Montevideo · US

Camp Release State Monument

Camp Release State Monument marks the place where, on 26 September 1862, the fighting of the U.S.-Dakota War effectively ended and more than 260 captives were released to Colonel Henry Sibley's troops. Today a 51-foot granite shaft stands on a bluff above the Minnesota River valley near Montevideo, Minnesota, set within a small roadside wayside that is quick to visit and easy to combine with a drive along the river. It is a compact, reflective historic site rather than a big park: you come for the monument and its inscriptions, the story of the Dakota peace faction who handed over the captives, and the open river-valley view. The grounds offer on-site parking and a short, low-key stop that suits families and road-trippers passing through southwest Minnesota.