A. P. (Alonzo P.) Connolly

author

A. P. (Alonzo P.) Connolly

1836–1915

A Minnesota veteran and newspaperman, he turned firsthand memories of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 into dramatic historical writing. His best-known book aims to capture the fear, confusion, and violence of that conflict for later readers.

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 and later known as Alonzo Putnam Connolly, he is remembered chiefly for writing A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63, first published in 1896. Library and book records consistently identify him as A. P. Connolly and date his life from 1836 to 1915.

Connolly's writing is closely tied to Minnesota history and to his own experience of the Civil War era. His best-known book presents vivid accounts of Fort Ridgely, Birch Coulee, Wood Lake, and other events connected with the U.S.-Dakota War, and it has remained accessible through later reprints and digital editions.

Genealogical and memorial records indicate that he was born in New Brunswick and served in Company A of the 6th Minnesota Infantry during the war. He also appears in Minnesota political records, suggesting he remained an active public figure in the state beyond his military service and authorship.