"It was a beautiful place to encamp, but it proved an unfortunate one for us, as the enemy had the advantage both of the timber and hill for protection."
??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? Joseph Anderson
To cover the largest possible area, the burial detail split into two groups on September 1. Anderson and his men went south of the Minnesota River, while a group headed by Capt. Hiram Grant scoured the land north of the river. The two groups rejoined at a campsite Grant chose. Despite Anderson's misgivings about the site, he and his men settled in for the night.

An Error in Judgment

"Everything indicated...that the Indians had all removed up to Yellow Medicine (near Upper Sioux Agency)," Anderson said about Grant's fateful choice of a campsite. Although many felt uneasy, the men camped where they had been assured no Dakota forces would attack.

Grant chose a site on level ground, close to trees and water, less than a half-mile from the road to Fort Ridgely—in a low-lying area open to gunfire.

Minnesota Historical Society
Birch Coulee Battlefield

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Show me all markers in:  Morton, MN  |  Renville County  |  56270  |  Minnesota  |  United States of America

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Two Men, One War
The Battle Ends
Battle Tactics
The Battle of Birch Coulee
Battle Scars
After the Battle
The Story of the Land
Minnesota's Civil War
The Battle of Birch Coulee

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