A commemorative march will wind through New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter, Henderson, Belle Plaine, Jordan, Shakopee and Bloomington starting this week, honoring the 1,700 Dakota women, children and elders who were forced to march 150 miles to a Fort Snelling stockade following the bloody 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.

Organizers hope the march will serve as an opportunity to remember this often-overlooked chapter of Minnesota history. The march starts Wednesday and concludes Nov. 13 at a 12:30 p.m. ceremony at the Fort Snelling State Park visitors center in Mendota Heights.

Roughly 600 soldiers and settlers were killed in the war, and 38 Dakota fighters were hanged in what remains the largest mass execution in U.S. history.