This document, dated May 11th, was sent to Eugene St. Julien Cox of St. Peter, who was the Captain of Company E of the First Mounted Rangers. The document addressed Cox as a major, but various records indicate that his highest rank was that of captain. Cox was ordered to include Sibley County in the sub-district for which he was responsible. He was also informed that a new squad had been organized in New Ulm, and that ""trappers report Indians plenty west of here."" The letter was sent from Mankato by Second Lieutenant and Adjutant George A. Clarke. The document appears to have an 1865 date, but Cox served from December 10, 1862, until November 11, 1863, and Clarke served from December 20, 1861, until December 20, 1864. It therefore appears that the document was sent in 1863.
The community of St. Peter was initially, and for a very brief time, known as Rock Bend, a name taken because of the presence of a sharp bend in the course of the Minnesota River on the east side of the settlement. The name was used probably from late in 1853 until sometime in 1854. The envelope shown here, addressed to Charles E. Flandrau (1828-1903), who was living in the area at the time, is one of only a few objects that survived with the name "Rock Bend" on it. Flandrau, himself, became a very prominent resident of the State of Minnesota. Among many other duties during his lifetime, he commanded the defenders of New Ulm in August of 1862 and later served on the Minnesota Supreme Court.