Emergency Aid for the Sufferers now available

Volume 5 of our series on claims from the Dakota War of 1862 is now available. The first four volumes concern claims to support the military: this volume concentrates on those who fled in terror, and the relief efforts to help them. The original records are in the State Auditor's files at the State Archives at the Minnesota History Center.

In its Special Session held in late September of 1862, the Minnesota Legislature authorized $25,000 for the 'sufferers.' Stories of attacks on farms fueled the exodus of settlers to places of safety. Some gathered together to build stockades, others took their children and fled to St. Anthony, St. Paul and places further east. Mankato and St. Peter became major points of refuge.

This book contains transcriptions of the requests from individual sufferers as well as from the people and businesses that provided relief to them. It includes passenger lists from steamboats, the names of those who obtained flour and/or beef from the supplies in Mankato, bills from the coffin maker in St. Peter, the doctors and pharmacists who provided medical care, lists of those still needing assistance in January of 1863, and more. The extensive index allows researchers to put together an account of what happened to families during this relatively short period.

I've put a description and order form on my website, with information about this book. The story told in these records is a sad one, further illuminating the tragedy of the U.S./Dakota War of 1862.