Discovery Sites
How to get there: On County Road 19 heading west out of Morton, take East Monument Drive to the monuments.
What you will find: Interpretive panel and two large monuments
Services at this site: none
Upon the bluff, just east of Morton, stand two granite markers to honor combatants of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. They are not on the battlefield but were instead placed on the old Renville County Fairgrounds in the 1890s. In 1894 an obelisk was erected “in grateful remembrance of the heroism of those gallant soldiers and citizens who fought the Battle of Birch Coulee.” The second obelisk was erected in 1899 and is referred to as “The Faithful Indians Monument: to commemorate the brave, faithful and humane conduct of the loyal Indians who saved the lives of white settlers. Six are listed on the marker. There are numerous other markers within two miles of this site.
Please note that there is no marker for the Dakota who lost their lives fighting for their people. An unknown number of Dakota were killed during the six-week war, and hundreds more died later in prison camps or during their exile from the state. There are few written accounts of those hardships. Their stories remain to be told.
Things to Do: Discovery Site, U.S. - Dakota War of 1862
