ESCAPE HISTORY... Abraham Lincoln s Trials by Fire

Transcription

1 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... Abraham Lincoln s Trials by Fire July December, 1862 A Dramatic Play in Two Acts Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 Bryce O. Stenzel

2 Copyright 2012 Bryce O. Stenzel All rights Reserved Reproduction in whole or in part of any portion in any form without permission of the author or publisher is strictly prohibited. For more information, contact: Minnesota Heritage Publishing 205 Ledlie Lane, Suite 125 Mankato, MN ISBN: Library of Congress Catalog Number: Published by Minnesota Heritage Publishing Printed in the United States of America By Corporate Graphics, North Mankato, MN First Edition Edited by Carlienne Frisch and Grace Schreyer Cover Design by Michael Sellner Photo Credits: Front Cover: (Top, left to right) Close-up of Lincoln statue at Soldiers Home Cottage in Washington, D.C.; the Soldiers Home Cottage in Washington D.C.; Little Crow Statue in Hutchinson, Minnesota. (Photos by Author.) (Bottom) Hanging of the Thirty-Eight Dakota The nation s largest mass execution took place in Mankato on December 26, The scene was witnessed by ranks of soldiers and large crowds of civilians. Martial law was declared in Mankato to prevent violence. This drawing was made by W. H. Childs, who published it in Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper, January 24, (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society.) Back Cover: Statue of Lincoln and his horse at Soldiers Home Cottage in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Author.)

3 Table of Contents Cast of Characters i Synopsis of Scenes v Preface vii...we Cannot Escape History... Abraham Lincoln s Trials by Fire: Prologue ix Act I: Scene 1: Dakota War Council Scene 2: Am I To Have No Rest? Scene 3: Forever Free Scene 4: Bishop Whipple Goes to Washington Act II: Scene 1: Attend To The Indians Scene 2: The Fiery Trial Scene 3: I Cannot Hang Men For Votes (Execution of the 38 Dakota) Scene 4: If My Name Ever Goes Into History Bonus Scene: Clash of Wills: Lincoln Confronts General McClellan Photographs Endnotes Bibliography Apendix I Apendix II Chronology of Important Events Acknowledgements Index About the Author

4 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... i Cast of Characters In Order of Appearance Dakota Warrior 1 Dakota Warrior 2 Dakota Warrior 3 Dakota Warrior 4 Chief Little Crow (Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta ): Reluctant leader of the Dakota, who led his people against the Euro- American settlers and U.S. Army in the U.S.-Dakota War of Cecelia Ochs: Nine-year-old German immigrant survivor of the Dakota attacks against the German settlement of Milford Township in Brown County, Minnesota. Gottlieb Oswald: Thirteen-year-old German immigrant; eyewitness to the Defense of New Ulm in the wake of the two battles (August 19 and 23, 1862) for control of that frontier town. Mrs. Louise Mayo: Wife of frontier doctor William W. Mayo, whose sons, William J. and Charles, later founded the world-famous Mayo Clinic. She remained at home in Le Sueur to care for the family, while Dr. Mayo assisted in the Defense of New Ulm. Wilhelmina Urban: Great-great-grandmother of the play s author, Bryce O. Stenzel. Her eyewitness account illustrates that the Dakota Conflict was not entirely confined to the Minnesota River valley; Dakota raiding parties radiated out from it to attack small settlements and isolated, individual farms on the frontier. Servant John French: U.S. Treasury Department employee, and friend of both President Abraham Lincoln and Colonel Charles Scott. Abraham Lincoln: 16th President of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief during the nation s worst military crisis, the American Civil War ( ). He also took a personal role in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862; Lincoln exercised his pardoning power in reducing the death sentence for 265 of the original 303 Dakota warriors sentenced to be executed. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: He visited Lincoln at the Soldiers Home cottage on the afternoon of August 23, 1862, with the intention of asking the President to assist him in retrieving his wife s body, lost in a steamship accident, so he could give her a proper burial. John Hay: The youngest of the three private secretaries employed in the Lincoln Administration during the

5 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... v Synopsis of Scenes Prologue Act I, Scene 1: The Dakota War Council Time: early morning hours of August 18, 1862; days later Place: home of Chief Little Crow, near the Lower Sioux Indian Agency; Dacotah House Hotel in New Ulm; Mayo House in Le Sueur; Urban farm near Minnesota Lake Act I, Scene 2: Am I To Have No Rest? Time: Late Afternoon of August 23, 1862; next morning Place: Soldiers Home Cottage in Washington, D.C.; street corner near Lieutenant-Colonel Scott s Hotel in Washington, D.C. Act I, Scene 3: Forever Free Time: September 22, 1862 Place: Lincoln s office in the Executive Mansion (White House) in Washington, D.C.; Cameo appearances of Colonel Sibley, Sarah Wakefield, and General John Pope Act I, Scene 4: Bishop Whipple Goes to Washington Time: Late September 1862 Place: Lincoln s office in the Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C Intermission Act II, Scene 1: Attend to the Indians Time: October 1862 Place: Courtroom at the Lower Sioux Agency; Lincoln s office in the Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C. Act II, Scene 2: The Fiery Trial Time: November and early December 1862 Place: Lincoln s office in the Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C.; on the road between Mankato and South Bend; Prison in Mankato Act II, Scene 3: I Cannot Hang Men For Votes (Execution of the 38 Dakota) Time: December 26, 1862 Place: Mankato, Minnesota inside the prison and in the town square Act II, Scene 4: If My Name Ever Goes Into History Time: January 1, 1863 Place: Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C. Bonus Scene: Clash of Wills: Lincoln Confronts General McClellan

6 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... vii Preface The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 remains one of history s most overlooked military conflicts, despite the enormous political, economic and social significance it had on the westward expansion of the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. This can be attributed to several factors: namely, geography, chronology, duration and public perception. The Minnesota River valley, where most of the fighting took place, was a sparsely inhabited region, far removed from the populated eastern states and large cities: it was literally the frontier. The brutal nature of the Civil War, now in its second year, both consumed the resources and absorbed the attention of the American people overshadowing all other events. Ironically, the war played an integral role in precipitating the conflict, because it removed the majority of Minnesota s white male citizens for military service, leaving their homes and families virtually defenseless. To their credit, Dakota leaders understood the war s significance and exploited it to their military advantage. From the Dakota Indians perspective, this six-week conflict was an all-out effort to reclaim their ancestral lands and protect their culture from encroachment by the white settlers. It was a long war, from the Dakota point of view. When measured by Euro-American standards of warfare, however, it was a short affair. Despite the ferocity of the fighting, it was a frontier war, largely fought between small groups of settlers and Indians, rather than a contest that pitted large, organized armies against each other. Finally, public perception of the conflict beyond Minnesota was muted. There weren t many local newspapers to carry the story. There was no single, dominating personality involved, as in the case of General George Armstrong Custer at the Little Bighorn, a decade later. The fact that the U.S.-Dakota war has been largely ignored by modern historians makes it all the more fascinating and worthy of scholarly consideration. It was, after all, a historical event of national significance that culminated in the nation s largest mass execution, presided over by America s most revered president, Abraham Lincoln. While he could simply have sanctioned the work of the military commission that approved the death sentences of 303 Dakota warriors, Lincoln intervened directly, suspending the proposed execution until he had an opportunity to review the commission s findings on a case-by-case basis. In the end, Lincoln commuted the death sentences for all but 38 of the Dakota prisoners, who he deemed were actually guilty of committing either murder or rape. Lincoln s personal interest in along with the unusual actions he took during this crisis underscored the president s own frontier background, his sense of fair play for all, and his willingness to exercise executive power when deemed necessary, no matter how severely he was criticized for it. Lincoln s attitude toward the Dakota Conflict in Minnesota is all the more remarkable when placed in its proper historical context was one of the lowest points of the entire American Civil War, from the Unionist point of view. General George B. McClellan was replaced as Commander of the Army of the Potomac with General John Pope. Arrogant and incompetent, Pope

7 viii...we CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... attacked Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee, and suffered a humiliating defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Lincoln returned McClellan to command, just in time to oversee the bloodiest single day of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam. Pope was banished to Minnesota by Lincoln when news of the outbreak of hostilities by the Dakota reached him in Washington. It was Pope who conceived the decision to try the Dakota prisoners by military commission, as a means of restoring his tarnished military career by being an Indian fighter. As if that wasn t enough, Lincoln was in the process of drafting his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, and weighing the consequences of its becoming the cornerstone of the Union s war effort. It would have been easy, even understandable, for Lincoln to have been so overwhelmed by all the pressures he faced that he simply ignored his own conscious decision not to hang men for votes. To his credit, he did not. This is the seldom told, comprehensive, and dramatic story of Abraham Lincoln, the Dakota Conflict, and emancipation of the African-American race, as it played out against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Ironically, the final Emancipation Proclamation was signed less than a week after the largest mass execution in American history took place. In 2012, the U.S.-Dakota War s sesquicentennial year, it is hoped that the audience will come to the same realization Lincoln did that, while individuals can change the future, their actions are still influenced, and sometimes are even controlled by past events. Just as Lincoln pointed out in his annual message to Congress, December 1, 1862, we cannot escape history BOS

8 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... 1 WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... Abraham Lincoln s Trials by Fire July December, 1862 Act I, Scene 1: Dakota War Council [The setting for this scene is the large front room of Dakota Chief Little Crow s frame house in the Minnesota River valley, at the mouth of Beaver Creek, near the Lower Sioux Indian Agency. It is just before dawn on the morning of Monday, August 18, A delegation of young, angry, spirited Dakota warriors arrives with the intention of persuading Little Crow to lead them against the white settlers in an all-out effort to rid the Minnesota River valley of the invaders. Little Crow is wary of these men and their motives, having been rejected not long before for the position of Speaker in the Mdewakanton Dakota tribe. He has also become accustomed to the ways of the whites, and rather enjoys living in his government-built frame house and wearing store-bought clothes.] [This dialogue can be spoken by several actors, playing the roles of Dakota Warriors present at the Acton Incident on August 17, 1862.] Little Crow: [with contempt, as he rubs sleep from his eyes] Why do you come in the dead of night and disturb my rest? What do you want? None of you are from my band. Rather, you come from the villages of young Shakopee and Red Middle Voice. 1 Dakota Warrior 1: We are here to inform you that earlier tonight, the Soldiers Lodge met. The decision it reached by consensus was that you have been chosen to lead our Dakota people in battle against the hated white men both the Dutchmen [German settlers], as well as those cruel men who work for the Great Father in Washington 2 people like that arrogant trader, Andrew Myrick. He recently told our people that if we were hungry, we could eat grass or our own dung. As soon as daylight comes, we will attack the Lower Agency and kill Myrick, the other traders and anybody else we encounter along the way. After that, we will fan out to destroy all the white settlements in the Minnesota River valley, from one end of it to the other; we will need your wisdom on how to rid the entire valley of the hated wasicu [pronounced: wa-si-chu], or takers of the fat. 3 Little Crow: [now fully awake] Why do you come to me for advice? [bitterly] Go to the man

9 2...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... you elected Speaker and let him tell you what to do. Traveling Hail is now the spokesman for the Mdewakanton tribe, not I. Leave me in peace. 4 Dakota Warrior 1: [impatiently] There is no time for that. We must act at once. Yesterday afternoon, while you were attending services in the white man s church, four members of the Rice Creek village Brown Wing, Breaking Up, Killing Ghost and Runs Against Something When Crawling all from Red Middle Voice s Rice Creek village, got into an argument with each other, over a nest of hen s eggs belonging to a white settler near Acton. The braves had been out hunting all day, but the game was scarce in those parts it had all been chased away by white settlers. The braves were hungry and the eggs looked good to them. After one of the boys helped himself to the eggs, another brave said that the farmer, Robinson Jones, would not take kindly to this the boys would be accused of stealing. Angry, the first brave dashed the eggs to the ground and said: You are a coward. You are afraid of the white man. You are afraid to take even an egg from him, though you are half starved. I am not a coward, the second brave replied. I am not afraid of the white man, and to show you I am not, I will go to the house and shoot him. Are you brave enough to go with me? 5 Dakota Warrior 2: The others agreed to the dare, and not long after, five white people lay dead. The boys rode quickly back to Rice Creek and reported what they had done. It was decided by the Soldiers Lodge that the whites would surely avenge the killings by demanding monetary compensation and corporal punishment of those responsible. The consensus was not to wait for the whites to make the first move. Why not launch an all-out offensive to drive them out of the valley forever? 6 [there is loud cheering from the other delegation members] No single village can do it alone. It must be a united effort on the part of all the Dakota people. Won t you step forward and protect our nation now that the first blood has been shed? Little Crow: That is of no concern to me. If those braves were foolish enough to pick a fight with the whites and got themselves in trouble, then it was their own fault. They must be willing to face the consequences of their actions. Rather a few individuals be punished than the entire Dakota nation. Perhaps if their tribal elders had held those hot-heads better in check, this Dakota Warrior 2: [interrupting] If you refuse to lead us, then you are a coward! [other delegation members nod their heads in agreement and take up the cry of Coward! ] Little Crow: [holding up his hand for silence]: You are full of the white man s devil-water (liquor). You are like dogs in the Hot Moon when they run mad and snap at their own shadows. We are only little herds of buffaloes left scattered the white men are like the locusts when they fly so thick that the whole sky is a snow-storm. You may kill one two ten; yes, as many as the leaves in the forest yonder, and their brothers will not miss them. Dakota Warrior 3: [with confidence] They will not dare to fight us. They are off fighting amongst themselves. Many of the men have gone off to war, leaving their homes undefended in the hands of women and children. If we are ever going to strike back to reclaim all that has been stolen from us, now is the time! 7

10 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... 3 Dakota Warrior 4: [nodding in agreement] We can no longer live as hunters and warriors in a land such as this that the Great Father has made for his white children. We have had to give up hunting the buffalo. In our idleness, we have to till the land like women. We have to cut our hair. We have to worship the white man s God. We have to live in houses made of boards or bricks, instead of in our buffalo hide tepees. The government has failed to send the annuities they promised in the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota. The traders cheat us out of the money even before it is sent. The agents sent to us by the Great Father are thieves, along with the traders that run the stores and dole out the goods. Worst of all, our women are forced to suffer unspeakable acts at the hands of the traders and government workers that engage in all sorts of debauchery. Why shouldn t we make war on the whites? It s what they deserve! A war of extermination is long past due. 8 Little Crow: Do you hear the thunder of their big guns? No; it would take you two moons to run down to where they are fighting, and all the way your path would be among white soldiers. 9 Dakota Warrior 2: Why do you defend them? Those government people have wronged you on many occasions, and any man who is a man would feel betrayed. You wonder why you have lost much of the respect and influence you once held among your own people? It s because you favor the whites over members of your own tribe. What have they given you in exchange? Power? Prestige? 10 Siding with the whites will never give you back what you really want reinstatement as Speaker. 11 [grabs a musket] I have half a mind to shoot you right here on the spot. Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta is a coward! [other delegation members take up the shout] Little Crow: [his own anger aroused; shouting over them] You will die like the rabbits when the hungry wolves hunt them in the Hard Moon (January). Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta is not a coward: he will die with you. 12 Come, let us prepare to attack the Lower Agency. Dawn is breaking. [lights dim as Little Crow leads his cheering warriors offstage] [Cecilia Ochs enters and walks to center stage; lights rise] Cecilia Ochs: [to audience] I am a nine-year-old girl from Milford Township in Brown County, Minnesota. My parents emigrated to the United States from the German state of Württemberg in I can vividly recollect the events of Monday, August 18, That morning, I was on my way to take care of Mrs. Stocker, a sick neighbor, a distance of three miles from my home. I encountered Indians along the road; we found out later that they were coming from the Lower Sioux Agency. As soon as I arrived at the Stocker s home, we learned that the Indians were on the warpath. The Stockers tried to remain calm and carry on their daily routine so as not to appear to be afraid. I did the same. While we were eating the noon meal, a party of Indians arrived at the house. One of those brutes shot Mrs. Stocker. Mr. Stocker and I hid in the cellar until we were forced to dig out when the house above us was set on fire. A few feet from the house was a cornfield. I managed to hide myself in it, and remained there undetected until Mr. Stocker found me. We set off together through the woods in the direction of New Ulm. On the way, we passed a house owned by the John B. Zettel family. Upon entering the house, we saw that the Indians had already been there. Mr. Zettel was dead, along with three of his four children one of whom was a schoolmate of mine. Mr. Zettel still held a loaf of bread in his arms, soaked with his own blood. Mr. Stocker and I searched further and found Mrs. Zettel hiding in a shock of wheat. The fourth child had been taken from Mrs. Zettel s

11 6...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... On Saturday, August 23rd, one of the men returned from New Ulm and told the women that all the rest of his party had been killed. You can imagine our initial grief and sorrow at hearing this tragic news. I thought surely that William was dead. As it turned out, however, the man was a deserter who had left New Ulm just as the Indians were approaching for the battle. So sure was he that New Ulm would fall and the defenders would all be killed, he felt safe in telling his story. It took us a full day or more to learn the truth, but when we did, that man s life in Le Sueur thereafter was not a pleasant experience for him! At last, Dr. Mayo came back home to me and the children, after two hectic weeks ministering to the sick and wounded on the frontier. I could finally get some badly needed rest. 21 [lights dim as scene ends] Act I, Scene 2: Am I To Have No Rest? [The setting for this scene is the Soldiers Home Cottage, located three miles from the Executive Mansion, in the rural, northerly portion of Washington, D.C. It is the afternoon of Saturday, August 23, 1863 the same day as the second attack on New Ulm, Minnesota. Servant, Treasury Department employee John R. French and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Scott enter from stage right and walk across stage to center. Abraham Lincoln enters from stage left and sits down in chair at center stage; lights rise] Servant: Right this way, gentlemen. [leads both men into a sparsely furnished parlor] The President will see you now. [Lincoln sits alone, lost in thought, with his head back and eyes closed, as if he is trying to relax after a stressful day. Lincoln is sitting in his stocking feet, with his coat thrown off. He is fanning himself with a large palm-leaf in one hand. He has one leg hanging over the arm of the chair.] John French: [anxiously] Mr. President, my friend Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Scott is desperate to see you. He begged me to bring him here to the Soldiers Home when it was discovered you had already left the Executive Mansion for the day. Lincoln: [gruffly] What does the Lieutenant-Colonel want, French, that was so urgent that he could not wait until the shop was open again on Monday morning? John French: He was hoping to discuss with you a personal tragedy. Lincoln: [wearily] This war is filled with tragedy. What is it? Lt.-Colonel Scott: Excuse me, sir. Please allow me to explain my predicament. [Lincoln nods] During the recent fighting on the Virginia peninsula, I was wounded. My dear wife heard about my injuries and traveled all the way down from New Hampshire to care for me in my suffering. Despite the War Department s efforts to prevent her from entering a war zone, my wife was equally determined and succeeded in reuniting with me. However, the steam ship that brought us back to Washington was involved in a collision, and my wife, along with many others, drowned. I resolved to retrieve her body so I could bury her at home in New Hampshire, but the War Department would not hear of it. Secretary Stanton had closed the area due to an impending battle (Second

12 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... 7 Bull Run) and refused me permission to recover her body. I rushed over to see you, but as my good friend John here has said, you had left the mansion for the day. He brought me here. Can you help me, Mr. President? All I ask for is the right to give my wife a proper burial. 1 [Lincoln remains silent throughout Scott s explanation and plea for mercy] Lincoln: [forcefully, and with some anger] Am I to have no rest? Is there no hour or spot when or where I may escape this constant call? Why do you follow me out here with such business as this? Why do you not go to the War-office, where they have charge of all this matter of papers and transportation? Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: But sir, I did that already. I started out with the War Department, and Stanton refused to cooperate. I was hoping Lincoln: [curtly] You were hoping that I would overrule the Secretary, because you figured I was either simple-minded and easy to mold to your will like a lump of clay, or just a soft touch compared with Stanton. Well, I am neither of those things, despite what the papers say. Now, leave me in peace. That impending battle you spoke of absorbs my attention and all the energy I can muster at present. Good-bye. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: [shocked] I never thought Lincoln: Get out, both of you! [French and Scott hastily leave; Lincoln remains seated, putting his head into his hands; French and Scott walk toward stage right] Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: What do I do now? Going to see the President was my last, best hope. John French: All is not lost. I have a hunch that now that you have stated your case, Lincoln will think it over and reconsider. He is, after all, a good and just man. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: [protesting] But you heard him just now. He refused to do anything, and even worse, he tossed us out on the street. What s wrong with him? He had no reason to treat us the way he did. John French: He is exhausted. Exhausted from trying to manage this war that he believes he has no control over; exhausted from trying to please everybody, but satisfying nobody; exhausted from all the people seeking him out for political favors at all hours of the day and night. That is, after all, why he took up residence there at the Soldiers Home. It was intended to offer the President and his family some relief from the pressures of the office, as well as to offer a respite from the heat and humidity. Did you notice how much cooler it was there on that hilltop, instead of down in the swamp, along the Potomac River? The Lincolns lost their son Willie to typhoid fever back in February some say the boy breathed in too much of the swamp gas rising up from the ground. I assure you, Lieutenant-Colonel, Lincoln feels your loss; he has lost his own son, not to mention losing thousands of brave young men that he sent off to battle. He has had a rough go of it. It was wise for us to leave when we did, but I will go and see him tomorrow. [pauses] Here we are, back at your hotel. Get a good night s rest, Scott. Things will look brighter in the morning.

13 8...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: Good-night, my friend. [Scott exits at stage right; French walks back to center stage, where Lincoln is still sitting in his chair he no longer has his head in his hands] Lincoln: [rising to greet French as he approaches] French, is that you? Come in. I owe you and your friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Scott, an apology. I was a brute last night. I guess I need to go over to his hotel and make it right. Will you take me to him? [the two men walk across the stage back toward stage right; Lieutenant-Colonel Scott reenters] Lieutenant-Colonel, I sincerely apologize for my words and actions. I promise you that I will look into your case and see if I can t cut through at least some of the War Department s bureaucracy. 2 It has been an exceptionally trying week for me, and your request was the final straw that broke the camel s back. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: Thank you, sir. If it helps relieve your burden to talk about it, I am willing to listen. That s the least I can do, after what you have just given me. Please sit. [motions to three chairs at stage right; the men sit down] Lincoln: You may recall Horace Greeley s recent editorial, The Prayer of Twenty Millions, printed in his newspaper, the New York Tribune, on Wednesday, August 20. He took me to task for failing to execute the emancipation provisions of the Second Confiscation Act more aggressively. I am not about to be intimidated by Greeley or anybody else when it comes to emancipation. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union 3 I told Greeley, whom I always considered to be a friend, exactly that when I responded back to him on Friday, the 22nd. I spent the entire day yesterday at the Executive Mansion, receiving callers. One of them was an army officer s wife* who was lobbying me over the possibility of a promotion for her husband, a promotion he did not deserve. She was a saucy woman; I am afraid she will keep tormenting till I may have to do it. 4 So you see, Colonel, by the time you came to see me at the Soldiers Home cottage, late in the afternoon, I was simply out of patience. I went there to find peace and quiet, but there is no escape from the fiery trial through which we pass. Please forgive me for my ill temper on the occasion of your last visit. I hope there are no hard feelings. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott: None at all, Mr. President. John French, here, was right: you are a compassionate and a just man. [Lincoln and Scott shake hands; all three exit at stage right; Lincoln s private secretary, John Hay, enters from stage left and walks to middle of stage] John Hay: The following week was no better for the president. Beginning on the 26th, news reached us here in Washington from reliable sources, including Lincoln s personal secretary, George Nicolay, that the Sioux in Minnesota were on the warpath, followed by the news of Union General John Pope s devastating defeat at Second Bull Run on the 29th. [pulls out a series of telegrams from his coat pocket and begins to read them to the audience] SAINT PAUL, MINN., August 26, p.m. Hon. E. M. STANTON: When the Indian outbreak was first known here, on the 20th instant, I at once called upon the people everywhere to mount horses and with what arms they had to march to the scene of difficulty.

14 16...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... Act I, Scene 4: Bishop Whipple Goes to Washington [Lights rise on President Lincoln sitting at his White House Desk; Bishop Henry Whipple prepares to enter, as Lincoln s private secretary, John Hay, announces him] John Hay: Mr. President, Episcopal Bishop Henry Whipple of Minnesota is here to see you. Lincoln: [rising from his chair to greet his guest] Good! Send him in. Bishop, it is an honor to meet you. What brings you all the way to Washington City? [the men shake hands; Hay exits] Bishop Whipple: Mr. President, as you are no doubt aware, there has been a terrible massacre of white settlers in the Minnesota River valley. Entire settlements have been wiped out, and it will be many years before peace and stability return to that region. What you may not realize, however, is that contrary to what the newspapers are printing and the politicians are claiming, the Dakota Indians were not entirely responsible for the Uprising. They were the victims of unjust treaties and attempts by government agents to cheat the Indians out of their land, despite the fact that these bureaucrats were sent to protect the Indians welfare. Now the government is reaping what it sowed, but the Indians are being punished, instead. 1 I beg of you to reconsider Pope s and Sibley s September 28th decision to appoint a five-man military commission to try and convict Dakota warriors suspected to have taken part in the uprising. 2 It is apparent to any impartial observer that this is simply an act of retaliation and vengeance, with the obvious intention of hanging the convicted men afterwards. It will be seen by future generations as an act of barbarism and cruelty that will hang over the Minnesota River country like a dark cloud. When the Indian warriors, advised by their chiefs, surrendered their white prisoners at Camp Release, they were assured by Colonel Sibley that no harm would come to them. On the contrary, in the dead of night, they were surrounded by the Army under General Pope, and arrested. As soon as an Indian warrior admits to participating in a particular battle, as was his custom to do, he is sentenced to death. You, Mr. President, must stop this travesty of justice from going any further. I have worked among the Dakota for many years, bringing many souls to Christ. They are not an evil people. They Lincoln: [interrupting] You are asking me to go out on a limb to interfere with well-established military protocol on behalf of these people, which you already know is against the will of the majority of loyal citizens living in Minnesota. I cannot afford to lose Minnesota s loyal political support, because without it, the war effort will be severelly damaged, and with it the Union cause. Bishop, I don t have to remind you that the war is going badly for the Union just now. General Pope, whom you spoke of, recently suffered a humiliating military defeat. I sent him to Minnesota to satisfy Governor Ramsey s demands for federal troops to put down the Indian uprising. Ramsey isn t the only person I ve been hearing from. See those letters there on my desk? [Lincoln points to a stack of envelopes; Bishop Whipple nods] The public is demanding that I hang as many Indians as possible. I expect to receive more. While I genuinely admire your determination and courage in coming here, and I sympathize with the plight of the Indians on an intellectual level, I am afraid there is little I can do. [Bishop Whipple realizes that Lincoln s reluctance to act is based on his perception of public opinion. He decides to appeal directly to Lincoln s own sense of justice; to transcend him from being Lincoln the practical politician to Lincoln the humanitarian.]

15 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY Bishop Whipple: Mr. President, please hear me out. I believe you to be an honest, compassionate, God-fearing man. I also believe that if you were given a better understanding of the corruption that lies at the heart of the Indian system, you would realize, as I do, that the root cause for the Indians revolt wasn t savagery, but desperation born out of a need to control their own destiny. I have some ideas that may help you come up with a long-lasting solution that will prevent future conflicts between white settlers and Indians on the frontier, as well as help to remedy the current crisis. Lincoln: [impressed by Bishop Whipple s conviction] Go ahead, Bishop. I am listening. 3 Bishop Whipple: First, regard Indians as wards of the state, rather than as sovereign nations. Second, do not leave Indians without self-government. Such action leads to war. Third, Indian agents must possess integrity. Personal merit, not politics, must determine the selection of potential candidates to be Indian agents. [Lincoln nods his head in approval of this statement] Fourth, Indian funds held in trust by the government must be expended under a well-managed system that encourages civilization among the Indians. Fifth, Indian trade practices must be amended in such a way as to protect Indians and protect tribal patrimony from being spent to handle debts. Finally, Mr. President, past dealings with Indians have been unfair; without correction, future acts of injustice and robbery will continue, and Indian wars on the frontier will be impossible to stop. A sincere commitment to these reforms, I predict, will ensure a lasting peace and bring down the blessings of Almighty God. [Lincoln is listening intently to what the Bishop is saying. When he finishes, Lincoln clarifies and relieves his feelings by telling a story.] Lincoln: Bishop, a man thought that monkeys could pick cotton better than negroes [sic] could because they were quicker and their fingers were smaller. He turned a lot of them in to his cotton field, but he found that it took two overseers to watch one monkey. It needs (takes) more than one honest man to watch one Indian agent. You have convinced me that I must act with clemency and caution when deciding the fate of these Indian prisoners, even if it means the loss of every Republican seat in Congress, come November. I will allow the military court trials to proceed, since they have already begun. This will satisfy those demanding immediate resolution of the crisis, and buy valuable time enabling me to carefully monitor and consider the entire situation more effectively, without my judgment being influenced or impaired by the heated passions stirred up in the desire for malice on the part of the settlers toward the Indian prisoners. If there is to be a planned execution, as I too fear there might be, I will order General Pope to delay any further proceedings for the hanging of the convicted Indians until he receives final authorization from me. I will then assemble a legal team to review each and every conviction. Only when that process is completed and the condemned men are given due process of law will I entertain the notion of a hanging. If such an action is to be taken, I will write out the final order of execution and sign it with my own hand. On this point, Bishop, you have my solemn word. [both men shake hands] Your talk with me has impressed upon my mind the rascality of this Indian business until I can feel it all the way down to my boots and believe me sir, that s a lo-o-ong way down! If we get through this war, and I live, this Indian system shall be reformed! 4 [Lincoln makes a sweeping gesture with his hand, pointing to his boots as he bends over; Lincoln then sits back down at his desk, and freezes there, as lights dim and scene ends] [Intermission]

16 18...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... Act II, Scene 1: Attend To The Indians [The scene opens with the entrance of the six-man military commission (including Isaac Heard) and several Native American defendants one side of the stage; Lincoln and his cabinet enter from the other side and seat themselves; Bishop Whipple walks to center stage] Bishop Whipple: [to audience] Despite the President s assurances that he would take my recommendations under consideration, back home in Minnesota things went on as usual. As the Commission s recording secretary, Isaac Heard, later recounted in his narrative, History of the Sioux War and Massacre [Heard breaks in from the bench ] Isaac Heard: The trials were elaborately conducted until the commission became acquainted with the details of the different outrages and battles, and then the only point being the connection of the prisoner with them, five minutes would dispose of a case. If witnesses testified or the prisoner admitted that he was a participant, sufficient evidence was established. As many as forty [cases] were sometimes tried in a day. Those convicted of plundering were condemned to imprisonment; those engaged in individual massacres and in battles, to death. 1 [Whipple shakes his head in disgust and exits; lights shift from Whipple to Military Commission, leaving Lincoln and his Cabinet in shadow] Commission Member: What goods, if any, did you take from Forbes store? Indian Prisoner: Some blankets. Commission Member: Anything else? Indian Prisoner: Yes; some powder, and some lead, and some paint, and some beads. Commission Member: Anything else? Indian Prisoner: Yes; some flour, and some pork, and some coffee, and some rice, and some sugar, and some beans, and some tin cups, and some raisins, and some twine, and some fish-hooks, and some needles, and some thread. Commission Member: Was [sic] you going to set up a grocery store on your own account? [ Indian Prisoner, not understanding the sarcasm, gives an inquiring look, but does not respond] Commission Member: Ten years in prison should jog your memory. [pounds gavel on table] Next case! 2 Isaac Heard: And so it went, for six weeks, until the third of November, when the trials finally concluded. In all, 393 military trials were conducted 42 of those took place on the last day. Three hundred twenty-three Sioux* prisoners were convicted, and three hundred three of them were sentenced to be hanged. They were taken to Camp Lincoln near Mankato, where the execution

17 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY would take place. Of those acquitted, all but eight of them remained imprisoned at Camp Release. 3 [to audience] If you think that participation in battles did not justify such a (death) sentence, please to reflect that any judicial tribunal in the state would have been compelled to pass it, and that the retaliatory laws of war, as recognized by all civilized nations, and also the code of the Indian, which takes life for life, justified it. The battles were not ordinary battles. The attacks upon New Ulm were directed against a village filled with frightened fugitives from the surrounding neighborhood, and the place was defended by civilians, hastily and indifferently armed; and were accompanied by the wanton burning of a large portion of the town, and by the slaughter of horses and cattle, and the destruction of all property which came within the power of the enemy. A number of persons from the country, who endeavored, while the attack was progressing, to make their way into the town, where alone was possible safety, were shot down and horribly mutilated. The attacks upon the forts were also accompanied by similar acts The purpose of these Indians, as frequently stated, was to sweep the country as far as St. Paul with the tomahawk and with fire, giving the men no quarter; and these battles were but part of the general design, and rendered the acts of one the acts of all. The fact that those engaged in such a mode of warfare acted together in organized bands, and directed their attempts against a large number of whites, was not a matter of mitigation, but of aggravation, arising from increased ability and opportunity to accomplish their purpose. Besides, most of these Indians must also have been engaged in individual massacres and outrages. Those who attacked New Ulm on the second day after the outbreak, and Fort Ridgely on the third day, were undoubtedly parties who had scattered through the neighborhood in small marauding bands the day before. The extent of the outrages, occurring almost simultaneously over a frontier of two hundred miles in length and reaching far into the interior, and whereby nearly one thousand people perished, cannot be accounted for without their (the Indians ) participation 4 [Lights down; Lincoln and his Cabinet enter and take their places; Lights Up] Lincoln: Gentlemen, I have just received General Pope s report on the current progress of the Dakota war trials in Minnesota. Many prisoners are being tried and convicted too quickly, based either on the flimsiest eyewitness testimony of survivors many of them children or simply because the prisoner admitted to participating in a particular battle. Frankly, I am disturbed by all of Pope s talk of hanging the savages. Too much blood has been spilled in this massacre already; no doubt, emotions are running high. Pope s talk of vengeance will only make matters worse. Bishop Whipple warned me about Pope s intentions; he was right. Knowing first-hand, as I do, Pope s rashness and poor judgment on the battlefield, as well as his penchant to be a glory-seeker, I realize now that I made a big mistake in sending Pope to put down the Indian uprising. The fact that I instructed Governor Ramsey to attend to the Indians only adds fuel to the fire. Sec. of Treasury Salmon Chase: [with suspicion and air of self-righteous indignation] What do you plan to do about it? The horse is already out of the barn, as you might say. Lincoln: [ignoring the insult directed against his own frequent use of metaphors when speaking] I will order General Pope to suspend any plans he has to execute the prisoners. I promised Bishop

18 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY settlers trying to make a similar escape. There were thirty-four of us in all, including men, women and children, who crowded into a wagon and set off for safety, we knew not where. 8 We had only gotten a mile and a half or so, when the Indians bore down on us. Mr. Duly, who I understand is here in Mankato for the hanging, suggested we hide ourselves in a nearby slough the only place that presented itself for concealing ourselves, and that was but poor. We turned our course toward the slough, amid a shower of balls and shot. One large ball entered my heel, which caused me much pain. Mrs. Ireland s youngest child was shot through the leg; Emma Duly through the arm, and Willie Duly in the shoulder. We soon reached the slough, and all concealed ourselves as best we could, by lying down in tall grass. This, however, only hid us from the sight, but not from the shot and balls. For two hours or more, we were exposed to the random shots of our merciless foe. 9 My husband was shot and killed there in the slough; three of my five sons were also killed. My oldest son, Merton, age 11 unknown to me at the time managed to escape from Slaughter Slough, carrying his small brother Johnny on his back, fifty miles to safety. Thinking my children all dead in that hellish place, you can imagine my joy when I too managed to escape from the slough, and overtook my two boys on the road to Mankato. 10 [Looks at the prisoners] They are enjoying life much better than they deserve; some sleeping, some smoking, some eating, and some playing cards. [bitterly] It makes my blood boil, to see them so merry, after their hellish deeds. I feel I could see them butchered, one and all; and no one who has suffered what we settlers have, from their ferocity, can entertain any milder feelings toward them. 11 It is too, too much! [bursts into tears] Please sir, let me go away from here. [Lavina Eastlick and Soldier exit; lights dim] Act II, Scene 3: I Cannot Hang Men For Votes (Execution of the 38 Dakota) [The scene opens with a group of Indian prisoners sitting on the floor of their prison in Mankato. In reality, they were chained together at the ankles, but were free to move their arms and hands. Several are using small pocket mirrors to examine their reflections, checking their feathers and face paint. Everything must be just right; it is a ceremonial routine to be followed to the letter in order to ensure the warrior s entry into the afterlife. It is the morning of December 26, 1862 the day of the execution. The set should be constructed in such a way so that there appears to be a large window behind the prisoners. Framed in that window is a projection of the hanging scene. Colonel Stephen Miller and Reverend S. R. Riggs enter; Reverend Riggs is acting as an interpreter.] Colonel Miller: [to Riggs] Tell these thirty-[eight] condemned men, that the commanding officer of this place has called to speak upon a very serious subject Their Great Father in Washington, after carefully reading what the witnesses testified in their several trials, has come to the conclusion, that they have each been guilty of wantonly and wickedly murdering his white children. And for this reason, he has directed that each be hanged by the neck until they are dead That order will be carried into effect at ten o clock [this] forenoon. [on Friday, December 26, 1862] Reverend Riggs: [surprised] I thought there were to be thirty-nine prisoners executed? Colonel Miller: There were. On Christmas night, December 25, I received an order from President Lincoln postponing the execution of Ta-ti-mi-ma (David Faribault). Originally, he had been convicted of murder as well as the capture of women and children, but there was strong doubt about his guilt of murder, a suspicion strengthened by new evidence. 1

19 26...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... [Colonel Miller and Riggs exit, leaving the prisoners to themselves.] Indian Prisoner 1: I am an old man, and could not have hoped to live long. I die today, knowing that I am innocent of having the white man s blood on my hands. Because of this, I have every hope of going direct to the abode of the Great Spirit, where [I] will always be happy. Tazoo: Yes, tell our friends that we are being removed from this world over the same path they must shortly travel. We go first, but many of our friends will follow us in a very short time. I expect to go direct to the abode of the Great Spirit, and to be happy when I get there; but we are told that the road is long and the distance great; therefore, as I am slow in all my movements, it will probably take me a long time to reach the end of my journey, and I should not be surprised if some of the young active men we will leave behind us will pass me on the road before I reach my destination. Indian Prisoner 3: Friends, last summer you were opposed to us. You were living in continual apprehension of an attack from those who were determined to execute the whites. You and your families were subject to many insults, taunts and threats. Still you stood firm in your friendship for the whites, and you continually counseled the Indians to abandon their raid against them. Your course was condemned at the time, but now we see your wisdom. You were right when you said the whites could not be exterminated, and the attempt indicated folly. You and your families were prisoners, and the lives of all in danger. Today you are at liberty, assisting in feeding and guarding us, and we shall die because we did not follow your advice. 2 Rdainyanka: You (Chief Wabasha) have deceived me. You told me that if we followed the advice of General Sibley, and gave ourselves up to the whites, all would be well; no innocent man would be injured. I have not killed, wounded or injured a white man, or any white persons. I have not participated in the plunder of their property; and yet today I am set apart for execution, and must die, while men who are guilty will remain in prison. My wife is your daughter, my children are your grandchildren. I leave them all in your care and under your protection. Do not let them suffer, and when my children are grown up, let them know that their father died because he followed the advice of his chief, and without having the blood of a white man to answer for to the Great Spirit. My wife and children are dear to me. Let them not grieve for me. Let them remember that the brave should be prepared to meet death; and I will do as becomes a Dakota. 3 [As he finishes, soldiers enter with hoods, placing them over the heads of the prisoners, as they help them to their feet. The prisoners are led offstage and reenter on the other side; the window frame around the projection depicting the hanging is removed, suggesting being outdoors; the prisoners are assembled in a line, where they sway back and forth and grasp hands at the same time; lights rise to full; William Duley enters carrying an ax or sword and steps forward; Long Drum Roll] Indian Prisoners: [in unison, begin singing] Dakota Hymn or Lac qui Parle 4 William Duley: I am William Duley, a survivor of the Lake Shetek Massacre on August 20th. Three of my children are dead killed by the Sioux. My wife and two other children are still missing. [Grasps ax in both hands and prepares to bring it down on a rope in front of him; he misses and tries again; Drum Roll stops suddenly; lights go to black; 3 5 second silence]

20 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY Crowd: [prolonged cheer] [Lights back to half; Brigadier General Sibley enters with telegram in hand] General Sibley: Mr. President, I have the honor to inform you that the 38 Indians and half-breeds, ordered by you for execution, were hung yesterday at Mankato, at 10 A.M. Everything went off quietly, and the other prisoners are well secured. Respectfully, H.H. Sibley Brigadier General 5 [General Sibley exits; Dr. William Mayo and Isaac Heard enter] Dr. William Mayo: As soon as it was certain that the prisoners were dead, their lifeless bodies were cut down and buried in a shallow mass grave, along the riverbank, near the steamboat landing in Mankato. That same night, following the hanging, several other physicians, as well as myself, returned to the site and exhumed the bodies for use in medical studies. I do not believe that we were wrong in doing so. There was a shortage of cadavers available for dissection. In large cities, doctors were paying professional grave robbers large sums of money to do the same work we were doing for ourselves. Letting the bodies remain interred would not have changed the outcome of how they came to be there in the first place. To my lot fell the body of Cut-Nose, one of the ringleaders of the outbreak. 6 He Isaac Heard: [interrupting] I remember Cut-Nose from the trial proceedings. He was the most repulsive-looking prisoner of the entire group. I will give a single additional instance of the atrocity of this wretch and his companions He was the foremost man in many of the massacres. The first and second days of the outbreak he devoted his attention particularly to the Beaver Creek settlement, and to the fugitives on that side of the river A part[y] of settlers were gathered together for flight when the savages approached; the defenseless, helpless women and children huddled together in the wagons, bending down their heads, and drawing over them still closer their shawls. Cut-Nose, while two others held the horses, leaped into the wagon that contained eleven, mostly children, and deliberately, in cold blood, tomahawked them all cleft open the head of each, while the others, stupefied with horror, powerless with fright, as they heard the heavy dull blows crash and tear through flesh and bones, awaited their turn. Taking an infant from its mother s arms, before her eyes, with a bolt from one of the wagons they riveted it through its body to the fence and left it there to die, writhing in agony. After holding for awhile the mother before this agonizing spectacle, they chopped off her arms and legs, and left her to bleed to death. Thus they butchered twenty-five within a quarter of an acre. Kicking the bodies out of the wagons, they filled them with plunder from the burning houses, and sending them back, pushed on for other adventures. 7 Dr. William Mayo: [nodding] He was a fiend incarnate. 8 Even before the outbreak, I had a brush with him, while making a sick call. That brute tried to steal my horse. I was in the process of fording one of the tributaries of the Minnesota River when three drunken braves waded out from the brush

21 ...WE CANNOT ESCAPE HISTORY... Abraham Lincoln s Trials by Fire July December, 1862 Bryce Stenzel s impeccable historical research never disappoints. In...We Cannot Escape History... Lincoln s Trials by Fire, Mr. Stenzel maintains and, indeed, elevates his reputation as a historian who has the enviable ability to make history relevant. In this compelling narrative, the author tells the hardest story of all: the truth. Living in the historical and geographic shadow of the events portrayed in his play, Stenzel approaches a dark and uncomfortable subject matter with unflinching accuracy and humanity. Tanner Kent, Features Editor, Mankato Free Press Bryce Stenzel s playbook, We Cannot Escape History, is a penetrating analysis of a little-known chapter in American history and the very well-known man both loved and hated by his own people, upon whose shoulders the nightmare rests. Broader than a thematic study, however, Stenzel s analysis is unique in that it studies two wars being fought while focusing on the life and personality of one man Abraham Lincoln. Having played our 16th President in stage plays and various social events for years, Stenzel knows his character perhaps better than anyone on this planet. Stenzel looks like Lincoln, thinks like Lincoln, acts like Lincoln, and understands Lincoln. To anyone who has seen Bryce portray Lincoln in a play, Stenzel is Lincoln. No wonder he is able to create such a stellar play and book that everyone can understand. Five stars! John Koblas, author Let Them Eat Grass 1862 was the most trying year of Lincoln s presidency, both personally and politically. On February 20, eleven-year old Willie Lincoln died of typhoid fever, leaving his parents both devastated with grief. After failing to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond in the ill-fated Peninsula Campaign, General George B. McClellan was replaced as Commander of the Army of the Potomac by General John Pope. Arrogant and incompetent, Pope attacked Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee and suffered a humiliating defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Lincoln returned McClellan to command just in time for him to oversee the bloodiest single day of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam. Meanwhile, Pope was sent west by Lincoln to lead efforts to put down a full-scale Dakota Indian uprising against white settlers on the Minnesota River valley frontier, when news of the outbreak of hostilities reached him in Washington. It was Pope who conceived the decision to try the Dakota prisoners by military commission as a means of restoring his tarnished military career by being an Indian fighter. As if that wasn t enough, Lincoln was in the process of drafting his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and weighing the consequences of its becoming the cornerstone of the Union s war effort. It would have been easy, even understandable, for Lincoln to have been so overwhelmed by all the pressures he faced that he simply ignored his own conscious decision not to hang men for votes. To his credit, he did not. This is the seldom told, comprehensive, and dramatic story of Abraham Lincoln, the Dakota Conflict, and emancipation of the African-American race, as it played out against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Ironically, the final Emancipation Proclamation was signed less than a week after the largest mass execution in American history took place at Mankato, Minnesota marks the U.S.-Dakota War s sesquicentennial year; it is hoped that the audience will come to the same realization Lincoln did, that past events do influence future decisions sometimes with lasting consequences. Just as Lincoln pointed out in his annual message to Congress, December 1, 1862, we cannot escape history Minnesota Heritage Publishing