During the Minnesota Sioux Uprising of 1862, eighteen men left New Ulm early on the morning of August 19 and traveled westward about 20 miles along the Big Cottonwood River to the area of Leavenworth in search of relatives and friends. They found dead settlers and wounded children. Two men took the wounded by wagon to New Ulm, and during the day another man left while two more joined the group. Part of the expedition returned to New Ulm about 3:00 P.M. during the first attack on the town. They descended the hill near the present Loretto Hospital and crossed the slough below, where five were killed in an Indian ambush: William B. Carroll, Thomas Riant, Almond D. Loomis, George Lamb, and Jan Thomson. One half hour later the other men returned and were also surprised there, and six were killed: William Tuttle, Uriah Loomis, DeWitt Lemon, Ole Olson, Nels Olson, and Tore Olson. Unknown to the expedition, some of their families and neighbors had reached safety within the New Ulm barricades. Survivors of the 3:00 P.M. attack were Philip Kirby, Luther C. Ives, Robert A. Henton, Charles Koehne, and Samuel McAuliffe; Ralph Thomas survived the 3:30 P.M. attack.