Cemetery Tour of Civil War Veterans in Minnehaha County

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.
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Union Veteran and Footless Farmer: John Wales January

John Wales January's story as a Union soldier during the Civil War epitomizes the deadliest of soldiers' experiences. Detained at the detestable Andersonville prison, the bottom 5 inches of his feet were rotted by gangrene. Of his survival story, January wrote on the back of a photo of himself: “....no amputation has ever been performed upon them save the one I performed in prison. There…
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Edward Bonham: The Right Hand of the 47th Illinois Regiment

Edward Bonham enlisted for the Union Army joining the Illinois 47th Volunteer Infantry. As fate would have it, his unit fought in 23 different battles.
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M.W. Griswold: A Representation of the United States' 19th Century

M.W. Griswold experienced many of the tectonic shifts of the 19th century in his own life. Griswold served in the Civil War, emigrated west, and served as an Indian Agent on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. By learning about his life story, one can see the real-world implications of the United States' 19th century.
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Alanzo L. Bishop: From Gettysburg to Graveyard

Alanzo Lewis Bishop (1838-1905) was born in Ithaca, New York. A carpenter by trade, Bishop was a member of the New York 137th Infantry, a battalion that was involved in Sherman's March to the Sea and the Battle of Gettysburg.
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Isaac N. Fry: The Forgotten Civil War Veteran

Sitting in a small grave near Garretson, South Dakota, lies a Civil War veteran who was awarded a Medal of Honor for his heroism during the capture of Fort Fisher during the 1864-65 campaign. That man is Issac N. Fry
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