Preferred Citation

MSS 16851, Caroline Victoria Ozias letter, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was a purchase from Kurt Sanftleben LCC, to the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on24 May 2024.

Biographical / Historical

Dakota: The word Dakota means "ally or friend" in the Dakota language, and their autonyms include Ikčé Wičhášta ("Indian people") and Dakhóta Oyáte ("Dakota people").

Camp McClellan was a former Union army camp and hospital in Iowa that was established in Davenport in August 1861 after the outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1863 it became a prison camp called Camp Kearney where members of the Dakota tribe were interred. The camp was decommissioned after the release of the prisoners in 1866.

The propery was directly across the Mississippi River from the Rock Island Arsenal, and held Confederate soldiers and Dakota people.The government imprisoned 277 members of the Dakota tribe. A wall was built in December 1863 along the western road through the camp so as to separate the Dakota from recruits. Conditions in the prison became unsanitary. Local citizens were hostile that the Dakotas were in their vicinity. Later President Andrew Johnson released those being held prisoner to a reservation in Santee, Nebraska. Others died there and were buried in unmarked graves. In 1986 some of the remains were given to the Dakota tribe at Morton, Minnesota for burial. In 2005, the Dakota held a memorial ceremony on the former site of Camp Kearney.

African Americans: During the Civil War, Iowa, a free state, played a significant role in the Union cause, and African Americans in Iowa actively participated in the war effort, both as soldiers and as supporters of the Union cause. While Iowa had a relatively small African American population (around 1,000 in 1860), they were vital to the state's war efforts.

Iowa's 1st Infantry Regiment (African Descent), later designated as the 60th United States Colored Infantry Regiment, was organized at Keokuk, Iowa and was a significant part of the Union effort.

Camp McClellan played a pivotal role in the fight for African American civil rights in Iowa and became a symbol of the struggle for equality. The internment of Dakota people at Camp McClellan highlighted the harsh realities of the Dakota War and the government's treatment of Native Americans.

Sources: "Camp McClellan (Iowa)" Wikipedia. Accessed 6/11/25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_McClellan_(Iowa)

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=entpr&q=african+americans+in+Iowa+during+civil+war

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=entpr&q=camp+mccellan+iowa+and+african+americans

Content Description

This collection contains a letter from Caroline 'Carrie' Victoria Ozias of Iowa to Sarah "Sallie" Rachel McQuiston from Ohio. Ozias gives an account of the significant military activities happening around her. She describes Confederate prisoners, and details the United States Colored Troops who were guarding them. She also writes about Camp McClellan, where nearly three hundred Dakota or Lakota members were imprisoned. She reports on the riots who are resisting the draft as well as raids and a political rally at Rock Island City

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Iowa Indians
• Kurt A Sanftleben, LLC
• Prisoners of war -- United States
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, African American
• United States History Civil War 1861-1865

General

Content Warning:This collection contains racial imagery typical for the time that contemporary viewers may find offensive.There may be references or imagery involving racism. The purpose of this note is to give users the opportunity to decide whether they need or want to view these materials, or at least, to mentally or emotionally prepare themselves to view the materials.