This Fort Had a Purpose

Fort Ridgely served as a buffer between Dakota Indians on the reservations and white settlers pouring into the Minnesota River valley. Soldiers stationed there enforced treaty agreements and protected the Dakota from intrusions onto their reservations, while the army attempted to keep peace despite mounting friction and strife between the two groups over social, economic, and religious issues. By 1854 there were 52 U.S. Army forts west of the Mississippi; some were built for national defense or to protect economic interests, while others like Ridgely were buffer posts and not considered permanent. Fort Ridgely operated for only 14 years, closing in 1867. In 1852, Captain Napoleon J.T. Dana and Colonel Francis Lee were ordered to select a suitable location for a new military fort on the upper Minnesota River, and they chose this site high on a bluff overlooking the river and valley. Its advantages included easy transport of supplies and soldiers up the Minnesota River, a good boat landing at the base of the bluff, and a nearby spring for drinking water. Its drawbacks included being somewhat too far from the reservations at 15 miles from the Lower Sioux Agency and 40 miles from the Upper Sioux Agency, standing on the north side of the river while both agencies were on the south side, vulnerability when used for defense as in the summer of 1862 because deep ravines flanked three sides while the north side was open prairie, and cold, windy, unprotected winter conditions.

Minnesota · United States