The Fight At Webster

Following the 1862 Minnesota Indian Uprising where nearly 600 men, women, and children were killed, the United States Army at Fort Wadsworth recruited friendly Indians as scouts to restrict the hostile Indians from white settlements. A half-breed, Jack Campbell, led a group to the Mankato area and massacred the Jewett family.

Campbell was caught and hung but his companions escaped and fled West. Near the present site of Webster this murderous group were met and recognized by Solomon Two Stars, an Army scout, on May 16, 1865. Solomon and four enlisted scouts; Wahacankaiteton, Kampeska, Tatankawanjidan, and Cankuwanjidan promptly attacked.

Three of the hostiles were killed, one escaped, and a renegade nephew of Two Stars was captured. The latter confessed that he and the others were guilty of the murder. Under strict orders to take no prisoners, Two Stars was faced with a terrible choice. Duty demanded his kinsman be killed. Should he order one of the scouts to shoot him or accept the responsibility?

Fifty years later, he said, “I shot him before my tears should blind me.” Can white men produce a better chronicle of integrity?