1st Minnesota Infantry

James S.

Private
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Location
San Antonio, Texas
I have always been fascinated by and always wanting to learn about this brave & incredible unit. I have a few books on the regiment as well.

On April 14, 1861, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey, visiting Washington shortly after the bombing of Fort Sumter, tendered the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry to the Federal government under Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops. It was organized at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on April 29 and remustered for three years service on May 10.

The First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment mustered for a three-year term (1861-1864) in the Union Army at the outset of the American Civil War when the prevailing enlistment period was three months. During offensive movements, it sustained high percentages of casualties at the Battles of First Bull Run (20%[1]) and Antietam (28%) and a catastrophic 82% at the Battle of Gettysburg. It is most noted for its service on the second day at Gettysburg.

At a pivotal moment in the 1863 struggle at Gettysburg, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, commander of II Corps, ordered the First Minnesota to charge into a situation where it would be outnumbered by at least 5 to 1. The general's purpose was to buy minutes of delay with human lives, and one survivor spoke afterward that he expected the advance to result in "death or wounds to [every single one of the attackers]."[2] The regiment fully and instantly obeyed the order, suffering at least 82% casualties among those making the attack; this action contributed significantly to the preservation of a key Union defensive position on the heights of Cemetery Ridge.

When given the opportunity to speak about the regiment after the war, both General Hancock and U.S. President Calvin Coolidge were unrestrained in their praise. Hancock placed its heroism highest in the known annals of war[3] and ascribed unsurpassed gallantry to the famed attack.[4] Emphasizing the critical nature of the circumstances on July 2 at Gettysburg, President Coolidge considered, "Colonel Colvill and those eight companies of the First Minnesota are entitled to rank as the saviors of their country."[5]

Company Earliest Moniker Primary Location of Recruitment Earliest Captain
A Pioneer Guard St. Paul Alexander Wilkin
B Stillwater Guard Stillwater Carlyle A. Bromley
C St. Paul Volunteers St. Paul William H. Acker
D Lincoln Guards Minneapolis Henry R. Putnam
E St. Anthony Zouaves St. Anthony George N. Morgan
F Red Wing Volunteers or Goodhue County Volunteers Red Wing William J. Colvill, Jr.
G Faribault Guards Faribault William H. Dike
H Dakota County Volunteers Hastings Charles Powell Adams
I Wabasha Volunteers Wabasha John H. Pell
K Winona Volunteers Winona Henry C. Lester
Source - Wikipedia
 
Some Books on the 1st Minnesota.

No More Gallant a Deed: A Civil War Memoir of the First Minnesota Volunteers by James A. Wright Steven J. Keillor (Editor)

The Last Full Measure: The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers by Richard Moe

Pale Horse At Plum Run: The First Minnesota at Gettysburg by Brian Leehan

The 1st MN: Second To None by Richard G. Krom

Every Man Did His Duty; Pictures and Stories of the Men of the First Minnesota by Wayne D. Jorgenson


 
Here's the link to a good timeline of the 1st Minnesota's service:
http://www.firstminnesota.org/history/first.html


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Edit: Company D, 1st Minnesota Regiment posed at the southeast corner of Nicollet Avenue and First Street, Minneapolis. Taken at the outset of the war.

nimg.com%2F736x%2F7c%2Ff4%2F2b%2F7cf42b67e44ad3c6a890d5d78b7e8f9b--historical-pictures-minnesota.jpg

1st. Lt. James A. Wright with other officers of the 1st Minnesota

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1st. Lt. James A. Wright
Birth: Nov. 27, 1840 Death: Aug. 25, 1936
Beverly
Essex County
Massachusetts, USA
Civil War veteran; he enlisted for the Union as a Private in Company F, First Minnesota Infantry, on April 29, 1861. He was a native of Spring Creek, Illinois at the time he enlisted.

He was wounded at the Battle of Bull Run and again at the Battle of Gettysburg, but survived the war.

James was the last survivor of the First Minnesota. He died at his home on August 25, 1936, outliving all of his comrades. He was 95 years, 8 months and 28 days old.
https://www.fold3.com/page/632602952_james_a_wright/

More info on him here:
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/871
https://commons.stcloudstate.edu/civil-war-in-mn-lives/exhibits/show/hall-of-survivors/jameswright

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Capt. John Ball, Company K and later F, 1st Minnesota Infantry.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/753
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...Sst=25&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15623037&df=all&

IrvineWilliam2.jpg

Color Sergeant William N. Irvine, Company D, 1st Minnesota Infantry.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/428
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...el=all&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15584347&df=all&

4%201st%20Mn%20Soldiers%201.jpg

Four NCOs from Company D. They are identified as follows: Color Sgt. William Irvine seated next to Corporal Thomas Nason. Standing on the left is Corporal Jacob Kouts. Corporal John French stands on the right.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/428

bloomer_s.jpg

Color Sergeant Samuel Bloomer, Company B, 1st Minnesota Infantry. Lost his right leg carrying the colors at Antietam.

More on Sgt. Bloomer here:
http://www.mnopedia.org/person/bloomer-samuel-1835-1917
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/129
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...GSst=25&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=5661828&df=all&

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Corporal Frank J. Mead, Company H and B, 1st Minnesota Infantry.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/190
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...Sst=25&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15575316&df=all&

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George A. Clark, Company A, 1st Minnesota Infantry.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/15
Charles B. Boardman, Company K, 1st Minnesota Infantry.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/1126
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...el=all&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=24726526&df=all&

Adelbert "Del" Bryant, Company D, 1st Minnesota Infantry. Photo taken while encamped at Poolesville, Maryland, Nov. 1861.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/379
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...Sst=25&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=36844909&df=all&

NeedhamEdward.jpg

Corporal Edward Z. Needham, Company G, 1st Minnesota Infantry. Photo was taken on September 9, 1863, in Alexandria, Virginia.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/945
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...el=all&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=60405763&df=all&

MartyAdam.jpg

Corporal Adam Marty, Company B, 1st Minnesota Infantry. Photo taken in Philadelphia while recovering from a leg wound suffered at Gettysburg.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/181
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...Sst=25&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=35530700&df=all&

ShermanMarshall.jpg

Private Marshall Sherman, Company C, 1st Minnesota Infantry. Awarded the MOH for capturing the battle flag of the 28th Virginia Infantry at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
http://www.1stminnesota.net/#/soldier/337
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7915535
 
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“Battle of Gettysburg” oil painting by Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum. This painting hangs in the Governor’s Reception Room at the Minnesota State Capitol.
 
Battle Flags of the 1st Minnesota Infantry.

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On May 31, 1861, the ladies of Winona Minnesota presented this flag to Company K of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, who then presented it to the full regiment. It was carried at First Bull Run, July 21, 1861, where it was damaged during the fighting. Afterwards, it was retired from service and sent back to Minnesota.

The Flag of our regiment, riddled with cannon ball, buck-shot and bullets, and shot by the enemy at the Battle of Bull Run… is this day returned to the state…. It affords me the highest satisfaction to testify that it was borne through that greatest of all battles ever fought on this continent, with its fold unfurled in the face of traitors. I beg of you, on behalf of the gallant officers and men, to preserve it as a relic in the history of our state and her soldiers.

Colonel Willis Gorman
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment
July 31, 1861

http://collections.mnhs.org/battleflags/index.php/10000790

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In May 1861 the ladies from Lake City and Wabasha, Minnesota purchased this flag and presented it to Company I of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Regiment. Instead of having stars in the canton of this flag, a Federal eagle is displayed with the words "May God Protect the Right" on the ribbon held in the eagle's beak. This design is unique from other national flags carried by Minnesota regiments in the Civil War.

After the original national flag used by the regiment was sent back to St. Paul due to battle damage at First Bull Run, this company flag probably served as the regiment's color until it, too, was retired for display in the state capitol on November 30, 1861.
http://collections.mnhs.org/battleflags/index.php/10000792

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Anna Ramsey, wife of Governor Alexander Ramsey, on behalf of the St. Paul Ladies, presented this color to the regiment as they were assembled at the first state capitol building on May 25, 1861. On one side of the flag, encircled by 34-stars, was a painted state seal with the words, “First Regiment Minnesota Volunteers.” The reverse side had a painted Federal eagle with the words, “E Pluribus Unum.” The flag was made by Horstmann Brothers, a military goods supplier in Philadelphia.
http://collections.mnhs.org/battleflags/index.php/10003847

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Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey presented this color as a gift from the citizens of St. Paul to the First Minnesota in April 1863 at their camp in Falmouth, Virginia. Emblazoned on the obverse was the Federal eagle device and on the reverse the state seal. Inscribed in small shields were the battles in which the 1st Minensota took part.
http://collections.mnhs.org/battleflags/index.php/10000791

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The battalion, originally consisting of Companies A and B, was formed in May 1864. The unit included re-enlisted soldiers from the recently disbanded 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment and new recruits. The battalion saw action in the assault on Petersburg (June 1864), Deep Bottom (July 1864), Ream’s Station (August 1864), Hatcher’s Run (October 1864), and in the final Confederate surrender at Appomattox (April 1865). Companies C to I, organized during the winter and early spring of 1865, were ordered to northern Virginia, but arrived too late to take part in military operations.

While at Hatcher’s Run in 1865, the unit was forgotten on the skirmish line after the rest of the Second Corps withdrew from the battlefield. Fearing they would be overrun, members of the 1st Battalion tore their national flag into pieces and distributed them throughout the unit so that the flag could not be captured by the enemy. This blue regimental color was spared the same fate by being concealed under the color bearer’s uniform and returned safely with the rest of the battalion to the Union lines.
http://collections.mnhs.org/battleflags/index.php/10000996
 
Corps badge worn during the Civil War by Sergeant Chesley Billings Tirrell of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

220px-MHS_1st_Minnesota_Insignia.jpg
 
I can't look at any of these posts without getting chills. Love the 1st MN! Being from Minnesota, of course I'd agree with Coolidge in saying they saved the country at Gettysburg. They gained Hancock his 5 minutes and then some :smile: Again, I'm bias but very proud!
 
Rosters for the 1st Minnesota.

https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/1st_Regiment,_Minnesota_Infantry

Company A - many men from Ramsey County, and Scott County- Roster, page 20.
Company B - many men from Washington County - Roster, page 24.
Company C - many men from Anoka County, Chisago County, and Scott County -Roster, page 28.
Company D - many men from Wright County and Stearns County - Roster, page 34.
Company F - many men from Goodhue County and Ramsey County - Roster, page 40.
Company G - many men from Rice County and Steele County - Roster, page 44
Company H - many men from Dakota County - Roster, page 48.
Company I - many men from Wabasha County - Roster, page 42.
Company K - many men from assorted counties and states - Roster, page 48.
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 3,277 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.
 
Some primary sources:

-Papers of Christopher B. Heffelfinger (Company D), Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota. Contents include an article from The Minneapolis Journal, June 26, 1897, about the regiment at Gettysburg; a newspaper article, A Trip to Gettysburg, circas June 16, 187- [last digit missing], Journal of 10 Winonians to Gettysburg; an article dated December 2, 1903 by Major C. B. Heffelfinger; an account book (ledger); and a diary, which mentions that at Gettysburg, a [minie] ball pierced his coat and made a hole at the top of the pocket-book where it broke a pencil on the inside cover, glancing off, and searing the skin of his chest almost knocking him down.

-Diary of I. Taylor, Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia, 23 Ellis Library, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. Detailed entries with times and places. On June 16, he recorded two tombstone inscriptions from Dumfries, Virginia dating to the 1730s. On June 17, Taylor writes, "Col. Lowell and Corp'l Staples are 'sun-struck.'" On June 26, during a halt at Mount Hope Church, Virginia, Taylor spoke with a local, Isaac Wortman, 80 years of age, a drafted veteran of the War of 1812. The regiment crossed the lower pontoon bridge of the Potomac at Edward's Ferry at 10 p.m. on June 26. On June 29, "Col. Colville is put under arrest for allowing his troops to cross a creek on a log instead of fording." On July 2, Taylor wrote, "Skirmishing commences about eight a.m. At 9-30 P.H. and I take a cup of coffee. At 3-15 p.m. our artillery opens on the left. At 3-40 our infantry advance across plain. Rebel battery opens at 4 p.m." The July 4 entry: "The owner of this diary was killed by a shell about sunset July 2nd, 1863 ..."

-James A. Wright, The Story of Company F, First Regiment Minnesota Infantry, Minnesota Historical Society. Over 60 typewritten pages. Company F was sent off by itself to skirmish some distance to the southwest of the regiment at Gettysburg.

-Account by Daniel Bond. Detailed account, over 20 pages covering the Gettysburg campaign.

-Addresses by Capt. J. N. Searles and Lt Lochren, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S., 1887.

-History written by Charles Muller, Company A, Minnesota Historical Society.

-Marvin Mathew Papers and Correspondence, Minnesota Historical Society. Mathew was wounded on the line by artillery and crawled to the rear on his hands and knees until Charles North helped him the field hospital behind a big rock, until later that evening, when he was taken by ambulance to a hospital in the rear.

-July 30, 1863 letter, six pages, from Alfred Palmer Carpenter. Carpenter writes at length about the actions on July 2 and 3 at Gettysburg, Minnesota History Center.
 
The heroism of the 1st Minnesota is one of the most thrilling and poignant stories of the CW. Too bad it gets less attention than some of the other more popularized assaults at Gettysburg such as Pickett's Charge and that of the 20th Maine.
 
The heroism of the 1st Minnesota is one of the most thrilling and poignant stories of the CW. Too bad it gets less attention than some of the other more popularized assaults at Gettysburg such as Pickett's Charge and that of the 20th Maine.
@jackt62, I couldn't agree more. Being a Texan, the 1st Minnesota fascinates the hell out of me. They kinda remind me of the Texas Units in Hood's Texas Brigade.
 
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