stood on the road, and at their approach eleven on each side stepped back, allowing them to pass in. Red Dog was to lead the attack on the north, Mic-aw-pan-eta on the east, Little Six on the south, and Bald Eagle, a renegade chief of the Standing Buffalo band, on the west. Signals were to be given by hooting, in imitation of an owl from tree tops, to show the location of the leaders. Little Crow had the supervision of the attack. At 3 a. m. the final signal was to be given and the harvest of death to begin, but the awful consequences were averted by the timely message carried by these three brave men who proved themselves the bravest of the brave.
A council was called, and a detail was set at pounding down the large caliber bullets to fit the guns. After consultation it was decided not to break camp till daylight, though some favored an immediate retreat to the open prairie. Instructions were given, in case of attack, "to hug the ground and fight, each for himself." There is some criticism placed on Captain Strout for this misfit in ammunition. The facts are, that the state had a number of Austrian and Belgian muskets, bored 62 and 59 (lOOths inch) caliber, and ammunition to fit. Criminal carelessness on the part of the issuing officer transposed the sizes. Captain Grant and Company A of the Sixth Minnesota were confronted with the same mistake, and this in the midst of the bloody battle of Birch Coulie. The proper cartridges for these guns were sent to Fort Abercrom-bie, where they were too small to be of service, and the bullets flew wild from the guns. The first lot issued by Strout was right, and he had no reason to suspect that the rest was different. That night each man had twenty rounds perfect, the reserve was all wrong.
Camp was broken early in the morning, and Branham, on Strout's advice, was to lead them out without a battle if possible, on account of the poor arms and ammunition. He was placed in charge of the mounted men, consisting of his detail and scout A. H. DeLong, and led the way some distance in advance. Branham intended to go to Forest City by the route the scouts had taken. The command left the woods and proceeded on the trail across a rolling prairie, with Long lake on their left. Passing through a swale and while ascending to higher ground, the scouts saw a peculiar glisten in the morning sunlight and soon became convinced that it was caused by
guns in the hands of Indians, who were skulking along a fence in a wheat field near Kelly's Bluff. It was afterward found that these guns were Springfields from Captain Marsh's company, massacred at Redwood Ferry August 18th. Word was sent back to Strout to prepare to fight, and to spread his men in wide open order. The scouts and Indians exchanged shots.
Indian signals, waving blankets and yelling, were commenced ahead; and soon a large body of mounted Indians, from the woods, charged the rear. Sergeant Kenna was ordered to charge them with a squad of twenty men ; as he did so the Indians spread out from the trail and came up on each rear flank, trying to encircle the command. At this point the company were on very low ground, and the losses were severe. Privates George W. Gideon and Alva Getchell were killed, several others were wounded, and for a short time there was confusion of both men and teams. Scout Branham was shot through the lungs and thus a valuable aid was put out of the fight. In a few moments Strout had matters in hand. The company was divided into four squads, under Lieutenant Clark and Sergeants Getchell and Kenna, and placed at the front, rear, right and left of the wagon train, and they soon spread out, driving the redskins back, at the same time making less of a target of themselves. By strenuous fighting the left squad kept the Indians from getting between them and the lake, while the others, by driving them back, permitted the wagons to reach the higher and more advantageous ground. It was good maneuvering, and most gallantly performed. Reaching the base of Kelly's Bluff, it was debated whether to entrench or to retreat toward Hutchinson, and it was decided to go to that point. Scout DeLong had already gone through the Indian lines for reinforcements from Captain Harrington at Hutchinson.
Along Kelly's Bluff Private Edwin Stone was killed and several more wounded. The dead were left behind and their bodies were horribly mutilated, when buried by a detachment from the Third Minnesota a few days later. Every wounded man was placed in the wagons, and the retreating fight was continued to Cedar Mills. At the marshy crossing repaired the previous day, the Indians pressed them hard and captured
one team and two wagons. In fact they had calculated to capture or kill the whole outfit at this point, and would have succeeded if those repairs had not been made. Everything that could be spared was thrown from the wagons, and the way the Indians fought each other for the food was amusing even in battle. About fifty noble warriors on hands and knees fought for a half barrel of sugar like pigs, and the pursuit lagged. Scout DeLong with reinforcements met the company a short way out of Hutchinson. On that night the wounded were placed in a hotel, just outside the stockade, and at daylight next morning the Indians attacked the town and their quarters were riddled with bullets, but all were safely taken into the stockade.
The losses of the company in the battle were three killed, eighteen wounded, nine horses, two wagons, and all commissary supplies. The battle was the fiery baptism of a number of good soldiers of the civil war, some of whom fell in battle, some perished in Andersonville, and some, thank God, still live. The result of the campaign was the discouragement of Little Crow and his followers. This was the fourth and last battle which he personally conducted in the massacre war of 1862.
It is but fair to say that fortune was kind to Strout and his men, but none the less must we commend th,e noble intentions and acts of those heroic citizens who placed their lives in jeopardy for the stricken, outraged settlers. The savage hordes have gone; the commander and most of his company are beyond the veil of death; and glorious Minnesota has risen from an unknown wilderness to a peerage among the States.
This account is as accurate as can be given at this time, and is verified by several members of that gallant body of home defenders. On the 21st of August, 1909, a monument was placed at Acton, at the Baker place, by the state, marking the site of the ''First Bloodshed." There were present, of the survivors of this battle, A. H. Rose, DeWitt C. Handy, Milton C. Stubbs, James Marshall, Scouts Jesse V. Branham, Albert Sperry, and A. H. DeLong; of people interested in the event, Evan Evanson, who accompanied the party to the Jones house after the murders of the 17th, Nathan Butler, who built the Baker house in 1857, Hon. G. A. Glader, who assisted in bury-
ing the bodies of Stone, Getchell, and Gideon, a few days after the battle, and Mrs. Ellen, widow of Capt. Lewis Harrington, of the Hutchinson Home Guards. To all of these thanks are due for the details of this account. The exercises were under the supervision of Senator J. W. Wright of Litchfield, and were participated in by several thousand citizens.
About a year after the foregoing narrative was read in the meeting of this Society, a banquet was given at the Nicollet House in Minneapolis, on the evening of November 20, 1912, to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Acton and to honor its survivors.
At the appointed hour the tables were filled by groups of men whose past career or present relations made them congenial company, and not the least in the pleasures of the evening were the visits of friends recounting the events of a half century ago. After the repast, which was accompanied with patriotic selections by veteran Charles H. Freeman's orchestra, President Anton Knoblauch opened the meeting with the following words:
"Friends and Members: We are guests of the Center Improvement Association, whose object is not only that which its name implies, but also to preserve and perpetuate the history, traditions, and landmarks of this section of our city. We are here this evening to honor Captain Strout's Company of citizen soldiers, partially made up of business men from this part of the city, who in September, 1862, went to battle at Acton and Hutchinson against the Sioux Indians, so that the settlers might pursue the tilling of their lands unmolested."