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| Henry Sibley oversaw the military commission. |
On this date, November 5, in 1862, a military commission concluded the trials of more than 300 Dakota men and condemned them to death for participating in the US-Dakota War of 1862.
One of those men was “Chaska,” who protected Sarah Wakefield and her two very young children from harm while they were held prisoner by the Dakota. Though he was eventually removed from the executioner’s list by President Lincoln, Chaska was nevertheless hanged with 37 other Dakota men on December 26, 1862–likely because of the “scandal” of his relationship with Sarah.
This is one of the central events in my work-in-progress, a fictional biography of Sarah Wakefield.
You can read more about what happened in 1862 at this link.
