NEW ULM — As Bob Burgess and his staff began preparing an exhibit on the 150th anniversary of the Dakota-U.S. War, they realized their reach was going to exceed their grasp.

“As you delve into this, it’s so complex. We had to throttle back our appetite for presentation of the war because of the scope. It was so massive,” said Burgess, director of the Brown County Historical Society in New Ulm.

As the anniversary approaches — it began Aug. 17, 1862, when four young Dakota killed five settlers — historians, the public and the Dakota struggle with how to portray and mark the events, which resulted in the mass execution of 38 Dakota in Mankato in December of that year.

In Brown County, which was at the heart of the battles, including a siege at New Ulm, Burgess said they are focusing on the settlers who died and fought as well as the stories of the Dakota who were involved.

In the end, he said, the goal is to gather and display as much information as possible about the complex war’s effects on Brown County.

“It’s important that all the sides be included. I could list 12, maybe 14 reasons for how the war started. I don’t think you try to spoon feed anything. People have to learn the information and decide for themselves why the war started,” Burgess said.

He said as interest grows, more families have come forward with stories and mementos of their ancestors who fought or died.

For example, the museum has been loaned a cartridge box from a soldier from a Minnesota militia group involved in the war with the Dakota,

“We also have buildings in town from that time. We have the Forster Building, where there’s still the place where a bullet tore through the wall. The Kiesling House also is still here,” Burgess said.

The two structures were outside the barricaded downtown where women and children had taken cover and were used as positions to keep the attacking Dakota from overrunning the barricade.

Burgess said they’ve also strived to learn all they can about Dakota who were in the county at the time. They’ve identified 14 Dakota who were in the county, although many more would have been involved.

The exhibit will include a touch screen with more than 1,000 faces on it, allowing people to touch it to see their biographies.

There are also stories being gathered from Dakota at Sisseton, S.D., about Dakota scouts who scouted for the U.S. Army during the war. There are stories of other Dakota who warned and protected settlers and stories of those who fought.

“There are (Dakota) family members reviewing what we’re doing. They have direct lineage to those Dakota scouts who worked for Sibley and they have family members who fought. You have this very complex situation and you stir it up, and it gets complicated,” Burgess aid.

Darla Gebhardt is a research archivist at the museum whose great-grandfather defended New Ulm. She said the battles there were important.

“There was a lot of concern. If they passed New Ulm, (the fight) would go to Nicollet and Blue Earth counties.”

The society’s website (browncohistoricalsoc.org) has more information and a downloadable booklet about the events.

The Blue Earth County Historical Society has chosen not to create a special exhibit to mark the 150th anniversary. (A portion of their permanent museum display describes the war.)

“We’re not doing a physical exhibit. It’s not like, ‘Let’s have a party over this,’ ”  said Jessica Potter, director of the Historical Society.

The society has started monthly events bringing in Dakota speakers to talk about various aspects of the Dakota culture.

“We are focusing on the culture. My goal is to raise the understanding,” Potter said. “We can maybe have a civil discussion.”

The society also is planning to install a plaque in Reconciliation Park, located near the library in Mankato and the site of the hanging. It will list the names of the 38 Dakota executed.

Potter said the society wants to form a larger group to look at possibly adding other monuments or memorials in the area.