Henry Hastings Sibley (February 20, 1811 – February 18, 1891) was a fur trader with the American Fur Company, the first Congressional representative for Minnesota Territory, the first governor of the state of Minnesota, and a United States military leader in the Dakota War of 1862 and a subsequent expedition into Dakota Territory in 1863.

Numerous places are named after him, including Sibley County, Minnesota, Sibley, North Dakota, Sibley, Iowa, Hastings, Minnesota, Sibley Memorial Highway, General Sibley Park, and Sibley State Park.

Early life and education

left|thumb|Judge Solomon Sibley, Henry's father

Henry Hastings Sibley was born in Detroit, then part of the Territory of Michigan. His father, Solomon Sibley (1769–1846), was from Sutton, Massachusetts, and a direct descendant of John Sibley, who had immigrated from England to America in 1629.

Henry's mother, born Sarah Whipple Sproat, was the only daughter of Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, a distinguished officer in the Continental Army, and the granddaughter of Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy. Both Sproat and Whipple had received land grants after they lost their fortunes in the American Revolutionary War and were early pioneers in Marietta, Ohio. Sarah was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and attended boarding schools in Bethlehem and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She married Solomon Sibley in Marietta in 1802 at the age of twenty, after which she moved to Detroit. They returned to Detroit one year later after its recapture by U.S. General William Henry Harrison and his defeat of the British in the Battle of the Thames. He returned to Detroit to work at the Bank of Michigan during the winter, and then signed a five-year contract with American Fur Company after working there again in the summer of 1830.

Fur trade in Minnesota country

In October 1834, 23-year-old Henry Sibley left Mackinac, traveling to Green Bay and up the Fox River, then to the Wisconsin River via a two-mile portage trail. On the Wisconsin River, he found a tiny stern-wheel steamboat which took him to Prairie du Chien. After spending several days at the American Fur Company's Western Outfit headquarters at Prairie du Chien, Sibley traveled the remaining 300 miles of wilderness by horseback. Nevertheless, Sibley worked diligently to try to maximize profits, and according to American Fur Company records, the fur trade in Minnesota "was in its most flourishing condition" in the years leading up to 1837. He instructed the traders and clerks in his territory to limit credits to powder, lead and shot. Many Dakota hunters complained to Indian agent Lawrence Taliaferro about these changes. Hunters from Shakopee's band reported that ever since Sibley had taken over, "they could get 'nothing' from their traders, 'not even a flint much less traps & ammunition.'"

The steady decline in the wild animal population in the region meant that more and more hunters were competing for scarcer game, and driving herds further north. By 1836, the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota had become more protective of their hunting zones, even refusing access to the Mdewakanton Dakota, who had been hardest hit and now depended entirely on the western hunting grounds. Sibley, whose business relied heavily on collecting furs from the Mdewakantons, made an emergency trip to Traverse des Sioux to broker a solution. He threatened to withdraw all American Fur Company men if the Sissetons and Wahpetons did not allow the Mdewakantons to hunt there. in partnership with Pennsylvania newspaper editor and former Indian agent Samuel C. Stambaugh, who had been appointed to the post but had no interest in moving there. By controlling the army sutler's store, the fur traders were confident that they could maintain their local monopoly; otherwise, there would be nothing to stop the Dakota from patronizing the sutler's store at Fort Snelling and using fur pelts to pay for goods. Any losses incurred by the traders would be more than offset by the higher prices they could charge the Dakota. However, the sutler's store proved to be a headache for Henry Sibley, who did not get along with Stambaugh. Business was also highly dependent on the number of troops garrisoned at Fort Snelling. By 1837, the garrison was drastically reduced due to the Second Seminole War in Florida Territory, and many soldiers in the First Infantry Regiment left the fort with unpaid credits. Taliaferro nevertheless prevailed.

Agent Taliaferro, infuriated by what he viewed as trader meddling when the Ojibwe treaty was signed at Fort Snelling, moved the Mdewakanton Dakota treaty negotiations to Washington, D.C. The traders were "jubilant" over the terms of the treaty, and Sibley wrote to his father saying that once his debts were paid, he hoped to end his relationship with American Fur and return to Detroit the following year. Independent of American Fur, Sibley was subject to fewer restrictions and was able to trade freely with both the Ojibwe and the Dakota. he was "struck with the picturesque beauty of the scene" looking out at Fort Snelling perched high above the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The Sibley House has historically been referred to as "the oldest stone house in Minnesota". The first new building built by Sibley was actually a stone warehouse, completed in 1836. Immediately following his marriage to Sarah Jane Steele and well into the 1850s, Henry Sibley began a series of alterations to his house to accommodate his growing family and transform it from a hunting lodge into a Victorian family home. Evidence suggests that if Robinson was in fact a slave at this time, he belonged to Hercules L. Dousman and may have been "on loan" to Sibley. Until 1857, the site of Sibley's home and the community around it were technically part of the Fort Snelling military reservation. However, trading post records show that Tahshinahohindoway had made purchases of blankets, clothing and other items as late as 1846. – a move that Sarah had longed for during many years but reportedly was unable to enjoy due to depression and illness. Sarah Jane Sibley died of complications from pneumonia on May 21, 1869, at the age of 46. The Daily Minnesotian identified Miss Delaware as "Helen Sibley" with no further comment.

In 1868, their eldest daughter Augusta married Captain Douglas Pope, Sibley's former aide-de-camp who had been based at Fort Snelling. When his wife Sarah died in 1869, Henry was left with two young sons, including Freddie who was eight years old and Allie who was not yet three, as well as 18-year-old Sallie (Sarah Jane). The growing white population in the Upper Mississippi — including lumbermen, speculators and farmers — also spurred the growth of the general mercantile trade. Although the Lynx netted only $161.04 during the 1844 season after deducting losses due to damage to the boat, in 1845, the Lynx netted $11,194.73. However, there were delays in collecting payment from shippers, leading Captain John Atchison to delay paying dividends to investors. Frustrated, Dousman put considerable pressure on Sibley over several months to make a "final settlement" with Atchison. The first boat of the Galena Packet Company, the "Argo", sank in October 1847, but its new boat, the "Dr. Franklin", launched successfully in 1848.

thumb|Norman Kittson worked for Sibley as head of the Upper Mississippi Outfit's western business

Trade with the Métis and Ojibwe

In 1842, the American Fur Company's Western Outfit was sold to Pierre Choteau Jr. and Company, forming their new Upper Mississippi Outfit. In the original contract, the Upper Mississippi Outfits's trade was described as "trade with whites and Indians", reflecting the changing demographics of the region. As part of Choteau Company, Henry Sibley was no longer bound by the American Fur Company's agreement with the British Hudson's Bay Company to refrain from trading along the border with Canada.

From 1842 to 1846, Sibley also bought buffalo hides from Joseph R. Brown on his personal account, even though Brown was a competitor of Choteau Company's Upper Mississippi Outfit. When Brown finally exited the fur trade, Sibley bought out his interests and assets on generous terms. The investigation resulted in the arrest of Edward Phalen, Hays's business partner, a few weeks later. For jurisdictional reasons, however, Sibley passed on the case to Joseph R. Brown, who was appointed as justice of the peace for Crawford County in 1839, and Phalen was found not guilty of murder despite his self-incriminatory testimony.left|thumb|Joseph R. Brown sold his fur trade interests to Sibley and later became an important political ally Wisconsin became a state on May 29, 1848, with Wisconsin's northwestern border finally pushed back to the St. Croix River.

Appointment as delegate by Stillwater convention

On August 26, 1848, Sibley attended a "convention" held in Stillwater which had been called by several concerned citizens of the St. Croix valley, as well as Joseph R. Brown, Franklin Steele and himself. He was subsequently elected as the first representative of the Minnesota Territory's at-large congressional district, serving in the 31st and 32nd congresses from July 7, 1849 – March 3, 1853.

Legislator in Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives

Sibley was elected to the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives, convened from January to March 1855, as the representative of Dakota County.

President of Minnesota Constitutional Convention

He was a member of the Democratic Party wing of the first Minnesota Constitutional Convention, of which he eventually became president. Assembled July 13, 1857, the convention resulted in adoption of the constitution as framed on October 13, 1857.

First governor of state of Minnesota

In 1858 Sibley was elected as the first governor of the state, and is one of just two Minnesota Democrats to win a gubernatorial election with a Democrat in the White House. He served from May 24, 1858, until January 2, 1860. After narrowly defeating Republican Alexander Ramsey in the first state gubernatorial contest, Sibley declared in his inaugural address, "I have no object and no interests which are not inseparably bound up with the welfare of the state." He did not seek reelection.

Railroad bond issue

When the legislature voted for the state to issue bonds to the railroads to provide for construction of the transcontinental route, Sibley refused. He said the railroads did not give priority of lien to the state on their property. The state supreme court ordered the governor to issue the legislatively authorized state bonds to railroads. The legislature asked him to market the bonds in New York. Although he made an effort to do, the capitalists refused to buy the bonds. The state subsequently repudiated the issuance.

Role in Dakota War of 1862

thumb|upright|Henry Hastings Sibley in uniform, 1862

In the wake of treaties negotiated with them by Sibley, Native American tribes that had until recently roamed freely across the territory were severely diminished in land and resource rights. By 1858, the Dakota, Ojibwe and Winnebago were relegated to reservations. The changes were particularly harsh for the Dakota, who were forced to live on a reservation located on narrow slice of land by the Minnesota River.

By 1862, the pressure had become too much. The Sioux now claim they were coerced and manipulated to relinquish their own culture and religion and routinely misled and cheated by Sibley and others. Faced with starvation and missed annuity payments due them from the federal

government, largely due to the ongoing Civil War, many Dakota people saw an opportunity to retake the lands of Minnesota and began attacking the settlers in an effort to drive them out.

Commanding Officer

On August 19, 1862, Governor Alexander Ramsey appointed former Governor Sibley as colonel of volunteers. He was directed to the upper Minnesota River to lead an expedition of relief to Fort Ridgely, which had been under attack from Dakota warriors led by Little Crow. On August 29, Sibley's forces rescued the 250 settlers left after the Dakota abandoned the fort four days earlier, after their failed attempt to capture it.

After that, he was involved in the engagement of Birch Coulee and Wood Lake. The last engagement was a decisive battle. It resulted in the Dakota releasing 269 captives – 107 European-American and 162 biracial.

Military commission and trials

Between September 28 and November 5, 1862, a military commission created by Sibley as commanding officer conducted 392 trials for murder, participation in murder, participation in combat, and rape. It was a court with no lawyers for the defendants. Some of the trials lasted only a few minutes. By November 5, the commission had sentenced 307 men to death and given 16 prison terms. Sibley approved all death sentences except for one and passed the results on to General John Pope; by November 7, they had cut the total number of death sentences to 303. On December 6, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln approved 39 of the 303 death sentences after having two advisors review them. Thirty-eight men were hanged at Mankato, December 26, 1862, including at least one whose sentence had been commuted by President Lincoln.

The remaining 300 Dakota warriors were imprisoned and more than 1,600 non-combatants: women, children and elderly were held in a crowded encampment on Pike Island below Fort Snelling until river transportation resumed in the spring . A palisade was erected to protect the interned from the soldiers and settlers after one of the women was assaulted. Many died as a result of a measles epidemic

that swept the camp in December.

For his efforts, Sibley was promoted to brigadier-general of volunteers, September 29, 1862, after the hostilities had ended. Sibley turned over his command to Colonel Stephen A. Miller of the 7th Minnesota Infantry Regiment. On November 25, he became commander of the newly created Military District of Minnesota, with headquarters in St. Paul.\

Expedition of 1863

Meanwhile, treaties with the Dakota were nullified and Sibley proceeded with leading the banishment of all tribal members from the state to reservations in the Dakotas and Nebraska. He was relieved from the command of the Military District of Minnesota with the disbandment of the district in August 1866.

Involvement in Indian affairs

After his military service, Sibley was active in settling several Indian treaties.

Ongoing business interests

Sibley served as the president of several railroads, banks, and other large corporations.

Railroad bond issue

Sibley dedicated considerable energy to trying to resolve the railroad bond issue.

Civic responsibilities

Minnesota Historical Society and Old Settler's Association

He also served a variety of civic organizations. He became a member of the Minnesota Historical Society in 1849 and eventually served as president. He joined the Old Settlers' association of that state in 1858.

St. Paul Chamber of Commerce

In December 1866, Henry Sibley took the lead in reestablishing the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. He served numerous terms as its president, and focused its efforts on public and charitable projects.

In 1873, a massive grasshopper infestation ruined crops across southwestern Minnesota, and spread even further the following summer. In December 1873, Sibley worked with the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce to raise $6,000 to aid families in Cottonwood County. They formed an executive committee to approach members of the business community for contributions; Sibley himself contacted the directors and out-of-state shareholders of the railroads which ran through the affected area. In 1874, Governor Cushman Kellogg Davis asked Sibley to administer the distribution of $19,000 in funds raised for the relief of settlers worst affected by the grasshopper invasion, working with John S. Pillsbury of Minneapolis. Hercules L. Dousman and Jean Baptiste Faribault.

See also

  • List of American Civil War generals (Union)

Notes

Further reading

  • Anderson, Gary Clayton (2019). Massacre in Minnesota: The Dakota War of 1862, the Most Violent Ethnic Conflict in American History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
  • Blegen, Theodore C. (1934). "Henry H. Sibley, Pioneer of Culture and Frontier Author". Minnesota History 15(4): 382–394.
  • Carley, Kenneth (1976). The Dakota War of 1862: Minnesota's Other Civil War. Minnesota Historical Society. (First published under the title of The Sioux Uprising of 1862 (1961).)
  • Gilman, Rhoda R (2004). Henry Hastings Sibley: Divided Heart. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society.
  • Kohn, Bruce A. (2012). Dakota Child, Governor's Daughter: The Life of Helen Hastings Sibley. Mendota: Greenhaven Printing.
  • West, Nathaniel (1889). The Ancestry, Life and Times of the Hon. Henry Hastings Sibley. St. Paul: Pioneer Press. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  • Gilman, Rhoda R. "Sibley, Henry H. (1811–1891)". MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia. First published July 16, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  • "Governor: Sibley, Henry H.: An Inventory of Its Records of Governor Henry H. Sibley at the Minnesota Historical Society – Government Records". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  • "Governors of Minnesota: Henry H. (Hastings) Sibley". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived June 6, 2009.
  • "Henry H. Sibley: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society – Manuscript Collection". Retrieved June 16, 2021.

Retrieved December 1, 2008.

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