FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kathleen Klehr, Executive Director
(952-445-0378 or kklehr@scottcountyhistory.org)
BLACK SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR
Guest Presenter: Rep. Dean Urdahl
at the Scott County Historical Society
Thursday, February 18, 2016 from 7-8pm
(SHAKOPEE, MN 1/8/2016) — Learn about the role Black soldiers and Dakota Indians played
in fighting for Minnesota in the Civil War; particularly about the life of Van Spence, a black
soldier who moved to Litchfield after the war. Minnesota Representative and Civil War
historian, Dean Urdahl is creating this special Civil War presentation. Free! Thursday, February
18 from 7:00 – 8:00p.m. For details contact us at 952-445-0378 or email Stephanie at
sherrick@scottcountyhistory.org.
About Rep. Urdahl:
A former history teacher, Civil War guru and writer of historical fiction, Dean Urdahl has
authored a series of novels – Uprising, Retribution, Pursuit, Conspiracy! and Three Paths to
Glory – detailing events of the 1860s. Urdahl's family helped settle Litchfield Township in 1856,
two years before Minnesota became the 32nd state. The U.S.-Dakota Conflict started across the
lake from Urdahl's home; his great-great-grandfather buried the conflict's first five victims.
Dean taught American history for 35 years at New London-Spicer schools and is serving his
seventh term in the Minnesota House, representing an area west of the Twin Cities encompassing
all of Meeker County and portions of Wright and McLeod. Urdahl, who chairs the House Legacy
Funding Finance Committee, served as Minnesota’s commissioner to the Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial Commission and was instrumental in forming the Minnesota Civil War
Sesquicentennial Commission.
Dean resides with his wife and editor, Karen, on a hobby farm near Litchfield, Minnesota. He
also has written The Collar and the Gun, the story of Fr. John Kaiser; Touching bases with our
Memories, a history of the Minnesota Twins; and Lives Lived Large: Minnesotans in the Public
Eye. In his spare time, Urdahl enjoys reading, playing softball and basketball and occasionally
participating in Civil War re-enactments.
The Scott County Historical Society is located at 235 Fuller Street South, Shakopee, MN 55379,
three blocks south of the intersection of Co. Rd. 101 and Fuller Street. Visit us online at
www.scottcountyhistory.org
####