Col. William Marshall
The
best known of the Commission members, Marshall participated in only the
first twenty-nine cases before being replaced by Major Bradley. Marshall
commanded five companies in the final battle at Wood Lake. Prior
to joining the Army, he served in both the Wisconsin and Minnesota legislatures
and was a founding member of the Republican Party in the Minnesota Territory.
Marshall was also among the State's first newspapermen, founding and editing
the St. Paul Press. After serving the Union in the Civil War, Marshall
returned home a hero and was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1965.
Col. William Crooks
William Crooks commanded the 6th Minnesota
Regiment at the battles of Birch Coulee and Wood Lake. He was a West
Point graduate. After the 1862 Conflict, Crooks served in the Minnesota
State Legislature.
Captain Grant
Captain Grant served under Col. Marshall
at the Battle of Wood Lake. He commanded a company at the Battle
of Birch Coulee, taking full command after his superior officers were wounded
in the fighting.
First Lt. Olin
First Lt. Olin was second-in-command of
the 3rd Minnesota Regiment at the Battle of Wood Lake. He later served
as Assistant Adjutant General for the District of Minnesota.
Captain Bailey
Captain Hiram Bailey was of the 6th Minnesota
Regiment.
Major Bradley
Major Bradley replaced William Marshall
as a member of the Commission after twenty-nine trials. Bradley fought
in the Battle of Wood Lake and with the 7th Regiment that relieved men
under siege at Birch Coulee. He was later one of Minnesota's the
first lawyers.
Isaac
Heard, Commission Recorder
Isaac Heard was, at the time of the trials,
a member of Colonel Sibley's staff. Heard was a St. Paul attorney
and, for many years, worked as the prosecuting attorney of Ramsey County.
In 1864, Heard authored a book entitled History of the Sioux War and Massacres
of 1862 and 1863, which is the leading contemporary account of the Dakota
Conflict.