From the Grand Forks Herald:
Fort Abercrombie: On 150th anniversary, a look back at a bloody clash
By: Patrick Springer, Grand Forks Herald
FARGO – The first hint of trouble came to Fort Abercrombie on a tranquil summer day when word arrived that the Dakota Sioux in Minnesota were ripe for an uprising.
It was unwelcome news for a military post whose new commander had recently discovered was stocked with ammunition that was the wrong caliber for the soldiers’ muskets.
Also, since the fort wasn’t yet protected by a stockade or blockhouses, the soldiers scrambled to build defensive breastworks of earth and timber to surround the key buildings comprising the post.
Help was 227 miles away, at Fort Snelling, and the nearest community of any size was more than 150 miles away, in St. Cloud.
Click here to read the rest of the article
Author’s Note: I will be taking part in the commemoration this Saturday, portraying a soldier, so if you are in the area, come on down to the fort and check out the program, as it looks to be pretty good. I will also share my thoughts on the event and the actual siege over the weekend.
Civil War History 
Reblogged this on Déowyth and commented:
This is really a comment more on the Herald’s journalism / historical accuracy than the OP’s commentary, but: Although I’m very glad to see the author took the time to quote a Dakota historian, much of the author’s verbage belies a certain cultural bias and amnesia of what was actually going on in / before 1862. I mean, really: Can we honestly allege that the army’s presence at Fort Abercrombie (and other area military forts) was peaceful / not actually an intrusion into Dakota and other First Nations land? Of course not—which is why I’m finding the article’s author’s use of “attackers” vs. “defenders” incredibly problematic. *sigh Forum Communications be better than this*