A. P. (Alonzo P.) Connolly

author

A. P. (Alonzo P.) Connolly

1836–1915

Best known for vivid firsthand writing about the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862, this Canadian-born Civil War veteran later became a public figure in Minneapolis. His books mix eyewitness memory, local history, and a strong sense of the nineteenth century he lived through.

1 Audiobook

A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63 Graphic Accounts of the Siege of Fort Ridgely, Battles of Birch Coolie, Wood Lake, Big Mound, Stony Lake, Dead Buffalo Lake and Missouri River

A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63 Graphic Accounts of the Siege of Fort Ridgely, Battles of Birch Coolie, Wood Lake, Big Mound, Stony Lake, Dead Buffalo Lake and Missouri River

by A. P. (Alonzo P.) Connolly

About the author

Born in 1836 in New Brunswick, Alonzo Putnam Connolly became known in Minnesota as both a veteran and a writer. Records for his books identify him as A. P. (Alonzo Putnam) Connolly, and library and historical sources connect him with works including A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63, The Nineteenth Century, and Minneapolis and the G.A.R.

Connolly served in the Civil War with the 6th Minnesota Infantry, and that experience shaped much of his later writing. His best-known work recounts the siege of Fort Ridgely and battles such as Birch Coulee and Wood Lake, giving his historical writing an immediate, personal quality rather than a distant academic tone.

He was also active in civic life in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Historical Election Archive identifies him as Alonzo Putnam Connolly and preserves a portrait connected with his public career. He died in 1915, leaving behind books that are still read today by people interested in Minnesota history, the Civil War era, and firsthand historical narrative.