Oscar Malmros, Minnesota's Adjutant General, reported twice to the Minnesota Legislature on the military aspects of what he called the Sioux War, better known today as the Dakota Conflict of 1862. In these reprints, he discusses how troops were recruited and dispersed to the frontier, his difficulties in profiding arms and ammunition, and the relationships between the State Militia and the troops recruited for additional service in the South as part of the Union Army. Included are all areas of Minnesota where he assigned troops, from the Minnesota River Valley and Fort Ridgley, to Forts Ripley and Abercrombie and the Red River Valley of the North, and the issues which arose with the Winnebago and Chippewa/Ojibwe tribes. He also identifies each of the local militia units and their officers. In general, he provides an objective framework with which to view reports from his contemporaries for the 1862 events.
Malmros' concise, well-written reports reveal his intelligence and education. He assumed the post of Adjutant General in 1862, and remained in that post for the duration of the Civil War, when he began a series of assignments to various United States consulates around the world. A brief biography and an index are included with his reports.
