William L. Briley, First Lieutenant of the Minnesota Cavalry during the Dakota Wars
Soldiers of Fort Sisseton
One Civil War veteran with a unique story of service is William L. Briley. As a member of Minnesota's Second Cavalry, Briley never saw action against the Confederates; instead, his time was spent patrolling the Dakota prairies looking for Native Americans and trying to defend the nascent community of Sioux Falls.
As the Civil War raged in places like Maryland and Mississippi, a smaller war took place on the American frontier. Dakota natives attacked frontier settlements from New Ulm, Minnesota, to Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory. In August 1862, Dakota warriors attacked native agents at the Yellow Medicine over unpaid annuities and insults. In the chaos that followed, Sioux Falls was abandoned, and New Ulm found itself under siege. A call for new military units to protect the frontier appeared.
One of those who answered this call was William L Briley, a twenty-one-year-old Irishman then living in Iowa. He joined Minnesota's Second Cavalry as a Second Lieutenant and agreed to serve three years. His appointment as lieutenant might indicate previous service, but the records do not make this clear. Originally stationed at Fort Sisseton, D.T., Briley's unit spent the summer months searching for 'hostiles' and keeping roads open. To fulfill this function, Briley's company -Company A- went on multiple expeditions or incursions against the natives throughout the Dakotas. These forays led to the only battle Briley fought in, the Battle of Killdeer Mountain.
Known to the natives as the Battle of Tahkahokuty Mountain, the battle took place in what is now Dunn County, North Dakota. General Alfred Sully's troops defeated warriors from the Lakota Yanktonia and Santee communities. Union soldiers killed between 31 to 100 Natives while losing 5 of their own. The Battle of Killdeer Mountain was the largest battle fought against the natives during the Civil War in the Dakota Territory. Briley was uninjured in this battle and was shortly thereafter promoted to first Lieutenant. Sully was so convinced that this battle had broken the Natives. that units such as the Second Minnesota Cavalry were discharged from service. Briley ended up serving just under 18 months of military service before being officially mustered out of service.
Briley returned to Minnesota, where he married Mary Pamela Allen. In 1867, they started their family with a son named after the father. Like thousands of other veterans, changes to the Homestead Law in 1873 made western migration more attractive. Briley and his growing family moved to South Dakota in 1882. The family settled in Dell Rapids. As he aged, Briley secured a pension for his military service on the Dakota prairie. he died in 1917, leaving behind a wife, son, and daughter.
Briley's Civil War service was neither as dangerous nor as heroic as some other veterans'; nevertheless, his service was recognized as necessary. If it had not been, he would not have received a U.S. pension. His quiet life after the war reflects that of thousands of other veterans; he hoped that South Dakota would provide for him and his family.
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