[DAKOTA TERRITORY]. A Pair of Carte de Visite Photographs a...

[DAKOTA TERRITORY]. A Pair of Carte de Visite Photographs and a Printed Circular Related to Fort Abercrombie and the Harsh Treatments Enlisted Men Received. Photos: N.p., n.d. (each 57 x 89 mm), showing an overview sketch of the fort and a view from the northeast side of the Red River, circa 1860s. Printed circular: St. Cloud, MN, May 30, 1866. Sheet, 12mo (152 x 197 mm), old folds, small closed tear. A rare, printed notice to the public by the Independent Battalion of Volunteers (formerly “Hatch’s Battalion”) describing the harsh treatment received from Lieut. Col. Charles Powell Adams (1831-1893), the commanding officer at Fort Abercrombie. “When we enlisted in the service of our country, it was for the defence and protection of our frontier, which had then been invaded by the ruthless savage. Our then commanding officer was Major Hatch, one of God’s noblemen, who knew what his men wanted and saw that their wants were supplied. He was succeeded in the command by Lt. Col. C. Powell Adams, whose treatment of us since that time, has been one of unmitigated tyranny. He forgot we were human, and every species of indignity and inhumanity has been heaped upon us- inhumanities that would put the Spanish Inquisition to blush. For the most trivial offences we have been subjected to tortures of the most cruel kind- some have been tied up by the thumbs until unconsciousness came to their relief; others have had bags of sand lashed to their backs, which they were obliged to carry until they sank insensible under their burdens; others have had the ball and chain ignominiously manacled to them for weeks at a time, as if they were felons of the worst description; while others have been confined in the guard-house for months, deprived of all exercise and liberty…” Hatch’s Battalion was a Minnesota cavalry battalion that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and American Indian Wars. In October 1864, Major Hatch received orders to track down Sioux leaders who had crossed into lands of the British Crown owned by Hudson’s Bay Company. The troop encountered and killed several Minnesota Sioux at St. Joseph and captured two Mdewakanton leaders at Fort Gerry, forcing almost 400 Sioux to turn themselves in to Hatch and the two chiefs hung for crimes against unarmed civilians.