Birch Coulee Battlefield

The Birch Coulee Battlefield was the first spontaneous stop on my 2019 cross-country trip. A friend in Bird Island, Minnesota, mentioned it to me while I was visiting, telling me it was nearby and on my way to Badlands National Park. The memorial itself is interesting, essentially a self-guided tour around the battlefield with stops along the way describing the events from the US-Dakota War of 1862 battle. Some of the stops feature cement foot prints in the ground that represent placements of US military or Dakota soldiers, along with directions on where to look in the distance and what those people would have seen. It’s an effective technique that makes it clear how up-close and personal battles were in those times.