Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024
Charles August Manaige was born December 7, 1847, in Madison, Wisconsin. His father, Pierre Manaige, was a native of France, and his mother, Angelique Decora Manaige, was part-Winnebago, or Ho-Chunk Indian.
Charles and his family came to Minnesota in the early 1840s. His father was an interpreter for the government, sent to avoid bloodshed and disputes in the territory. The Winnebago first settled at what is now Long Prairie in Todd County. Charlie remembered that he never had seen a white man, except his father, until he was about six years old.
According to Charlie, “We had few guns and the bow and arrow was the principal weapon. We were able to shoot any kind of game…buffalo to geese and ducks. The older braves occasionally gave us pointers and we soon equaled many of them as marksmen. Marksmanship was considered a great accomplishment and we used to have target practice and prize matches. We would drive a short stick in the ground, about an inch wide, and shoot at sticks about four feet long, with crooks at one end. Strings were strung across the crook in such a manner as to form a shallow basket. A home-made ball about the size of a baseball was used. The players would line up on two sides of a field, and the object of the game was to send the ball across the goal behind the opposite players,” said Charlie Manaige.
Charlie remembered the thrilling dances, usually in honor of the various Winnebago gods. “I recall that when I was a small boy, my mother’s youngest brother was kicked by a pony just before a dance, and was unable to take part. His humiliation was so great that he killed himself. One of the chief gods of the Winnebago was the Thunder Bird, who was supposed to control the elements. When storms raged, dances were held to appease the wrath of the Thunder Bird,” noted Charlie Manaige. Thunderbirds are powerful and warlike avian spirits who animate the gray clouds with thunder and lightning. Together with the Waterspirits, they were the first spirits that Earthmaker created. Their name, Wak’âdja, means “Divine Ones.”
On January 25, 1846, wearing high-heeled boots to give him the required height, Charles A. Manaige enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a private in Company F, First Regiment, Minnesota Heavy Artillery under the command of Captain Hugh J. Owens.
First Minnesota Regiment of Heavy Artillery units were intended to man large guns used in fortifications. They were organized into regiments of twelve companies (sometimes referred to as batteries) and commonly had up to 1,000 men. Charles was in Company F. Because of their size some of these units were taken from garrison duty and converted into infantry. Most were used as garrison troops, and this was the case with the First Minnesota Heavy Artillery. The regiment was recruited in the summer of 1864 and included re-enlisted veterans from other Minnesota units. As soon as organized, each company was sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee where it formed part of the garrison for this strategic point. The regiment remained there until the fall of 1865 when the last companies were mustered out of service.
Charles was honorably discharged in Nashville, Tennessee eight months later, on September 27, 1865.
After the war, Charlie farmed near St. Clair and later operated a butcher shop. He also spent some time at Mankato. As a young man, he visited the Shakopee vicinity frequently, and on July 30, 1870, Charles A. Manaige married Pelagie Eliza Faribault.
They lived in Shakopee for the rest of their lives.
Charles and Pelagie had four children, two sons and two daughters. Isabelle was born in 1871, and married Harvey Randolph Leach in Des Moines, Iowa. They had nine children. Melvin was born in 1872 and died April 12, 1931. He married and lived in Brooklyn, New York. Eugene Curtis was born 1874 and died of tuberculosis in 1903. Grace was born in 1876 and died at Friendship Manor in November 1966.
A familiar figure, Charlie was endeared to young and old. The old veteran, riding in his horse-drawn carriage, made daily trips from his home at the east part of the city to do the family shopping. No matter what the weather, Charlie still would visit downtown Shakopee. Not so many years back, Charlie could be seen morning, noon, and later afternoon, with his grandchildren seated beside him in the carriage, going and coming from the grade school. The duty was one of his greatest pleasures, and the pleasure was vividly recorded on his beaming face, according to Scott County Argus, January 29, 1903.
Charles, at age 82 years old, became the Paul Revere of Shakopee in December 1929. He was driving in town in his horse and buggy when he heard the opening volley of shots happening at the First National Bank. Hightailing the old mare up the main street in Shakopee, he gave the alarm. Charlie was in grave danger of being hit by the barrage of bullets that swept the main street, but he still continued his heroic dash.
Almost ten years later, Charlie had a severe cold which was developed into pneumonia. For several days he was confined to his bed at home, and as his condition became critical, he was moved to the Veteran’s Hospital in Minneapolis, where he died.
Charles A. Manaige, Shakopee’s 91-year-old Civil War veteran, the sole surviving member of General Shield’s Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, died in January 1938. His funeral was at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, with Father Michael McRaith officiating. Interment was at the Valley Cemetery beside his wife, Pelagie Faribault Manaige. Most businesses were closed during the funeral as Shakopee saluted the old soldier.
Bibliography
Scott County Argus, 19 Jan. 1903.