Time Travel Fridays: Fort Snelling and the Civil War

Fort Snelling closed in 1858, but the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861 spurred thousands of Minnesotans to join the Union cause. The Fort reopened and became the entry and training point for more than 24,000 Minnesota volunteers who fought in the Civil War. Learn about soldier life, technology, the U.S.-Dakota War and how slaves at Fort Snelling influenced the lead up to the Civil War.