Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891) - Find a Grave Memorial

Civil War Union Brigadier General, US Congressman, Minnesota Governor. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he was educated in a common school in the Michigan wilderness. He was a clerk and fur trapper with the American Fur Company and in 1835 built the first private residence in Minnesota. In 1849 he was elected as a territorial delegate to Congress, where he actively pursued the establishment of the Minnesota Territory. In 1858 he became the state's first elected Governor, however he chose not to run again in 1859. His contribution to the Union cause was his suppression of the "Sioux Uprising of 1862" in Minnesota. That summer, the Santee Sioux, encouraged by the removal of Federal soldiers to the East, rebelled against the white settlers in Minnesota. Led by Chief Little Crow, they rampaged up and down the Minnesota River Valley, killing more than 800 whites. The Governor commissioned him Colonel in the state militia and assigned him to command 1,400 volunteers. On September 23, 1862, at the Battle of Wood Lake, his troops defeated Little Crow's warriors, who fled into the Dakotas. For his services he was promoted to Brigadier General on September 29th, but the Senate failed to confirm his commission, which expired on March 4, 1863. He was then reappointed and confirmed on March 20th. Though he held no other command, he was brevetted Major General for "efficient and meritorious service" on November 29, 1865, and mustered out on April 30, 1866. He prospered in postwar Minnesota. An active businessman, he successively headed a gas company, an insurance company, and a bank. He served in the state legislature, was president of the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, held a seat on the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, and served as president of the state historical society.

Bio by: Ugaalltheway