south of Fort Ridgely. By 1857, Renville and his cousins had moved north to an area east of the Minnesota River above the Upper Sioux Agency, also known as the Yellow Medicine Agency, close to their old home in Lac qui Parle. There, Gabriel Renville focused on building a large farm of 3,000 acres in an effort to become self-sufficient and support his growing family. His house was modern, featuring "the first brick fireplace in the region, a progressive symbol for that time." Although he joined the Presbyterian Church in 1856 and was appointed as a cabinet member of Stephen Return Riggs's "Hazelwood Republic," in practice he refused to abandon many traditional Dakota practices including polygamy. Over the years, Gabriel Renville married three Sisseton Dakota sisters from Scarlet Plume's band, and had at least ten children. Role in the U.S.-Dakota War During the Dakota War of 1862, Gabrielle Renville helped to organize the "friendly" soldiers' lodge which opposed the hostile warriors attacking white settlements. He was a driving force within the Dakota Peace Party that emerged among the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands, which soon attracted the support of disgruntled Mdewakantons. The peace party sought to end the war and secure the release of prisoners captured by the Dakota warriors, and made it difficult for the warriors to sustain the war effort. Evacuation and stand at Yellow Medicine Agency On the morning of August 19, 1862, having heard about the attacks on Redwood Agency the night before from Solomon Two Stars, Renville rode out toward the Yellow Medicine Agency to check on his relatives. On the way, he encountered Rev. Thomas Smith Williamson, who was initially unconvinced that he was in danger, and persuaded him to flee. Renville went home to find the horses already hitched to the wagon, and headed towards the agency with his family. They later saw Williamson's family crossing the river to flee eastward with an Indian who was friendly toward the whites and had already helped Riggs's family to safety. Four miles on, Renville was accosted by drunken warriors who had pillaged the agency, but forced his way through. At his mother's house, he found that his brother Charles Crawford had managed to return after encountering "hostiles" who wanted to kill him. Later that evening, they received word that their sister Susan Frenier Brown, wife of Joseph R. Brown, had not been killed as they had