2nd Regiment of Cavalry
Formed in the fall of 1863 this regiment saw most of its service as part of Sully's Expedition which followed the Missouri River far into Dakota Territory and the region of the Badlands. The campaign culminated in the battle of Killdeer Mountain on July 31, 1864, and saw the expedition push as far west as the Yellowstone river in what is today eastern Montana. The regiment returned to Minnesota in the fall of 1864 and spent the remaining months of the war stationed at frontier forts, where they suffered more from weather and isolation than conflict with the Indians. The Second Regiment of Cavalry was mustered out of service in April, 1866.
David N. Jenkins Papers, 1864.
Original handwritten and typescript copy of a journal (May 21-Sept. 29, 1864) kept by a corporal in Company D of the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry while it served as part of the Sully Expedition against the Dakota Indians of 1864. The journal’s daily entries describe Jenkins’ march from Fort Snelling to the Missouri River near Bismarck (N.D.); a battle with Indians at the Killdeer Mountains (July 28, 1864); the destruction of captured Indian property; the expedition’s march west through the Badlands to the Yellowstone River (Aug. 3-20, 1864), which included another skirmish with Indians; buffalo hunting; a command sent to assist a party led by Captain James L. Fisk, which was under Indian attack; and, finally, the regiment’s return to Fort Wadsworth.
MNHS call number: See the finding aid in the library (P2115).
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