The Great Sioux Uprising [Paperback]

C. M. Oehler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997

In August 1862 the Sioux of Minnesota rose up against their white neighbors in the bloodiest massacre in the history of the West, with four times the fatalities of the Battle of Little Big Horn. They had been viewed by white settlers as a friendly tribe, but in reality they were deeply resentful over the loss of lands, the disappearance of the buffalo, broken treaties, the government's delayed annuity payments, and the refusal of traders to release food to starving Indians. During their week-long rampage the Sioux killed some 800 settlers, took scores of women and children captive, sent tens of thousands of refugees fleeing eastward, and marked the outbreak of a series of wars between whites and Indians over the Great Plains that did not end until nearly thirty years later at a place called Wounded Knee. This book is a gripping but evenhanded reconstruction of the lives and deaths of settlers, Indians, traders, agents, and soldiers as they unknowingly created an epic chapter of frontier history.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Oehler here offers a detailed account of the Sioux Nation's 1862 revolt against the settlers of Minnesota, one of the bloodiest massacres of the West. The weeklong rampage left 800 dead and countless others wounded and sent thousands fleeing for their lives. This 1959 volume chronicles the circumstances that led to the uprising, the event itself, and its aftermath.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

C. M. Oehler wrote Time in the Timber, a memoir of his experiences as a lumberjack.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807599
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807596
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 8, 2006

By 

SteveS (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Sioux Uprising (Paperback)

The Santee Sioux uprising is not taught much in American history and has not captured the imagination of Hollywood (though there are movies of the same name, it is not the same event) and as such, most Americans have never heard of the largest massacre that occured in American history, nor is it generally known that the victims were white as opposed to Indian.

Oehler does an excellent job describing an extremely ugly moment in American history, from the murder of farmer Robinson Jones and most of his family which precipitated the 'uprising' to the execution of a relatively few Santee Sioux. In a time when political correctness is the rule of thumb for television or movies, describing the horrorific murders of so many innocent men, women, and children (primarily German or other immigrants) by Indians is inherently unpopular. Most common sources of this event apparently try to minimize the death toll suffered by whites, whereas Oehler gives a range of 400+ to over 1000 persons and then explains how we could never know the exact number then or now of the dead.

I recommend this book highly for the person who wants to know the reality of the greatest single massacre in American history and is not afraid of facing the truth.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the subject, March 5, 2010

By 

Paul "Paul" (Bloomington, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Sioux Uprising (Paperback)

This book is unlike many others on the subject of the 1862 war. Oehler does an excellent job of interweaving the main themes and quotes of several different accounts from both whites and Indians, and in doing so he creats a story from begenning to end, rather than just a collection of individual accounts.

The chapter "Little Crow Will Lead Them All" does a masterful job at showing the internal conflict of the Indians in the decision to go to war. Taking quotes from several witnesses, he puts together a story that is a true page turner!

Written in 1959, this book avoids the Politically Correct downfall that plagues many other titles, and at the same time written 100 years after the fact, gives a historical perspective that many of the original accounts lack- as they were mostly written immediately after the events happened.

As to be expected, you will find accounts of poor treatment of the Indians, broken treaty promises, stories of those caught up in the war, and in the end, a mistaken identity of Chaska who was hanged to death for the acts of another.

You will also find out why the conflict is often called the "Minnesota Massacre" as some Indians committed such savage acts of brutality and terror to random farmers, in a misguided attempt to literally clear Minnesota of all whites, as to see the settlers anger that would fuel the overly strong punishment of actually removing the Indians from Minnesota instead. Though not a subject of this book, it concludes with an act of "white savagery matching the Minnesota performance of the Sioux".

Not PC by any means, this book shows a history, where you will find that the tit for tat events are anything but noble, but have plenty of savagery.

If you really want to get into it, go for reading *a lot* of personal accounts...But if you want a fair, basic, 250 page overview of the events around 1862 in Minnesota, I highly recommend this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent coverage of the 1862 Sioux uprising, February 2, 2011

By 

John D. Sens - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Sioux Uprising (Paperback)

Good detailed account of the events in Minnesota in 1862. The author accurately refers to the "uprising" not to a "war." It is clear that the killing of settlers - men, women, and children, and the accompanying looting were the acts of hotheads, not the unified actions of involved tribes. Significant is that as soon as the troops appeared, the uprising largely ended and many of those guilty of murder and looting ran away. There was never any thought of facing the union troops in battle notwithstanding the troops' execrably incompetent leadership by Sibley and Pope. After 1862 Indian attacks on settlers again became a nuisance, not a significant threat.

Warning: The book is not politically correct; hard facts of the brutality and incompetent military leadership make for much unpleasant reading.