1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 1st Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer infantry
regiment
that served in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. It was noted in particular for its gallant service and heavy casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg
.
's call for 75,000 troops in 1861, being offered on April 14 for three months service, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey
happening to be in Washington at the time. It was organized at Fort Snelling, Minnesota
, on April 29 and subsequently remustered for three years service on May 10.
The regiment suffered significant losses during its term of service in the Eastern Theater
. At the First Battle of Bull Run
, it took the heaviest casualties of any Federal regiment on the field, an unfortunate honor that it would hold in more than one battle. At the Battle of Antietam
, the Minnesotans and their parent brigade, commanded by the regiment's former colonel, Willis A. Gorman
, were in General John Sedgwick
's ill-famed assault on the West Woods, resulting in a Union rout from that part of the field. However, as always, the 1st Minnesota fought with courage and distinction.
The men of the 1st Minnesota are most remembered for their actions on July 2, 1863, during the second day's fighting at Gettysburg
, where the regiment prevented the Confederates from pushing the Federals off of Cemetery Ridge
, a position that was to be crucial in the battle.
Maj. Gen.
Winfield S. Hancock, commander of the II Corps
, ordered the regiment to assault a much larger enemy force (a brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox
) telling Col. William Colvill to take the enemy's colors. The fateful charge bought the time needed while other forces were brought up. During the charge, 215 members of the 262 men who were present at the time became casualties, including the regimental commander, Col. William Colvill, and all but three of his regimental Captains.
The unit's flag fell five times and rose again each time. The 47 survivors rallied back to General Hancock under the senior surviving officer, Captain Nathan S. Messick. The 83.0 percent casualty rate stands to this day as the largest loss by any surviving military unit in American history during a single engagement. The unit's flag is now in the Minnesota Capitol's rotunda.
Despite the horrendous casualties the 1st Minnesota had incurred, it continued the fight the next day, helping to repulse Pickett's Charge
. The surviving Minnesotans just happened to have been positioned at one of the few places where Union lines were breached during that engagement, and, as a result, charged the advancing Confederate positions one last time as a unit. It is here that Capt. Messick was killed, Capt. W. B. Farrell mortally wounded, and then command fell to Capt. Henry C. Coates.
The monument to the 1st Minnesota at the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park bears the following inscription:
During the chaotic fighting that took place in the repulse of Pickett's Charge, Private Marshall Sherman of Company C of the 1st Minnesota captured the colors of the 28th Virginia Infantry
. Private Sherman received the Medal of Honor
for his exploit. The flag was taken back to Minnesota as a prize of war and is kept but not publicly displayed at the Minnesota Historical Society
. In the mid-1990s, several groups of Virginians threatened to sue the Society to return the 28th Virginia's battle flag to the Old Dominion. However, the Minnesota Attorney General advised that such threats were without a legal basis and the flag remains in the possession of the Society to this day.
Cpl Henry O'Brien repeatedly picked up the fallen colors of the 1st Minnesota, and carried a wounded comrade back to the Union lines despite being knocked out by a bullet to the head and shot in the hand. He was awarded a Medal of Honor
for his heroism.
, serving later in 1863 in the Bristoe Campaign
and the subsequent Mine Run Campaign. It was mustered out of service upon completion of its enlistment on April 29, 1864, at Fort Snelling. Enough of the regiment's veterans reenlisted to form the nucleus of the 1st Minnesota Battalion of Infantry which returned to Virginia and served through the end of the war. Other veterans provided officers for the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment
.
Bull Run
Edwards Ferry
Fair Oaks
Savage Station
Glendale
Vienna
Antietam
Fredricksburg
Chancellorville
Gettysburg
Bristow
) traces its roots back to the historic 1st Minnesota Volunteers.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
that served in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It was noted in particular for its gallant service and heavy casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
.
Organization and early service
The 1st Minnesota was the first state volunteer regiment formally tendered to the Federal government under Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's call for 75,000 troops in 1861, being offered on April 14 for three months service, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey was an American politician. He was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Alexander Ramsey was elected from Pennsylvania as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the 28th and 29th congresses from March 4, 1843 to March 4, 1847...
happening to be in Washington at the time. It was organized at Fort Snelling, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, on April 29 and subsequently remustered for three years service on May 10.
The regiment suffered significant losses during its term of service in the Eastern Theater
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
. At the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
, it took the heaviest casualties of any Federal regiment on the field, an unfortunate honor that it would hold in more than one battle. At the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, the Minnesotans and their parent brigade, commanded by the regiment's former colonel, Willis A. Gorman
Willis A. Gorman
Willis Arnold Gorman was an American lawyer, soldier, politician, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, were in General John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War, killed by a sniper at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.-Early life:Sedgwick was born in the Litchfield Hills town of...
's ill-famed assault on the West Woods, resulting in a Union rout from that part of the field. However, as always, the 1st Minnesota fought with courage and distinction.
Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day
The Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day was an attempt by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to capitalize on his first day's success. He launched the Army of Northern Virginia in multiple Gettsyburg Battlefield attacks on the flanks of the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G...
, where the regiment prevented the Confederates from pushing the Federals off of Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...
, a position that was to be crucial in the battle.
Maj. Gen.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Winfield S. Hancock, commander of the II Corps
II Corps (ACW)
There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...
, ordered the regiment to assault a much larger enemy force (a brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox
Cadmus M. Wilcox
Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
) telling Col. William Colvill to take the enemy's colors. The fateful charge bought the time needed while other forces were brought up. During the charge, 215 members of the 262 men who were present at the time became casualties, including the regimental commander, Col. William Colvill, and all but three of his regimental Captains.
The unit's flag fell five times and rose again each time. The 47 survivors rallied back to General Hancock under the senior surviving officer, Captain Nathan S. Messick. The 83.0 percent casualty rate stands to this day as the largest loss by any surviving military unit in American history during a single engagement. The unit's flag is now in the Minnesota Capitol's rotunda.
Despite the horrendous casualties the 1st Minnesota had incurred, it continued the fight the next day, helping to repulse Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
. The surviving Minnesotans just happened to have been positioned at one of the few places where Union lines were breached during that engagement, and, as a result, charged the advancing Confederate positions one last time as a unit. It is here that Capt. Messick was killed, Capt. W. B. Farrell mortally wounded, and then command fell to Capt. Henry C. Coates.
The monument to the 1st Minnesota at the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park bears the following inscription:
During the chaotic fighting that took place in the repulse of Pickett's Charge, Private Marshall Sherman of Company C of the 1st Minnesota captured the colors of the 28th Virginia Infantry
28th Virginia Infantry
The 28th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia....
. Private Sherman received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his exploit. The flag was taken back to Minnesota as a prize of war and is kept but not publicly displayed at the Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
. In the mid-1990s, several groups of Virginians threatened to sue the Society to return the 28th Virginia's battle flag to the Old Dominion. However, the Minnesota Attorney General advised that such threats were without a legal basis and the flag remains in the possession of the Society to this day.
Cpl Henry O'Brien repeatedly picked up the fallen colors of the 1st Minnesota, and carried a wounded comrade back to the Union lines despite being knocked out by a bullet to the head and shot in the hand. He was awarded a Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his heroism.
Later service
The 1st Minnesota continued in the Army of the PotomacArmy of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, serving later in 1863 in the Bristoe Campaign
Bristoe Campaign
The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...
and the subsequent Mine Run Campaign. It was mustered out of service upon completion of its enlistment on April 29, 1864, at Fort Snelling. Enough of the regiment's veterans reenlisted to form the nucleus of the 1st Minnesota Battalion of Infantry which returned to Virginia and served through the end of the war. Other veterans provided officers for the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment
1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment
The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Heavy Artillery Regiment was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery mustered in at St. Paul, and Rochester, Minnesota, between November 1864 and February 1865...
.
Casualties
The 1st Minnesota Infantry suffered the loss of 10 officers and 177 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 2 officers and 97 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 286 fatalities. and 609 wounded.http://www.1stMinnesota.netBull Run
Edwards Ferry
Fair Oaks
Savage Station
Glendale
Vienna
Antietam
Fredricksburg
Chancellorville
Gettysburg
Bristow
Colonels of the regiment
- Colonel Willis A. GormanWillis A. GormanWillis Arnold Gorman was an American lawyer, soldier, politician, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
- April 29, 1861, to October 1, 1861. - Colonel Napoleon J.T. DanaNapoleon J.T. DanaNapoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana was a career U.S. Army officer who fought with distinction during the Mexican–American War and served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
- October 2, 1861, to February 3, 1862. - Colonel Alfred SullyAlfred SullyAlfred Sully , was a military officer during the American Civil War and during the Indian Wars on the frontier. He was also a noted painter.-Biography:...
- February 3, 1862, to September 26, 1862. - Colonel George N. MorganGeorge N. MorganGeorge Nelson Morgan was a Union general in the American Civil War. Morgan was born in Ontario, Canada, then moved to Minnesota and took up shipbuilding. He joined the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and advanced from Private to Colonel, commanding the 1st Minnesota at the Battle of...
- September 26, 1862, to May 5, 1863. - Colonel William Colvill - May 6, 1863, to May 4, 1864.
Continued lineage
The 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division (Minnesota Army National GuardMinnesota Army National Guard
The Minnesota Army National Guard, along with the Minnesota Air National Guard, is an element of the Minnesota National Guard. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States...
) traces its roots back to the historic 1st Minnesota Volunteers.
Further reading
- Imholte, John Q., The First Volunteers: History of the first Minnesota Volunteer Regiment, 1861-1865. Minneapolis: Ross & Haines, 1963. Out of print.
- Moe, Richard, The Last Full Measure: The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1993, ISBN 978-0-8050-2309-1
External links
- Roster of the First Minnesota
- Poem: The Charge of the First Minnesota
- Lieutenant William Lochren's account of the First Minnesota at Gettysburg, read January 14, 1890.
- Leehan, Brian. Pale Horse at Plum Run: The First Minnesota at Gettysburg
- 1st Minnesota Regiment Monument at Gettysburg
- National Guard Heritage Series Painting of the First Minnesota at Gettysburg.
- Manuscript collections about the First Minnesota are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society
- First Minnesota, Co D ~ Lincoln Guards living history organization
