Col. Melvin Grigsby Biography

	This biography appears on pages 548, 551-552 in "History of Minnehaha 
	County, South Dakota" by Dana R. Bailey and was scanned, OCRed 
	and edited by Joy Fisher, http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00001.html#0000031
.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm


GRIGSBY, COL. MELVIN, was born June 8, 1845, at the village of Potosi, Grant 
county, Wisconsin.  When four years of age he moved with his parents on to a 
farm, where he spent his early youth, attending district and village schools.  
At the breaking out of the war in 1861, he was anxious to enlist, but his father 
thought him too young to enlist, and sent him to the Lancaster Institute at 
Lancaster, Wisconsin, which, however, did not quench the war fever, and in 
November, 1861, he enlisted in Co. C, 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, and remained in 
active service or in confederate prisons until April 13, 1865, when he received 
his discharge.  He was taken prisoner near Vicksburg, and spent eleven months in 
prison at Canton, Mississippi, Cahaba, Alabama, Andersonville, Georgia, and 
Florence, South Carolina.  About six months of his time he spent in 
Andersonville. From the last prison at Florence, South Carolina, he escaped on 
the 10th day of January, 1865, and going south reached Sherman's army on the 
first day of February.  He remained with the army until it reached Goldsboro, 
and then got permission to accompany General Sherman when he went to Eagle Point 
to meet General Grant, and from there he came on to Washington and home to 
Wisconsin.  His experience while in prison, inspired him to write a book with 
the title of Smoked Yank, which has brought him considerable notoriety. After 
leaving the army he attended the university at Madison, Wisconsin, one year, and 
in 1866 went to the Normal school at Platteville, Wisconsin, where he remained 
until he graduated in 1869.  He then was employed for one year as principal of 
the public schools at Horicon, Wisconsin, and held the same position at 
Darlington and also at Delevan in that state.  During this time he had studied 
law, and at the end of his career as a teacher he entered the law office of Pitt 
Dewey at Lancaster.  In the spring of 1872, he was admitted to the bar, and 
immediately thereafter started out on horseback in search of a place in which to 
locate.  He arrived in Sioux Falls the first Sunday in June, and soon settled 
the question of residence in favor of this place.  He entered into a 
copartnership with R. F. Pettigrew for the practice of law and in the real 
estate business, which continued until the fall of 187().  In 1877, in 
connection with Geo. M. Smith, he established the Dakota Pantagraph at Sioux 
Falls, but sold out a few months after.  Mr. Smith remained in copartnership 
with Mr. Grigsby for nearly six years, during which time they started the Bank 
of Egan, at Egan, South Dakota, with Mr. Grigsby as president for the first 
year. He also started the Union County Bank at Elk Point, and was its first 
president; was one of the principal promoters of the Dakota National Bank in 
Sioux Falls, and was its first president.  He has been very active in political 
life.  In 1886, the Minnehaha county republican convention instructed its 
delegates to the territorial congressional convention to present his name to the 
convention for nomination.  In 1886, he was a pronounced candidate for the 
congressional nomination. The convention was held at Watertown, and it was one 
of the notable conventions of territorial days.  He had a large following and 
nearly votes enough to secure the nomination. The same year he was elected to 
the territorial council, and served in that capacity with marked ability.  He 
was elected alderman from the Third ward at the first city election in 1883, and 
the same year was a delegate to the constitutional convention held at Sioux 
Falls, September 4.  Up to the time of the holding of the republican state 
convention in 1894, he had been a Republican, but not liking the financial plank 
in the republican platform he joined the Populists, believing the free coinage 
of silver to be the most important issue before the American people.  He was 
nominated by the party of his adoption for the state senate in 1894, but went 
down before the republican majority which swept the political ranks in Minnehaha 
county that year.  In 1896 he was nominated on the populist state ticket for 
attorney general.  He stumped the state for Bryan and free silver, and when the 
votes were canvassed he had the pleasure of knowing that he had more votes than 
any other candidate upon the ticket in his own county and in the state. He was 
elected and performed the duties of his office until the war with Spain broke 
out, when he promptly tendered his services to the government, asked for a 
colonel's commission and proposed to raise a cavalry regiment of cowboys for the 
military service.  April 11, he went to Washington, where he learned that a bill 
inspired by Theodore Roosevelt was before Congress providing for the 
organization of a regiment of cowboys. Seeing that only one regiment of special 
volunteers could be raised under the provisions of the bill, Grigsby had his 
friends among the congressmen during the last forty minutes before a vote was 
taken propose an amendment which was adopted "authorizing the secretary of war 
to organize companies, troops, battalions or regiments possessing special 
qualifications from the Nation at large, including the appointment of the 
officers thereof." This bill was passed on April 22, and a week later he 
received his commission as colonel, with instructions to recruit the regiment of 
the Third United States Volunteer Cavalry.  His force was mustered into service 
May 19, and the next day left for Chickamauga, the southern rendezvous.  This 
regiment, known as "Grigsby's Cowboys" was a splendid regiment, and before long 
had the reputation of being the best drilled and equipped of any at the park, 
and was frequently compared with Col. Roosevelt's regiment, known as "Teddv's 
Terrors," who did valiant service in front of Santiago, and made its colonel 
governor of New York.  But, to the great disappointment of not only Col. Grigsby 
but of the entire regiment, the war was brought to a close without this regiment 
being ordered to the front.  But the promptness of Col. Grigsby in not only 
offering his own services to the government, but in enlisting a body of men 
inured to hardship, with superior qualifications for the service expected of 
them, is a tribute to his good judgment, courage and patriotism that will not 
soon be forgotten in South Dakota.  He was popular with his men, and when the 
regiment was mustered out its officers presented him with a beautiful sword.  
During his absence at Chickamauga his son, Sioux K. Grigsby as deputy attorney 
general, attended to the duties of this office with great ability.

The foregoing comprises a brief sketch of the colonel up to date, but when the 
time comes for the writing of his obituary, many things will undoubtedly have to 
be added to make his record complete.