Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

When Timothy John Duffy was born in August 1846, in Louisiana, United States, his father, Peter Francis Duffy (1809-1879), was 37 and his mother, Margaret Havican Duffy (1832-1867), was 14.

Timothy moved to Eagle Creek. When he was 19 years old, he enlisted in the army on Dec. 23, 1863. He was in the 2nd Minnesota Calvary regiment, Company L.

The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment was a Minnesota USV cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, according to National Park Service. The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment was mustered at Fort Snelling for three year’s service on Dec. 5, 1863, and were mustered out on Nov. 17, 1865 and May 4, 1866. It served entirely in Minnesota, Dakota Territory, and Montana Territory guarding the frontier against the Dakota Indians.

The 2nd Regiment of Cavalry formed in the fall of 1863. This regiment saw most of its service as part of Sully’s Expedition which followed the Missouri River far into Dakota Territory and the region of the Badlands. “For hundreds of years, the Lakota people have called this area mako sica, which literally translates to ‘bad lands.’

“When early French fur trappers passed through this area, they called the area les mauvaises terres a traveser (‘bad lands to travel across’). Since the French trappers spent time with the Lakota, it is likely that the French name is derived directly from the Lakota one,” according to “Mako Sica: Naming the Badlands” at ups.gov.

“The Badlands presents many challenges to easy travel. When it rains in the Badlands, the wet clay becomes slick and sticky, making it very difficult to cross. The jagged canyons and buttes that cover the landscape also make it hard to navigate. The winters are cold and windy, the summers are hot and dry, and the few water sources that exist are normally muddy and unsafe to drink. These factors make the land difficult to survive in, and evidence of early human activity in the Badlands points to seasonal hunting rather than permanent habitation.” In 1922, when Badlands National Park was first proposed as a national park, the suggested name was Wonderland National Park, according to ups.gov.

This regiment saw most of its service as part of Sully’s Expedition which followed the Missouri River far into Dakota Territory. The campaign culminated in the battle of Battle of Tah Kah A Kuty (Killdeer Mountain) on July 31, 1864, and saw the expedition push as far west as the Yellowstone River in what is today eastern Montana. The Crow Indians (who displaced the Shoshonis) named Yellowstone River as Encheda-cahchi-ichi, or Elk River, derived from the migration route of elk from their summer range on the Yellowstone highlands to wintering grounds in the lower valleys paralleled the stream, according to Yellowstone: Up Close and Personal.

The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry had four enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds received in battle and an additional three officers and 56 enlisted men died of disease. No mention is made of the Dakota who were killed.

Private Duffy was discharged on May 32, 1864. He was in the army for five months and eight days. Company L, which was the company that Private Duffy was involved in, was mustered out on May 4, 1866.

Timothy John Duffy married Mary Caroline Stemmer on June 6, 1867, in Shakopee.

Timothy and Mary had 11 children: William F. (1869-1952); Anna M. (1870-1917); Andrew G. (1872-1900); Catherine A. (1874-Deceased); Timothy Earl John (1876-1941); Mary Frone (1878-Deceased); Gertrude Violet (1880-1955); Helen Marie (1882-1919); Margaret M. (1884-1961); Walter Wilfort (1886-1959); and Florence Adeline (1889-1972).

Timothy died June 4, 1917, in Eagle Creek Township, Scott, Minnesota, United States, at age 70, and was buried at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Eagle Creek (Shakopee) Minnesota.

Mary Caroline Stemmer Duffy, who was born in 1850, died in 1919, and was buried with her husband, Timothy John Duffy, at Calvary Catholic Cemetery.