In my ongoing research of my Lyons / Cameron families I have come across some
information about Harrison Lyons. It seems that before he enlisted in the
1st Minnesota Volunteers at the age of 19 in 1861, he was involved in
fighting or chasing Inkpaduta the Indian Chief who had massacred 30+ white
settlers at Spirit Lake Iowa.
This Chief was considered the terror of many. In the real story he did the
things that made him feared but only at the constant cruelty of the
authorities of the day against his people. So he was somewhat of an Indian
Robin Hood as far as I can tell.
Inkpaduta traveled throughout Minnesota and helped spawn the Sioux uprisings
of 1862. Harrison must have been only 17 or 18 when he took arms against
this man.
I was wondering if he would have been old enough to be part of the group that
was dispatched from Ft. Ripley to chase Inkpaduta or would he have had to be
from a "Civilian Militia". Are their any records of the names of men who
were of that party?
Does anyone on these lists that I am sending this too that might have some
access to the history of Inkpaduta?
Thanks as always,
Dean Cameron