Lieutenant Thomas van Etten wrote to his schoolmate, William H. Seward of Chester, New Jersey, in this 1862 letter from Fort Ridgely, near the western end of Nicollet County. He wrote about his military duties and experiences and about people he knew in New Jersey. Lt. van Etten participated in the Battle of Birch Coulee and described the battle in the letter. William H. Seward was a son of President Lincoln's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, Sr.
This is a print by the artist and military officer Seth Eastman, who was stationed in Minnesota before statehood. It shows several dwellings of the Dakota people.
This is a print by the artist and military officer Seth Eastman, who was stationed in Minnesota before statehood. It shows a Dakota campsite along a body of water.