Surrender at Camp Release

rdf:langString Surrender at Camp Release

rdf:langString The Surrender at Camp Release was the final act in the Dakota War of 1862. After the Battle of Wood Lake, Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley had considered pursuing the retreating Sioux, but he realized he did not have the resources for a vigorous pursuit. Furthermore, he was aware that Chief Little Crow had been losing support and was in contact with several Mdewakanton chiefs who had signaled their opposition to further conflict. On September 26, 1862, Colonel Sibley arrived at Camp Release, where the Dakota Peace Party handed over 269 captives who had been held hostage by the "hostile" Dakota camp, which broke up as Little Crow and his followers dispersed. In the nights that followed, a growing number of Mdewakanton warriors who had participated in battle quietly joined the "friendly" Dakotas at Camp Release; many were persuaded by Sibley's earlier promise to punish only those who had killed settlers. Despite the "surrender," many "hostile" Dakota warriors remained at large; armed conflict eventually broke out again during the following year and it continued into 1865. Meanwhile, many members of the Dakota "peace faction" who had surrendered at Camp Release were among the Dakota who were exiled from Minnesota in 1863.