The Battle of Wood Lake was a battle in the Dakota War of 1862 in September. By that time in the Dakota War of 1862, the Sioux offensive had slowed considerably, and the Minnesota forces were beginning to implement a plan formulated by Governor Alexander Ramsey. Ramsey's plan, implemented by Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley and frontier commander Charles Eugene Flandrau, had the goals of freeing settlers held captive by the Indians and to "exterminate" or drive the Dakota "forever beyond the borders of the state".