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Isch donates book on U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 to BCHS

John Isch holds the copy of his book “You Had to Have Been There and Lived It,” which he donated to the Brown County Historical Society. The book documents panoramas created of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Staff photo by Clay Schuldt

NEW ULM — Former Martin Luther College professor John Isch donated a copy of his book “You Had to Have Been There and Lived It” to the Brown County Historical Society.

The book is a collection of images and historical information on panoramas depicting the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

Panoramas are a series of pictures people paint to show the story of an event. Isch said in the 1800s this was one way of telling the story before television media.

His book represents over a decade of Isch’s work collecting information on these images; many of which few people have seen before and some which may never be seen again.

The U.S. Dakota-War of 1862 was perhaps the defining moment of Brown County history, but visual documentation has been limited. The primary source of what the conflict looked like has come from these panoramas.

Some of these paintings are well known, such as Anton Gag’s “Attack on New Ulm,” but not all are accessible to the general public. Those in possession of U.S.-Dakota War panoramas are not always able or willing to display the artworks, which makes academic study difficult.

Isch said there were three groups of people who created panoramas of the U.S.-Dakota War. The first was John Stevens in 1862, immediately following the conflict. Stevens was able to interview people who witnessed the conflict, but he had a bias. Isch said Stevens depicted the Dakota people in racist ways. Isch said in researching these paintings he found many were not works of art you would want to hang in your room, but others were trying to tell a story.

Two sets of Stevens panoramas exist; one at the Minnesota Historical Society and the other in Oklahoma. Neither set is on display anymore and the originals cannot be shown due to their condition. Slides of the paintings were available and Isch was able to make digital versions of the slides for use in his book.

The second group of panoramas was created by Anton Gag thirty-plus years after the conflict in 1895. The original canvas paintings are stored at the Historical Society in St. Paul. These canvases are also rarely displayed. Most are rolled up and cannot be unrolled for fear of causing further damage. There is also a desire to be sensitive to the Dakota people.

In 1962, during the centennial of the conflict, a group of women in Wilmar were in a painting class and created a series of panoramas on plywood. The women painted the panoramas based on stories told to them about the conflict.

Ordinary paint was used for these panoramas, which caused them to fall apart after a few years. In the 1970s, a group of high school students in Wilmar repainted the panoramas but repainted them in a different style. Before the paintings deteriorated, they were photographed. Isch was able to get copies of the panoramas to preserve in his book.

Isch said the benefit of the Willmar panoramas is they focus on events that happened in Kandiyohi County, which were under-reported and rarely depicted.

Isch wrote “You Had to Have Been There” as a research tool for people researching the U.S.-Dakota War. Since copies of these panoramas are rare and the originals are rarely displayed, this book is the best way to view and understand the context of the artworks.

Isch only had five copies of the book produced and gifted all to places of academic research. A copy was given to County Historical Society in Rochester, a copy to Kandiyohi Historical Society, the St. Paul Historical Society, MLC, and the Brown County Historical Society.

“There is no book that has all these pictures in it,” Isch said. “When people want to do the research they can come here.”

“We are honored with this gift donation,” Historical Society Executive Director Kathleen Backer said. “Imagine how many people will come here to use the book for research.”

The book contains 126 images related to the U.S.-Dakota War along with historical context on the images.

“You had to have Been There and Lived it,” is now accessible at the Brown County Historical Society. Access to the book is only limited to museum hours.

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