The Battle of Wood Lake

An unauthorized breakfast run may have saved an entire army. Here’s how a group of hungry soldiers accidentally foiled a deadly ambush.

On the night of September 22, 1862, Dakota warriors lay hidden in the tall prairie grass, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They had meticulously planned an ambush on Colonel Henry Sibley’s troops, who had set up camp near Wood Lake Creek, just a few miles short of the Upper Sioux Agency. At first light, the plan was simple but devastating: as soon as Sibley’s men began marching, the Dakota warriors would erupt from hiding and catch them completely off guard.

It was supposed to be a decisive moment in the Dakota War.

But then—breakfast happened.

At dawn, a group of soldiers from the 3rd Minnesota Infantry Regiment, restless and hungry, made an unauthorized decision to go foraging for potatoes. They piled into wagons and rode out from camp, completely unaware that they were stepping straight into enemy territory.

The Dakota warriors, expecting an entire army to march into their trap, were instead confronted with a small, unsuspecting foraging party. Realizing the element of surprise was slipping away, they opened fire.

Gunshots rang out across the prairie, shattering the morning silence. The foraging soldiers, caught in the open, were quickly overwhelmed. But their doomed expedition had one unintended consequence—it alerted the rest of Sibley’s army to the ambush before it could be fully sprung.

Hearing the gunfire, Major Abraham Welch of the 3rd Minnesota Infantry quickly rallied 200 men and launched a counterattack. Meanwhile, Sibley’s forces scrambled into defensive positions, bringing in artillery and reinforcements. What could have been a devastating defeat turned into an organized response.

For two hours, the battle raged. The Dakota warriors fought fiercely, using the rolling terrain and tall grass to their advantage. But Sibley’s soldiers, now fully engaged, had superior firepower, including deadly canister shots from artillery. The Dakota warriors began to fall back. By the time the smoke cleared, the U.S. forces had won a decisive victory, crushing any remaining organized resistance in the Dakota War.

And to think—it all could have ended differently if not for a handful of soldiers looking for breakfast. For the complete story of The Dakota War, check out the Dakota War series I wrote for Legends of the Old West: