Draft:Joseph Anderson (Minnesotan)

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Joseph Anderson (August 20, 1826 - June 23, 1897) was an early settler of Minnesota, a businessman, freemason, and military officer who fought in the Mexican–American War, the Dakota War of 1862, and the Sioux Wars.

Captain

Joseph Anderson
Captain Joseph Anderson in 1863.
Born(1826-08-20)August 20, 1826
Steubenville, Ohio
DiedJune 23, 1879(1879-06-23) (aged 52)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Buried
Fairlawn Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
AllegianceUnited States United States
Minnesota Minnesota
BranchUnion Army
Years of service
  • 1846-1847
  • 1862-1863
Rank Captain
Unit
Commands
Battles / wars

Early Life

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Anderson was born on August 20, 1826 near Steubenville, Ohio. Anderson moved to Indiana in the 1840's and lived in Marion, Indiana.[1] Anderson moved to the state of Wisconsin and married Martha J. Howard (1823-1920) in Racine, Wisconsin in January, 1852. Anderson moved to Minnesota Territory shortly before statehood and resided in Saint Paul, Minnesota according to his military records.[2]

Military Career

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Further information: Cullen Frontier Guard and Battle of Birch Coulee

During the Mexican–American War Anderson volunteered to serve in Company D of the 5th Indiana Volunteers in 1847. He was later transferred to Company H of the 5th Indiana and was discharged in July, 1848.[1][3][4]

During the Dakota War of 1862 Anderson joined a local militia, the Cullen Frontier Guard under the command of Major William J. Cullen. Cullen was an Indian agent and the head of the Northern Superintendency of Indian Affairs before the outbreak of the conflict.[5][6] The Cullen Frontier Guard was made up of frontiersmen primarily from St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, Brown County, and the surrounding areas.[7] Anderson was commission was the Captain of Company A of the Cullen Frontier Guard and fought at both the Battles of New Ulm and the Battle of Birch Coulee where he was severely wounded in the arm.[8][9]

Further information: 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment

Following the Dakota War Anderson enlisted in the 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment on November 20, 1862. The 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment fought in the subsequent Sioux Wars under Henry Hastings Sibley and Alfred Sully against the Dakota people at the Battle of Big Mound, the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, and the Battle of Stony Lake.[10][11] Anderson was made Captain of Company G, still referred to as the "Cullen Frontier Guards" of the 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment and mustered out of federal service on November 28, 1863.[2]

Postwar

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Following the Dakota War and Sioux Wars Anderson served in a civilian capacity at Fort Buford in western Dakota Territory and owned a freight business and supplied hay from Saint Paul, Minnesota to Fort Buford.[12][13] Anderson worked directly for Captain Charles Atchison, the Ordnance and Assistant Commissary Officer for supplies running through Dakota Territory to Fort Buford via the Sibley Trail.[14][15][16] Anderson was a follower of Freemasonry and was a member of the Spencer Lodge No. 95 in Spencer, Indiana. He was initiated on February 1,1850, and received his Master Mason Degree on April 4, 1850. Anderson was also a charter member of the Fort Buford-based Yellowstone Lodge No. 88 in Williams County, North Dakota.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Indiana; Perry, Oran (1908). Indiana in the Mexican war. Indianapolis: W. B. Burford, contractor for state printing.
  2. ^ a b Minnesota. Adjutant General's Office (1862). Annual report. The Library of Congress. Saint Paul. p. 659.
  3. ^ "US Mexican War Search Detail - Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  4. ^ "Military". www.rootsquest.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  5. ^ Clodfelter, Micheal (1998). The Dakota War : the United States Army versus the Sioux, 1862-1865. Internet Archive. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7864-0419-3.
  6. ^ "The Controversial Cullen House". Joy in Minnesota. November 3, 2024. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  7. ^ Minnesota. Board of Commissioners on Publication of History of Minnesota in Civil and Indian Wars; Flandrau, Charles E. (Charles Eugene) (1890–1893). Minnesota in the civil and Indian wars 1861-1865. University of California Libraries. St. Paul, Minn. : Printed for the state by the Pioneer Press Co. p. 735.
  8. ^ Minnesota. Board of Commissioners on Publication of History of Minnesota in Civil and Indian Wars; Flandrau, Charles E. (Charles Eugene) (1890–1893). Minnesota in the civil and Indian wars 1861-1865. University of California Libraries. St. Paul, Minn. : Printed for the state by the Pioneer Press Co. p. 778.
  9. ^ Anderson, Joseph (September 4, 1862). "Report on the actions of Company A of the "Cullen Frontier Guards" during the Battle of Birch Coulee" (PDF). Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  10. ^ Minnesota. Board of Commissioners on Publication of History of Minnesota in Civil and Indian Wars; Flandrau, Charles E. (Charles Eugene) (1890–1893). Minnesota in the civil and Indian wars 1861-1865. University of California Libraries. St. Paul, Minn. : Printed for the state by the Pioneer Press Co. p. 534.
  11. ^ "Battle Unit Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  12. ^ The St. Paul Pioneer, December 23, 1871.
  13. ^ Hazen, W. B. (1875). "The Great Middle Region of the United States, and Its Limited Space of Arable Land". The North American Review. 120 (246): 1–34. ISSN 0029-2397. JSTOR 25109882.
  14. ^ "Camp Atchison - FortWiki Historic U.S. and Canadian Forts". fortwiki.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  15. ^ "Camp Atchison State Historic Site - Sibley & Sully Expeditions of 1863 - State Historical Society of North Dakota". www.history.nd.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  16. ^ "Winter Journey". Prairie Public. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  17. ^ "Remembrance in Stone". heritagerenewal.org. Retrieved 2025-09-11.