Near Echo in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
1. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
To the memory of the men who here lost their lives in an engagement between Minnesota volunteer soldiers and the Sioux Indians Sept. 23, 1862.
Anthony C. Collins Richard H. McElroy Ernest Paul Charles E. Frink Edwin E. Ross De Grove Kimball and Matthew Cantwell were killed and thirty-four men were wounded in the action.
The soldiers were commanded by Col. Henry H. Sibley; the Indians by Chief Little Crow.
Erected by the state in 1910 under the supervision of commissioners appointed by the governor Loren W. Collins Ezra T. Champlin and Mathias Holl participants in the battle.
Erected 1910 by the State of Minnesota. (Marker Number 15.)
Topics. This monument and memorial is listed in these topic lists: War, US Civil • Wars, US Indian.
Location. 44° 42.074′ N, 95° 26.147′ W. Monument is near Echo, Minnesota, in Yellow Medicine County. It is on 210th Avenue (County Road 18) 0.7 miles west of 610th Street (State Highway 67), on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Monument is in this post office
this page online
Regionally, this memorial monument is in Southwest Minnesota and specifically in the Minnesota River Valley. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and on the Great Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Wood Lake Battle (within shouting distance of this marker); Mazomani (approx. 2.2 miles away); Upper (Or Yellow Medicine) Sioux Agency (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Annuity Center/Warehouse (approx. 2.4 miles away); Upper Sioux Agency (approx. 2.4 miles away); Employee Duplex No. 1 (approx. 2.4 miles away); Employee Duplex No. 2 (approx. 2½ miles away); The Manual Labor School (approx. 2½ miles away).
More about this monument. This monument was the fifteenth of 23 state monuments that were erected by the Minnesota legislature
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
2. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Regarding Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument. In 1862, the Minnesota Dakota, also known by the French term, Sioux," waged war against the United States following two years of unfulfilled treaty obligations. The battle at Wood Lake on September 23, 1862 was the final battle of the war. The U.S.-Dakota War in the Minnesota River Valley claimed the lives of at least 450 whites and an unknown number of Dakota before it came to an end at Camp Release on September 26, 1862.
Also see . . .
1. Battle of Wood Lake. Wikipedia entry. "The battle was a decisive victory for the United States, with heavy casualties inflicted on the Sioux." (Submitted on October 9, 2013.)
2. Minnesota Cemeteries. Soldiers' Killed During Minnesota Dakota War of 1862. (Submitted on October 9, 2013.)
3. Study Resource Guide US-Dakota War of 1862. (Submitted on October 9, 2013.)
4. Battle Detail - Wood Lake. National Park Service - Civil War (Submitted on May 15, 2025, by Mike McKeown of Baltimore, Maryland.)
Additional keywords. Wood Lake State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
3. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
4. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
5. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
6. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
7. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
8. Wood Lake Battlefield State Monument
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
9. Nearby Wood Lake Battlefield
Dedicated September 22, 2012
W L B P A
(Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association)
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
10. Boulders at Wood Lake Battlefield
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
11. Boulder at Wood Lake Battlefield
Memorial for Alfred and Luella Odden, the parents of the owner of the battlefield property.
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
12. Boulder at Wood Lake Battlefield
Memorial for Halvor and Turi Odden, the grandparents of the owner of the battlefield property.
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
13. Boulder at Wood Lake Battlefield
Memorial for neighbor Mike Ose, historian of the battlefield property.
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
14. Wood Lake Battlefield
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
15. Wood Lake Battlefield
Photographed by K. Linzmeier, September 25, 2013
16. Wood Lake Battlefield
Credits. This page was last revised on May 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 9, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,141 times since then and 40 times this year. Last updated on May 14, 2025, by Mike McKeown of Baltimore, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. submitted on October 9, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
