The following letter was written by a teamster participating on the 1864 Northwestern Indian Expedition led by Gen. Alfred Sully into the Dakota Territory. The expedition consisted of two brigades of cavalry, each with an attached artillery battery. The First Brigade was assembled at Sioux City, Iowa, in May 1864. It consisted of the: 6th Iowa Cavalry Regiment, 3 companies of the 7th Iowa Cavalry Regiment, 2 companies of the 1st Dakota Cavalry Battalion, Brackett’s Minnesota Cavalry Battalion, and 1 artillery battery of four M1841 mountain howitzers under the command of Captain Nathaniel Pope. The Second Brigade, dubbed the “Minnesota Brigade”, was an all-Minnesota brigade led by Minor T. Thomas which consisted of: the 8th Minnesota Infantry Regiment (mounted), six companies of the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment, and the 3rd Minnesota Light Artillery Battery under the command of Captain John W. Jones. Weeks later the expedition would engage in the Battle of Killdeer Mountain (pictured in header) and the Battle of the Badlands.

The author of this letter has signed his name but I can’t be certain I’ve transcribed his surname correctly. It looks like Edward Bond. Based on the content of the letter, it seems that Edward was hired on with the expedition as a civilian teamster—one among fifty so hired whom Edward described as “among the worst of the worst of the dirty, low-lived villains and rascals that you ever saw.”

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Camp Demoralization, Iowa
June 8th 1864

Dear friend,

I expect you think I acted rather strangely in not letting you know about my sudden departure so I will just make you acquainted with the circumstances that you may not be laboring under any mistaken as to my promtness in fulfilling agreements. It is like this.

When I arrived at Minneapolis, I asserted that it took men that knew their business to go as scouts—that Sibley’s Expedition was likely to failure and that [Major Alfred B.] Brackett was going to send 50 men the next day to join Sully’s Expedition as teamsters. But he was not sure whether he had enough or not until he got them together. I thought it would be imprudent to take father measures or uncertainties so I let the matter rest until the appointed time when I found a chance and accepted it. I hope these facts will satisfy you.

Now I will say a word in regard to the crowd I am connected with although it will be impossible for me to give you much idea of them much less express my contempt. But perhaps I can get your imagination running in a direction that will give you some idea of them. Pick from among the worst of the worst of the dirty, low-lived villains and rascals that you ever saw and imagine them too as much worse than Bill Blake as he is [nothing more] than an ordinary villain and perhaps in this way you will get some idea of them though very distant. I assure you, their villainous tricks on the way are entirely too numerous to mention. You will dispute the whole story when I tell you I have as yet had little difficulty with them but I am all the time expecting it. If you should see Old Sturdevent, please start Ol___ on this subject and perhaps he would say something that would be very soothing, whatever it may be, to be sure.

We will get to Sioux City tomorrow, no preventing Providence. I have no more time to write although I have not wrote one-fourth I would like to. It may be that I will have another chance to write at Sioux City. I cannot tell you where to direct. Meantime you will observe this is from your friend, — Edward Bond