Published: Thursday, September 6, 2012 1:09 AM CDT

One hundred fifty years ago, the Dakota Cavalry played a critical role for settlers’ survival in the Dakota Territory.

To honor the men who protected the earliest pioneers, the Dakota Territorial Museum of Yankton will be hosting a reunion for descendants of Companies A & B of the Dakota Cavalry on Sunday, Sept. 9 at the G.A.R. Hall in Yankton.

Crystal Nelson, director and curator of the Dakota Territorial Museum, said there has not been much information documented about the group. They were first mustered out in 1862, and would eventually become the South Dakota National Guard after South Dakota became a state in 1889.

She added that there was an uprising in Iowa and Minnesota in the 1860s, so settlers in South Dakota needed some sort of protection — a security force that became the Dakota Cavalry.

“People in the area around Yankton needed to feel protected,” Nelson said. “They needed a military group to protect settlers and their lands.”

There was a mass killing of settlers that took place in Minnesota in 1862, which worried many settlers in what is present-day South Dakota, that such a thing could happen to them.

“The events that took place in Minnesota were close enough to this area that settlers became concerned,” Nelson said. “The events led some people to flee from Minnesota to Sioux City, and others to Yankton.”

In order to protect the people of this area, the Yankton stockade was erected bear what is now Broadway and 3rd streets. Most settlers stayed within that immediate area so they could feel protected from any potential problems.

“The Dakota Cavalry was a real good source of protection for settlers in the Dakota Territory,” Nelson said.

Even though there has not been a lot documented about the group, A.M. English, who served with Company A in the cavalry, wrote a history about the organization and its people in 1899. He wrote about what the people did and where they all went.

“We took that information that he wrote and set out to try to find descendants of the group for the reunion,” Nelson said. “We sent out letters to potential descendants, and we got a pretty good response.”

Nelson added she expects about 20 descendants and their families to attend the reunion on Sunday. However, she knew there were some descendants of the cavalry around because some were asking about what they did.

“Knowing they came from an important part of Yankton’s history, I could tell there was still a sense of pride around descendants of the cavalry,” Nelson said. “We said, ‘Let’s get them all together and try to find other descendants as well.’ We wanted to have the opportunity to bring them together again and honor their heritage.”

She added a lot of people did not know much about the cavalry before the letters were sent out, so museum officials offered to help research families’ lineage to see if they are descendants of the cavalry.

“We put it out there and asked if they are interested in finding out more,” she said. “It’s been interesting and a lot of fun to hear back from all the descendants. We wanted to be able to keep the history of the Dakota Cavalry alive.”

The reunion will feature a special social hour from 1-2 p.m. for descendants only. Afterwards, at 2 p.m., there will be a presentation on the history of the Dakota Cavalry that is open to the public.

If you or someone you know is a descendant, contact the Dakota Territorial Museum at 605-665-3898 by Friday. Reservations for descendants are required.

“If there was no Dakota Cavalry, would Yankton have developed like it did? Would that Midwest have developed?,” Nelson questioned. “They provided protection for people to know that it is OK to settle in the Dakota Territory. They were pivotal in the expansion of the Midwest.”

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