Henry Benjamin Whipple

Henry Benjamin Whipple (February 15, 1822 – September 16, 1901) was an American religious leader and activist. He was the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota and gained a reputation as a humanitarian and an advocate for Native Americans.

After ordination in 1848, Whipple served parishes in Rome, New York, and Chicago, where he gained a reputation for his service to poor immigrant groups. His Chicago ministry drew him to the attention of the newly formed Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, which elected him its first bishop in 1859. He served until his death in 1901.

Although concerned with establishing his denomination in the new state of Minnesota, Whipple soon began to champion the cause of Native American groups in the state against what he saw as an abusive and corrupt Federal policy towards Native Americans. He is best known for his clemency pleas in favor of a group of Dakota who fought against the United States government in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 in the area around New Ulm, Minnesota. On December 26, 1862, the largest mass execution in U.S. history occurred in Mankato during the pause in US military operations. Thirty-eight Dakota were hanged for war crimes in the conflict. A total of 303 were sentenced to be hanged but President Abraham Lincoln commuted 265 in the largest mass commutation on record. Lincoln's intervention was not popular at the time. Two commemorative statues are located on the site of the hangings (now home to the Blue Earth County Library and Reconciliation Park). He was referred to as "Straight Tongue" by some Dakota because of his honesty in dealing with them.

Whipple was a founder of Shattuck St. Mary's school in Faribault, Minnesota, and built the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour.

Early life Born in Adams, New York, Whipple was raised in the Presbyterian church but became an Episcopalian through the influence of his grandparents and his wife, Cornelia, whom he married in 1842.

From 1847 to 1850, Whipple studied theology with William Dexter Wilson, the rector of Christ Church in Sherburne and later one of the early faculty members of Cornell University.

Career

Whipple was ordained a deacon on August 17, 1849, became rector of Zion Church in Rome, New York, in November 1849, and was ordained priest on July 16, 1850. He served as rector of Zion Church from 1849 to 1857, becoming known both for the size and wealth of his parish and for his work among the poor.

In 1857, Whipple helped organize and became the first rector of the Church of the Holy Communion on Chicago's South Side, the first free church in the city, meaning that parishioners did not have to pay for their pews.

First Bishop of Minnesota Whipple's new diocese covered nearly , with few roads and scattered settlement as well as an estimate of nearly seventeen thousand "wandering Indians". In the spring of 1860 he moved his family to Faribault, establishing it as the see of the diocese. Whipple had previously conducted a letter campaign over the state of federal Indian affairs, writing to President James Buchanan, Minnesota congress members, Episcopal groups, and more. Lincoln responded to Whipple in early 1862, laying the groundwork for his meeting Whipple in September of that year.

In 1867, Whipple made the following concrete suggestions for reform: perfecting the reservation system, land grants to individuals with "inalienable title, an adequate school system, and a system of inspection of agencies, schools, and employees.

Dakota War of 1862

His attitude was denounced most bitterly after the Dakota War of 1862, when, in appeals to President Abraham Lincoln and through the press, Whipple opposed wholesale executions and extermination or deportation of the Dakota. Whipple even criticized his distant cousin and former Minnesota governor, Colonel Henry Sibley in such matters.

Whipple then traveled to Washington, D.C., and met president Abraham Lincoln at the White House on September 10, 1862. Whipple's cousin was Major General Henry Wager Halleck, Lincoln's commander-in-chief, who requested the meeting. Whipple wished to speak to the president about the conflict that had broken out in Minnesota and to bring Lincoln's attention to the larger conduct of the federal Office of Indian Affairs, which he saw as corrupt. Following the meeting, Lincoln said that Whipple's testimony had "shaken him down to his boots." On December 6, Lincoln granted reprieves to 265 Dakota, approving 38 to be executed citing evidence of murder or rape. The hanging is the single largest execution in American history.

Henry B. Whipple died on September 16, 1901, having survived his coadjutor Mahlon Norris Gilbert. He is buried beneath the altar of the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault, Minnesota.

State senator David Wager (1804–1870) was his uncle; and United States Army General Henry Halleck (1815–1872) was his first cousin. He was related to captain John Whipple, early settler of Providence, Rhode Island.

Honors Whipple was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1894.

He was elected as the first president of the Florida Audubon Society (FAS) in 1900, a year before his death.

Legacy Whipple is the namesake for the Bishop Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, built in 1965.

Bishop Whipple Hall at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, is a building which was originally a prep school built by Episcopalians but which was purchased by Norwegian Lutherans in 1891 as the main building of their newly founded Concordia College.

The main boy's dormitory at Shattuck is called Whipple Hall.