The Buckskinners Rendezvous at Fort Belmont, Jackson, MN

This weekend, Saturday the 10th, will be appearing at Fort Belmont at Jackson, MN for another presentation on the Sioux Uprising, a narrated powerpoint and book signing. The fort sits right alongside interstate 90 so is easy to find. The presentation lasts about 10 minutes and copies of Blood on the Prairie - A Novel of the Sioux Uprising will be available for purchase for $12 per copy. We will donate $2.00 per copy to Fort Belmont that is run by a private non-profit organization that keeps the history of the area alive for all to see. Also available will be "Toby Ryker" and "Deadwood Days," the other two books in the Toby Ryker trilogy, for a total price of $40 of which a portion will also be donated to Fort Belmont. Come on down - the folks are friendly and fine, and the buckskinners are an entertaining sight. I would normally be on site both Saturday and Sunday but Sunday is our 40th wedding anniversary (yep, we have 9/11 to remind us) so Mickie and I will be celebrating our 40th on Sunday.

During the Uprising of 1862, shots were fired at Jackson and as they were located in the heart of Indian country, the entire county bailed out and for a few years thereafter, the settlers abandoned the entire county. Most fled to the east or south down into Iowa, as they were cut off to the north by the Upper Sioux Agency. There are still strong feelings among the locals who had kinfolk involved in the uprising, a tragic and deadly time for all. Still, it is a fascinating piece of local Minnesota and also American Civil War history, as the uprising, or Dakota Conflict as it was known, came under the control of the Union Army and President Lincoln. When it was all over, 38 Sioux warriors involved in the hostilities were hung on a huge gallows built in Mankato, my home town. This remains the largest mass execution in US history, ending the Dakota Conflict that was the largest loss of civilian lives in an Indian war in US history.