Andrew B. Robbins was educated in this State. After leaving school he went into the army at the age of 17, and served three years, was with Gen. Sully in his expedition to the Yellowstone, had a fight with the Sioux on the Little Missouri in the “Bad Lands.” The command rescued Capt. Fisk’s emigrant train from their perilous situation, surrounded by Indians. He went south down the Missouri river, and joined the army of Gen.Sherman took part in the battles of Murfreesboro, Clifton, Tenn., and the Cedars, N.C., belonged to the 8th Minn., the regiment that did more marching than any other one in the army; crossed four territories and eleven States was with Gen. Sherman when Lee surrendered joined him at Ft. Fisher.
–Memoirs of the State Officers; and of the Nineteenth Legislature of Minnesota, by C.L. Hall
Here’s a letter home from Robbins when he was stationed at Fort Ripley. The military post in Morrison County, established in 1848, was built to keep the peace among the Dakota, Ojibwe, and recently resettled Ho-Chunk people. Ripley was the second fort built in Minnesota. When the Dakota War broke out in 1862, some Objibwe saw it as an opportunity to redress grievances and gain leverage in the area. Their leader, Bagone-giizhig (Hole-in-the Day II) threatened war in northern Minnesota and settlers flocked to Fort Ripley for protection. Army regulars had been sent south to fight in the Civil War so Minnesota Volunteer regiments were rushed in and the fort was prepared for battle. Successful negations between the Objibwe and the government at the garrison’s strengthened defenses yielded an agreement and Fort Ripley became a base for the western military campaigns of the Dakota War.
