Fort Ripley (Minnesota fort)

Fort Ripley typified remote mid-19th century army posts. The buildings were of timber construction, facing a quadrangle. The fort had a partial stockade with the side facing the river completely open except for two of the three block houses. It was on a navigable river and an important trade route. The location was geographically remote to Colonial-American population centers, with Native Americans living in the vicinity.[2]

Fort Ripley was built in conjunction with the Ho-Chunk had been moved from northeastern Iowa. Their new reservation near Long Prairie, Minnesota, necessitated a military post nearby to oversee the reservation and administer annuity payments. The government also hoped that the Ho-Chunk, and the fort, would serve as a buffer between the Santee Dakota and the Chippewa, who were warring. Construction began in November 1848. In April 1849, Company A of the 6th Infantry Regiment arrived from Fort Snelling to take up quarters under the command of Captain John Blair Smith Todd.[2] With them were men of Company D 1st Dragoons commanded by 2nd Lt. John W.T. Gardiner.[5]

Commanders and officers:

• Capt. John Blair Smith Todd was the first commander.[6] Became a Brigadier General. Captain Todd was a first cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln.[7]
• Major George W. Patten[6] Was commander of the Fort three times as well as at Fort Ridgely. He lost a hand in combat.
• Major Hannibal Day[6] Also was commander of Fort Ridgely and would become a brevet Brigadier General.
• Major William S. McCaskey[6] Was a Civil war hero and would become a Major General.[8]
• Capt. John C. Bates[6] Was a hero of both the Civil and Philippine wars. He became a Lieutenant General.
• Lt. Col. J.J. Abercrombie was commander of Fort Ripley twice and was commanding when the Civil War broke out. He became a Brigadier General.[9]
• Lt. Timothy J. Sheehan would be promoted to a brevetted Lt. Colonel by the end of the Civil War. He was wounded twice at Fort Ridgely and twice at Nashville. In 1898 he commanded the right flank at the last fight with the Chippewa at Sugar Point where he was wounded 3 times.[10]
• Capt. Samuel McLarty post commander sent forward and established Fort Pomme de Terre. Would be brevetted Lt. Colonel by the end of the Civil War.[11]

With occasional exceptions, daily life at Fort Ripley was uneventful. The geographic isolation, summer mosquitoes, and long, cold winters made post life challenging. The Metis oxcart trains traversing the eastern route of the Red River Trails between Selkirk - Fort Garry and the American Fur Trading outpost at Mendota/Fort Snelling(later Saint Paul) passed Fort Ripley.[12] Twice each year, the soldiers trekked to the Long Prairie Agency to supervise government annuity payments of money and goods to the Ho-Chunk/Winnebago and then did the same for the Ojibwe/Chippewa at the Crow Wing Agency.[2]

On 18 July, 1850, Congress approved funds to build five military roads in the Minnesota Road Act. Two originated on Point Douglas at the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers. The first was named the Fort Ripley Military Wagon Road. It went north through Cottage Grove, Newport, St. Paul, St. Anthony Falls to Crow Wing seven miles past Fort Ripley. The distance from St. Paul to Fort Ripley via the wagon road was 150 miles.

In 1853 the Isaac Steven's Railway Survey passed through the Fort Ripley Reservation.[13] It wouldn't be until the 1880s a rail line was constructed through the former fort's lands. The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad had held the right of way for many years, but it would be the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway that laid the track.

In 1855 C Co. 10th Infantry became the garrison, and the Ho-Chunk were forced to move again—to a reservation in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Thinking the post was no longer needed, the army withdrew the garrison in 1857. Almost immediately, disturbances broke out between settlers and some Ojibwe, prompting reactivation of the fort by a Company of the 2nd Infantry.[2] With the outbreak of the Civil War the Federal troops were replaced by the 5th Minnesota. A troop from the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry was part of the Fort late in the war. The Fort was garrisoned by A & G Companies 20th Infantry in April 1969. A Co. was immediately posted forward with G Co remaining until December 1877.[14]

From 1857-1861 Companies G, I, L 2nd Artillery Regiment were variously posted to northern forts Snelling, Ridgely, and Ripley.[15]

Typical of 19th-century army posts, Fort Ripley's military reservation was huge. It encompassed nearly 90 square miles (230 km²) on the east side of the Mississippi, plus a single square mile on the west side to house the garrison. This configuration was chosen because the Ho-Chunk reservation abutted the west bank of the river and caused consternation for those who wanted the unused east side opened to homesteaders. In 1857 the army agreed to auction the eastern lands, but those bidding colluded to underbid. The Secretary of War annulled the sale. In the meantime, many had begun to build and farm the land. The resulting confusion and ensuing litigation took 20 years to resolve.[2]

Military activity on the post intensified during the American Civil War. In January 1861, C and K Companies of the 2nd Infantry were sent south to fight Confederates,[16] and were replaced by companies A and E from the 1st Minnesota[17] who in turn were relieved by A and F Companies of 2nd Minnesota.[2]

Despite an undercurrent of mistrust, relations between settlers and Ojibwes was mainly peaceful in northern Minnesota. That nearly changed when the Dakota War of 1862 broke out. Seizing upon that conflict as an opportunity to gain power and leverage for redress of grievances, Ojibwe leader Hole in the Day threatened to launch a simultaneous war in northern Minnesota. Fearful settlers in the area flocked to Fort Ripley for security. Additional soldiers were rushed in and the post was readied for conflict.[2] When hostilities broke at Fort Ridgely 1st Lt. Timothy J. Sheehan and 50 men of C Company 5th Minnesota from Fort Ripley had arrived prior. They had been requested to assist in dealing with Indian agents and food distribution. After a heated exchange, Sheehan had gotten the agent at the Upper Sioux Agency to give out food. Thinking the task was completed the Fort Ripley men departed for their own post. A messenger caught up with them informing them of an ongoing attack at the Lower Sioux Agency. They returned to Fort Ridgely to learn the post commander Capt. Marsh had been killed. 1st Lt. Sheehan took command and is credited with leading the defense. The end of January Captain Samuel McLarty, D Co 8th Minnesota was ordered from Fort Ripley with his command to take post at Pomme de Terre and Chippewa Station.[18] After arriving at Pomme de Terre orders came to erect a palisade 9 feet in height creating Fort Pomme de Terre the largest garrison point between St. Cloud and Fort Abercrombie on the Red River Trail.[18]

Hole-in-Day's threat was defused thanks to cool-headed negotiating and the garrison's strengthened defenses. For the next three years Fort Ripley was a base for western military campaigns that followed the U.S.-Dakota War. The 8th Minnesota was posted there as was part of the 3rd Minnesota Light Artillery and the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment. Fort activity peaked during the winter of 1863–1864, when 400 cavalry troops and 500 horses were quartered at the fort.[2]

On a sub-zero night in January 1877, fire destroyed three buildings. Believing the post had outlived its purpose, the War Department decided to permanently close it rather than rebuild. The troops moved out that summer. The buildings stood abandoned for many years. By 1910, the ruins of the gunpowder magazine, built of stone, were all that remained.[2]

Fort Ripley historical marker directly across the Mississippi River from the original site

In 1929, the State of Minnesota announced that a new National Guard training site would be built in central Minnesota. The land had to be purchased and, purely by coincidence, the remains of old Fort Ripley were within the proposed boundaries. The new post—Camp Ripley—took its name from the old.[2]

• Media related to Fort Ripley at Wikimedia Commons
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Morrison County, Minnesota

This article incorporates text from MNopedia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.