Destination Sites
How to get there: Two miles north of Morton on US Highway 71, then east on Renville County Road 2.
What you will find: Self-guided trails with interpretation.
Services at this site: It has a very nice ADA gravel trail with interpretive panels by the Minnesota Historical Society.
On September 2, 1862, Dakota Akita (warriors) surprised and attacked U.S. soldiers who had been on burial detail and had stopped to camp overnight at this site during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The battle cost the U.S. soldiers heavy casualties.
The Battle of Birch Coulee, fought over 30 hours, was the Dakotas’ most successful engagement during the U.S.-Dakota War. The U.S. unit of about 170 had been on a burial detail and had buried 54 bodies. They had seen no Indians, so they set up camp for the night along Birch Coulee Creek. But they were in a tactically weak position without adequate cover, too far from the trees and water
Approximately 200 Dakota soldiers encountered the camp that evening but waited until morning, when they poured gunfire into the camp and killed nearly all of the horses. The Union contingent was larger than the Dakota expected, so they decided to wait while the sun and lack of water did their work on the troops, rather than risk their soldiers. The U.S. soldiers spent the day pinned down without adequate cover, without food, too far from water, baking under the hot sun.
The next day, Henry Sibley brought relief for the besieged men from Fort Ridgely. When he approached with a large force, the Dakota fighters retreated. The U.S. casualties: 13 dead, almost 50 wounded, 90 horses killed. A Dakota account mentions only two deaths among their soldiers.
Visitors can walk a self-guided trail through recreated prairie and read about the battle from the perspectives of Joseph Anderson, a captain in the U.S. Army, and Wamditaŋka (Big Eagle), a Bdewakaŋtuŋwaŋ soldier. Sketches from soldier Albert Colgrave provide vivid battle details. Guide posts help pinpoint where the U.S. soldiers were camped and the positions the Dakota took while surrounding the U.S. soldiers.
Things to Do: Destination Site, Outdoor Activities, U.S. - Dakota War of 1862
Location
Jct of Renville Cty Hwy 2 and Hwy 18
Morton, MN 56270
