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Lincoln And The Sioux Uprising Of 1862

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The Uprising of the Santee Sioux of 1862 is an important episode in U.S history often ignored by history because it coincides with the civil war. While more than a million Americans died in brutal fighting involving armies of 100,000 men, bands of Sioux fought a war in Minnesota against settlers. This book looks into claims that `thousands' of white settlers were killed. In the end the uprising was put down and 303 and Sioux were sentenced to death, a large number for a tribe that numbered only in the area of 10,000 people or less. In the end 28 were hung. Lincoln took a personal interest in the matter and at a time when 1000s of American soldiers were dying daily on the battlefield he became concerned with the lives of 28 native-Americans. In this we see the lie put to sleep that Americans of the time saw Indians as only blood thirsty savages, instead we see that Lincoln was a just man, not only interested in freeing slaves, but also interested in saving the lives of native Americans. He hoped to review and reform U.S Indian policy but his untimely death did not allow it. Instead further wars were fought with the Sioux tribes, primarily the Dakota and Hunkpapa tribes over control of the Black Hills. Celebrated chiefs came out of those conflicts such as Red Cloud and Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and the famous Custer last stand. We see in the war of 1862 a prelude to this, but also a fascinating story that reminds us how close the frontier was at that time, only as far as Minnesota.

A good popular history on an often unnoticed topic.

Seth J. Frantzman

I was fascinated by Lincoln And The Sioux Uprising Of 1862. Hank Cox's book was a real page-turner and afforded me a look into a part of history that was never part of my schooling. Through history classes in high school and college, we studied the Civil War but there was never a mention of the Indian uprising in Minnesota. I found the layout of the book, with chapters alternating between the Civil War and the Sioux uprising, to be totally captivating. Thank you, Mr. Cox, for teaching me about a chapter in our history that I had never known about in your intriguing and apparently well-researched book.

For four young Sioux men returning home from an unsuccessful hunting trip August 17, 1862 was a day just like any other in Southwestern Minnesota. But what started as an ordinary Sunday ended in tragedy when juvenile taunts lead to the slaying of a number of white settlers that afternoon and ignited a rebellion of the Sioux and ended in the largest mass execution in American history.

If you've never heard of the Sioux Uprising of 1862 you are not alone. Had it not happened during the cataclysmic events of the American Civil War, it would surely be as well known as the Battle of Little Bighorn. But American attention was diverted elsewhere to the South and East. For many white and black Americans, the Indians on the western frontier were not a going concern.

Since the close of the Civil War tens of thousands of books have been written about the war and its participants, and few of them mention the bloody events which occurred in Southwestern Minnesota during the late summer and early fall of 1862. If they do at all, it is only a passing mention. It was David Donald's mentioning of this episode of American history in his biography of Abraham Lincoln that caught the attention of author Henry H. Cox. His book, "Lincoln and the Sioux Uprising of 1862," attempts to fill this historical void.

Mr. Cox has written an entertaining and easily read narrative of the Sioux uprising, alternating between events in Minnesota and juxtaposing them against those of Washington and the battlefields to the south and east. The author early on points out the injustices done to the Native Americans, the broken treaties, the late payments, and corrupt agents, and though that does not justify the Indians' actions it does help illuminate their feelings of mistrust and betrayal towards the white settlers and the United States government.

Though Mr. Cox's narrative is engaging to read his book is not without its share of problems. Primarily among them is the complete lack of either footnotes or endnotes. Without proper noting it is impossible for readers to track back and verify sources of a particular piece of information. Glancing at his skimpy bibliography, it appears that Mr. Cox has gathered most of his information from secondary sources. One extraordinary title listed in his bibliography is Gore Vidal's "Lincoln," a novel, which surely leads to a credibility issue.

Secondly the book's bias is heavily tilted toward the white settlers, he seems to have lifted descriptions of the Native Americans directly from the accounts of the white survivors, though judging from his bibliography, it's more likely that he pulled those references from only secondary sources. At least once he uses the politically incorrect "squaw" to describe a Native American woman. He also tends to lean to the sensational, mentioning several times an episode that he claims to be the largest and most prolonged gang rape in American history with no supporting evidence or documentation of the event. There is no Native American viewpoint to counter balance that of the white settlers.

Mr. Cox does a great job painting a larger picture of the events transpiring in the United States, explaining the difficulties and political realities President Lincoln faced during the summer and fall of 1862, but by presenting information about those events, as well as the political mechanizations in Washington, D.C., he spends too much time away from the events in Minnesota, resulting in the obfuscation of his subject matter.

John Pope was sent to put down the Indian insurrection in Minnesota, and judging from Mr. Cox's work, doesn't seem to have done much to bring the conflict to an end. Rather, he gives credit to ending the conflict to the local troops garrisoned in the forts in the area. When the rebellion was ended, 303 Native Americans found themselves in the custody of Federal Troops and condemned to be executed for their crimes. It was only through the direct intervention of President Lincoln who, at great political peril, prevented General Pope from executing them all. In the end he sentenced 38 Native Americans to be executed for their part in the uprising.

With "Lincoln and the Sioux Uprising of 1862," Hank Cox does an admirable job of bringing to public attention this little known historical event. It is a great starting place for someone interested in this topic, but by no means, should this book be the only book one should read.

Treaties, no matter how hard one or both parties may try, cannot settle some wars. Wars involving a clash of culture where neither side can retreat or convert fall into this category. The American Civil War, World War II and the Indian Wars are classic examples of this type of war. The Indian Wars involved two cultures that were totally incompatible and neither side had the option of retreating. Fighting was not between armies but between small family bands, with the woman and children occupying the front lines and falling in combat. Each side's idea of correct behavior in battle and treatment of prisoners could not be comprehended by the other.
Hank Cox's book details the Minnesota Sioux Uprising of 1862. Four warriors returning from a failed hunting trip, attack farms on the way home. As usual, payments are late and/or diverted the Indians are starving and despondent seeing a way of life disappear. Seeing the majority of men fighting the Civil War, some Sioux leaders seize the opportunity and turn murder into an uprising. The uprising is a tale of murder, rape, plunder and revenge. The Sioux divide in war and peace factions. The war faction is unable to keep men in the field and mount a real military campaign to retake the area. What follows are attacks on isolated farms, travelers and failures to take cities and the local fort. In the end soldiers and militia turn the tide, capture many of the Sioux and restore "order". What follows is a series of military trials of Sioux for rape and murder. Hundreds were sentenced to death by hanging and many others were imprisoned. Lincoln's intervention reduced to executions to 39, the largest mass execution in American history.
The author writes well and the chapters dealing with the Sioux Uprising are well done. His writing about the overall war and the impact of uprising and questionable, over estimating the impact of the uprising and making some questionable statements about the war in the East. His coverage of Lincoln, the problems this caused him, his preoccupation with the larger war and why he took such an unpopular stand are very good.
Overall, this book is a good introduction to the Sioux Uprising of 1862, an enjoyable read but some conclusions need to be researched.

This shoddy history delivers much less than its title or cover blurb promises. Much of it consists of "filler" material about the Civil War. The coverage of the 1862 Dakota Conflict is sensationally superficial, in the "bloodthirsty savages" genre of some of the worst pulp histories. The author breathlessly proclaims that the Dakota attackers committed the "largest and most prolonged gang rape" in American history, an over-the-top assertion accepted by no responsible scholar today. Fixated on this rampant rapes theme, he virtually ignores one of the main points stressed by Lincoln himself: Debunking false claims of mass rapes, the president wryly noted that only two of more than 300 Dakotas convicted by a military court had been found guilty of rape. The book is laced with similar factual inaccuracies, but you can't determine Cox's supposed sources due to a total absence of footnotes or endnotes. If you think you might be interested in this topic, read David Nichols' "Lincoln and the Indians" instead and give this book a pass.

I live right where this happened, was married to an Indian from that reservation and am raising our girl to be proud of her roots, but not bittered by them. I have read many things on the Sioux Uprising, many things only published locally in New Ulm, and have never read anything that shows both sides of the conflict like this book does. Many of the books cover only why the Indians were retalliating aganist a goverment that was horrible to them in ways not even discrible, stories still told to this day by the grandchildren of the people who lived through it. But this book also covers the things the Indians did to the whites living in this section of the state. Not something u often find. Difficult to contemplate the lawlessness of the time. I recommend this book if u would like to get some of both sides of the story. I think it shows both sides in a light not seen before. And not for the weak of stomach.
I do however resent the auther calling the Sioux uprising the 'biggest gangbang in Amercian history' Sorry, thats what the US goverment did to all Indian Tribes they encountered, and contiune to do now.

IN 1862, over 800 settlers lost their lives at the hands of Sioux warriors in what would become known as the Great Sioux Uprising of 1862. Many of the Sioux warriors were eventually brought to justice and in the end, 39, about 9% of the total number convicted of the crimes and sentenced to death, would swing from the gallows of Mankato, MN in the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Only the intervention of then President Abraham Lincoln would save the remaining 264 Sioux warriors from the same fate. LINCOLN AND THE SIOUX UPRISING OF 1862 by Hank Cox, tells the details of the account that has been largely forgotten in history due to events that were occurring at the same time in the eastern U.S. Names like Bull Run, Harper's Ferry and Vicksburg dominated the headlines.

By 1862, many of the Sioux had migrated west to capture new lands and annihilate their Indian brethren of the Dakotas. Yet others chose to stay behind on land delineated by the 1851 Treaty of Mendota in which the Sioux had agreed to live on a reservation on the upper Minnesota River in exchange for money and trade goods. Due to a combination of government corruption, inefficiency, (no, not much has changed in the last century and a half) and preoccupation with the Civil War, much of the promised provisions never made it to the Sioux and they began taking out their frustration on the local settlers, led largely by Chief Taoyateduta, known to us as Chief Little Crow.

Violence first erupted in 1857 at the Spirit Lake Massacre in Iowa but remained largely in check until August 18, 1862 when Chief Little Crow led a raid at the Lower Sioux Agency in Minnesota. This was quickly followed by literally dozens of raids on settlers and settlements over the following few months. When the dust finally settled, 303 Sioux stood convicted and sentenced to hang and the majority of Minnesotans were ready for justice.

This is when Lincoln took a huge political risk and time out from the Civil War to intervene and called only for the hanging of those 39 Sioux known to have taken part in the massacres and rapes and commuted the sentences of all others. History tells us very little for Lincoln's motives and the book sheds little light in this vain as well, but is still quite an interesting read on a largely forgotten piece of American history.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

Your review:
I finished reading Lincoln and the Sioux Uprising of 1862 by Hank H. Cox and I have to say the man is an idiot. I can not believe that someone in this day and age would write about Native people like he has. It sounds as if all he did was copy the supposed first hand accounts of white people back in 1862 and write them as fact. Come on man, you don't think those people exagerated and maybe, one LITTLE example I will mention, I can promise you Dakota people didn't really run around "perfectly naked"

I am a Dakota, and at least 2 of my ancesters were mentioned in this book and I am not going to say that none of it happened, not going to say that all the Dakota people of minnesota were innocent because like ALL races we have good and bad people, but I will say this book is a insult the Dakota People.

Maybe you should have actually talked to some of the Dakota people still alive and living in Minnesota today to get or side of the story, ya know there are still thousands of us alive today!

But I guess on a pluse side I should say that he did at least tell the truth about how messed up the system was then and told the truth about some of the key white government officals of the time.