West St. Paul

West St. Paul Metal Detector
Brings Ft. Skedaddle Back To Life

  

     

---

Meet Gregg Yackel

Fort Skedaddle is a historic site that was located on the northwest corner of the intersection of 14th Street and DeSoto Ave. adjacent to one of the water towers in Glencoe. It was particularly active during the Indian uprising of the early 1860s. Although it saw no action, there was plenty of military activity around the post. On first glance the only thing that would indicate that there had been an installation on the site is a historic plaque. But, that doesn’t mean that Ft. Skedaddle doesn’t live on/under ground.

For the past 10 years Gregg Yackel of West St. Paul has been coming out to Glencoe and indulging his passion for history and metal detecting. He has been scanning the yards around the fort and particularly the area to the north of 16th Street, just west and north of the old Helen Baker School site.

What he has discovered in the ground tells many stories about what must have gone on at the fort. Over the years he has amassed a collection that spans strictly military items like bullets and uniform paraphernalia, coins, medals, knives, and even cow bells.


Greg has determined that the area north and west of Helen Baker must have been a shooting range for the fort. Although there were no battles fought at Ft. Skedaddle most of the bullets found (58 caliber 3 ring Minne, a common military round of the day) were in that area.

Over the years he has amassed a collection that spans strictly military items like bullets and uniform paraphernalia, coins, medals, knives, and even cow bells. Greg has determined that the area north and west of Helen Baker must have been a shooting range for the fort. Although there were no battles fought at Ft. Skedaddle most of the bullets found (58 caliber 3 ring Minne, a common military round of the day) were in that area.

---

Star-Shaped Medallion Found

One of the most interesting finds was a star-shaped medallion with the logo of the GAR, Grand Army of the Republic. The GAR was the fraternal organization for veterans of the Civil and Spanish American wars, just as the American Legion was for WWI and the VFW for WWII. In the early days these organizations held yearly encampments as get-togethers. Greg’s discovery clearly shows Ft. Skedaddle as an encampment site. Greg saw a ribbon, on which this type of medallion would be hung, for sale on Ebay. The ribbon was an authentic GAR ribbon from the McCook chapter of Glencoe, the last member of which passed away in the early 1930s. He purchased the ribbon and paired it with the medallion he found in the ground.

Yackel has donated a lot of his collection to other historic sites like Ft. Ridgley and felt his Glencoe work, along with extensive documentation, would be best preserved in Glencoe. Greg contacted Lon Roach of the Glencoe Historical Preservation Society and Chairman of the Glencoe History Book Committee about his desire to donate his collection. Roach, along with GHPS President Wes Olson and historian and Civil and Indian War expert Lowell Ueland, met with Yackel at the GHPS room at the Glencoe City Center on Friday February 2nd to review his material.

It was clear that his artifacts told many stories and provided a window into the lives of the soldiers and about life around the fort. Ueland and Yackel engaged in detailed discussions about the locations of the many small military installations that were in this area during that period. Ueland felt that this material makes an important contribution to our understanding of local history. Yackel’s donation was gratefully accepted.

The collection is presented in four 12x18” cases and will be stored at the City Center. Persons interested in this period of history may view the collection by contacting GHPS. Yackel said that he would be continuing his search for artifacts and that he would forward any new discoveries.

---

Submitted by: Lon Roach
February 3, 2024