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What happened at the Battle of Wood Lake?

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Plains Wars View of the army camp at Hidden Wood Creek during Lieut. Col. George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills expedition, 1874; photograph by W.H. Illingworth.

The Battle of Wood Lake, which took place on September 23, 1862, was a decisive engagement during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.12

Led by Little Crow, a group of Dakota warriors planned to ambush a force of U.S. soldiers commanded by Col. Henry Hastings Sibley near Lone Tree Lake (mistakenly referred to as Wood Lake) in the Minnesota River valley. The ambush failed when the Dakota attacked prematurely after being nearly discovered by soldiers.1

Outmatched by the superior firepower of the U.S. forces, many Dakota warriors fled the battlefield. This defeat proved to be a turning point in the conflict, as it led to the surrender of many warriors and allowed the Dakota Peace Party to secure the release of hundreds of settler hostages at a site that became known as Camp Release.312