Manuscripts Collection
Rosendahl was born in Hadeland, Norway on October 18, 1838, and immigrated with his parents to a farm in Houston County, Minnesota in 1854. He participated in the 1863 Sibley punitive expedition against the Dakota Indians as a member of Company A of the First Regiment of Minnesota Mounted Rangers. In early 1865 he was mustered as a corporal into Company L of the First Minnesota Regiment of Heavy Artillery, which then traveled from Fort Snelling to Tennessee. Following the war Rosendahl represented Houston County (First District) in the Minnesota House of Representatives (1872-1873), following which he was elected Houston County Register of Deeds (1873-1880), and also served at some point as Clerk of Spring Valley Township. Rosendahl married Gunhild Anderson in 1869 and died in 1880. The first folder of the collection contains some additional biographical information.
The 1862-1863 entries document Rosendahl's service in the First Regiment of Minnesota Mounted Rangers during the Sibley punitive expedition against the Dakota. The 1865 entries describe his service in the First Minnesota Regiment of Heavy Artillery during the Tennessee Campaign. The 1873-1880 entries concern his postwar life as a farmer, Houston County Register of Deeds, and local politician. Most of the other years are represented only by miscellaneous financial memoranda.
A print version of this finding aid is available in the repository; filed as P2326.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should
Accession number: 2849; 5234; 5165
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, March 1999
Catalog ID number: 09-00322254
Initial pages contain cash memoranda for April-August 1860. The
next section, which begins September 24, 1862, describes his experiences on the
Sibley Expedition. The terse entries describe his departure from Spring Grove
and the trip to Fort Ridgely, including drilling, parades, a meeting with
General Sibley (January 9, 1863), the march to Camp Pope, Big Stone Lake, the
march into Dakota Territory, the Battle of Big Hill (July 24, 1863), and then
the march back to Minnesota ending August 21, 1863.
The second volume, which is not in chronological order, begins with two pages of financial notes and memoranda (Jan. 10-Oct. 22, 1864), followed by these diary segments: April 7-July 19, 1865; February 13-June 13, 1865; June 18-August 22, 1863; and July 10-October 7, 1865.
The 1863 segment repeats the Sibley Expedition content from the first volume, sometimes in greater detail. The entries give more substantial information on the march to the Dakota border, the number of miles traveled, the weather, prairie topography; crossing the Cheyenne River, encampments along the way, deaths among the company, the battles of Big Mound (July 24) and Stony Lake (July 27-29), and the return march.
The segments dealing with his Civil War service give information on the weather, guard duty, letters received, his illnesses, and related matters. Entries suggest that he worked in the regimental office, maintaining muster rolls and other records. The February-April 1865 entries describe his muster into the regiment at Fort Snelling (Minn.), its journey to Tennessee, the destruction of Chattanooga, and details on drilling, guard duty, inspections, and army routine. An April 1 entry notes the suicide of another soldier. The July-October entries are similar in content and end with the unit's mustering out. The closing pages of the volume contain financial notes and memoranda from the 1864-1865 period.
Contains information on Rosendahl's activities as Spring Grove Township Clerk and Houston County Register of Deeds. They include mentions of legal matters relating to estates, the collection of promissory notes, and mortgages; his election as register of deeds (1873); township meetings; and county political conventions. He occasionally records information relating to the family and farm, including the birth of his son Hans (June 12, 1873); weather; farm production, including haying, planting, wheat threshing, and hog production; and the construction of a new house (1875), including an invoice of materials.