Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site

Whitestone Hill Battlefield State Historic Site. . On September 3 and 5, 1863, United States cavalry here engaged Yanktonai and Hunkpatina Sioux in the bloodiest battle fought on North Dakota soil during the Indian wars.

The battle at Whitestone Hill resulted from the 1862 rebellion of Santee Sioux in Minnesota. After short-lived success, many Santee fled westward. To punish them, the government in 1863 sent armies under Generals Henry Hastings Sibley and Alfred Sully into Dakota Territory.

The ponderous expeditions found few Indians. Sibley fought small engagements, but returned to Minnesota without winning a major victory. Sully searched much of central Dakota before finding a large Indian hunting camp at this site. While scouts detained the Indians, Sully brought up cavalry units and the expedition's battery. The battle lasted about one-half hour: two days later, army scouts briefly engaged a large band of Indians nearby. Official statistics list 20 soldiers killed and 38 wounded. Between 150-300 Indians were killed, and another 156 men, women, and children were taken prisoner. Troops destroyed about 500,000 pounds of buffalo meat and other possessions. Indians who escaped later accepted reservation life to avoid starvation.

Irony surrounds the story of Whitestone Hill. The Indians Sully confronted likely had no part in the 1862 troubles in Minnesota; though he won a military victory, he did so at the expense of innocent people. Sully did further a larger goal of federal Indian policy -- forcing the Sioux onto reservations." That result makes the Battle of Whitestone Hill a pivotal event in northern plains history.