Discovery Sites
How to get there: On County Road 18, one-half mile west of Highway 67, between Granite Falls and Echo. Start at the monument erected three-fourths of a mile away from the battlefield. Walk a mowed path along Wood Lake Creek where the battle took place on September 23, 1862 between the forces of General Sibley and Dakota Chief Little Crow. Travel west to the next intersection and travel north on 600th Street for a half mile, park along the side of the gravel road, and walk a mowed path along Wood Lake Creek where the battle took place on September 23, 1862.
What you will find: A large monument with a plaque from the Minnesota Historical Society. The Battlefield has a mowed path to walk.
Services at this site: None
The State of Minnesota erected the tall historic granite monument in 1919 in memory of those government soldiers who died in this final, decisive battle between the Dakota and General Henry Sibley’s troops in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
On September 22, 1862, General Sibley led some 1,500 troops who had been intended for the Civil War from Fort Ridgely to this area. The army neared the Upper Sioux Agency that afternoon where they encamped for the evening on what is now Monument Site along the established government road near a small lake . The next morning, a small group of foraging soldiers uncovered an ambush by a small group of Dakota Akita (warriors) beyond and along the creek crossing on the government road. They were just some of the 700 nearby warriors under Little Crow. Sibley’s entire army was thus alerted and the Battle of Wood Lake ensued. After about three hours of fighting, the Dakota Akitas quit the battlefield, having lost over 20 of their relatives. The U.S. Army suffered seven losses.
Things to Do: Discovery Site, U.S. - Dakota War of 1862
