
Vengeance" offers fresh insight into an important chapter in the
development of U.S. military operations against the Sioux.
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