Did any regiment match the 1st Minnesota for heroism?

Even at Gettysburg there were others. I would submit the following encounters for consideration:

1. 6th Wisconsin, which on July 1 advanced against two large oncoming regiments (2nd Mississippi and 55th North Carolina), and repulsed them, while taking a large number of prisoners.
2. 157th New York, which on July 1 charged into the flank of an entire brigade of Georgians (under Doles) and held them up while being shot to pieces, as the rest of the Eleventh Corps retreated.
3. 13th Georgia, which broke the back of the Eleventh Corps near Barlow's knoll by smashing the 153rd Pennsylvania and then a counterattack by the 17th Connecticut, which kicked off the defeat of the Eleventh Corps.
4. 134th New York and 154th New York, which on July 1 attempted to hold back two onrushing brigades (under Hays and Avery).
5. 14th South Carolina, which on July 1 advanced through a heavy artillery and infantry fire to breach the Federal lines near the Lutheran Seminary, which collapsed the First Corps.
6. 124th New York, which on July 2 charged into the triangular field near Devil's Den to drive back the 1st Texas and ran headlong into another oncoming brigade of Georgians (under Benning), for which they paid a heavy price.
7. 27th Indiana, which on July 3 charged across an open swale near Spangler's Spring, just in time to encounter an oncoming brigade of Virginians (under Smith), who from behind a stone wall proceeded to blast the 27th at very close range.

Great list, Tom. Thank you!
 
Any man that fought in that war was heroic. But 26 NC paid dearly. The 7th NY Heavy Artillery (I think I got that right) at Cold Harbor got beat up bad as well. Those two come to mind.
It was the 8th NY Heavy Artillery. Here is their monument at Cold Harbor National Cemetery. I was there in January.
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7. 27th Indiana, which on July 3 charged across an open swale near Spangler's Spring, just in time to encounter an oncoming brigade of Virginians (under Smith), who from behind a stone wall proceeded to blast the 27th at very close range.

Don't forget the 2nd Massachusetts who charged with the 27th Indiana and Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mudge's famous line in response to the order to attack, "Well, it is murder. But it is the order."

R
 
Similar to the mentioned 8th New York Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery at Petersburg deserve mention. In a charge on June 18, 1864, during the initial assaults on Petersburg, or so-called Second Battle of Petersburg, the 1st Maine Heavies lost 241 men killed or mortally wounded and 371 wounded out of 900 engaged. They went into the charge unsupported - some of the other veteran regiments in their brigade flat out refusing to charge, nearing the end of their enlistments. The veterans were calling out to them not to go forward, but the 1st Maine Heavies went anyway and were shot to pieces in a matter of minutes. They were inexperienced, but they must have known full well what was coming when they stepped off.
 
Some great ones so far, I'm going to throw in the 24th Michigan of the Iron Brigade vs the 26th North Carolina on the first day of Gettysburg. Between them, they numbered about 1300 hundred men. By the end of their duel, they had lost about a thousand men. As a result of the fearsome losses that the 24th MI and the other Iron Brigade regiments took, the fabled unit was never the same. I think this painting by Keith Rocco really does a great job of showing what the emotional state of the men must have been; shell shocked.
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Similar to the mentioned 8th New York Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery at Petersburg deserve mention. In a charge on June 18, 1864 during the initial assaults on Petersburg, or so called Second Battle of Petersburg, the 1st Maine Heavies lost 241 men killed or mortally wounded and 371 wounded out of 900 engaged. They went into the charge unsupported - some of the other veteran regiments in their brigade flat out refusing to charge, nearing the end of their enlistments. The veterans were calling out to them not to go forward, but the 1st Maine Heavies went anyway and were shot to pieces in a matter of minutes. They were inexperienced, but they must have known full well what was coming when they stepped off.
Yep. I was gonna mention them too. Monument at NPS Petersburg:

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Let's not forget the 54th Mass. at Battery Wagner, either. We tend to feel about our pet units the way a football fan feels about his (or her) team. They're the best in the conference, division, league, etc. Truth is these units were madly heroic, especially by contemporary standards. Sometimes that heroism was squandered, like the 1st Maine Heavies, other times for tactical gain, like the 1st Minn. Heroes all.
 
I was going by these maps as to whether 7 vs 8 NY HA. Not doubting the 8th's involvment. Just remember reading something that this was the regiments "trial by fire" so to speak and it came at Cold Harbor when they led the attack. Shows the 7th on the right of Barlow.

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So many to name that got no fame...8 out of ten men in the 88th NY were vets from the British army. The 61st and 64th New York were two regiments in the 2cd Corps that were tended to be kept in reserve and never faltered when called upon. The entire Irish Brigade. The regulars in the Army of the Potomac. They set the standard. And btw, the 1st Minn was part of a counterattack composed of many regiments, some from the reformed 3rd Corps and the 2cd Corps. And they took some of there 80% casualties on day 3.
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Try as I might, it is hard to name any particular unit for it's heroism without feeling as if I have dishonored another by not naming them.

There are many heroic units. Any unit that charged Marye's Heights, especially after the first charge. Any one of the regiments from Pickett's or Pettigrew's charge... knowing what happened 6 months prior at Marye's Heights.

Let's not forget any man, North or South, that climbed on board a makeshift warship on any river on our map.
Everytime I read about a cottonclad full of gung-hoe boys I am in awe.

It took valor to stare into the jaws of death, and follow orders, no matter how obviously flawed.

There are too many heroes to name. Thank God for them.
 
Corinth (and Davis Bridge), Oct. 3-5, 1862, is an often overlooked battle with a terrible "butcher's bill". John C. Moore's brigade began the short campaign with 1,892 men. After three days of fighting they had lost 1,295 in casualties for an incredible 68%. In the entire war not a single Confederate brigade lost more in percentage in a single action. And the sad thing is, they were overlooked. Most accounts of the war place Garnett's brigade at Gettysburg at the top of that terrible list with a loss of 65.9%

Another grim statistic from Corinth is the loss of the 6th Missouri Infantry CS which lost 71.3% of their force which places them 4th for the greatest percentage lost in a single action of a Confederate regiment, though like Moore's brigade you wont find it in the books unless you do the math.

The battle flag of the 6th Missouri is on display in the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, still stained with the blood of Ens. William Huff who was wounded nine times in the action but refused to allow his flag to be taken.
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Many mentions here of Gettysburg. What about Buford's cavalry on the first day? Holding up Heth and other confederate units for a number of hours. What was their casualty rate?
 
All discussion so far has focused on infantry. How about the Bigelow's 9th Massachusetts Artillery Battery at Gettysburg. The noted painting of Custer and Hampton charging at each other with drawn swords shows them followed by men of the 1st Michigan and 2nd South Carolina Cavalry regiments, respectively.
 
Similar to the mentioned 8th New York Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery at Petersburg deserve mention. In a charge on June 18, 1864 during the initial assaults on Petersburg, or so called Second Battle of Petersburg, the 1st Maine Heavies lost 241 men killed or mortally wounded and 371 wounded out of 900 engaged. They went into the charge unsupported - some of the other veteran regiments in their brigade flat out refusing to charge, nearing the end of their enlistments. The veterans were calling out to them not to go forward, but the 1st Maine Heavies went anyway and were shot to pieces in a matter of minutes. They were inexperienced, but they must have known full well what was coming when they stepped off.
My 3x great grandfather was in Company K of the 1st Maine Heavies. He was wounded in three places in that charge. His brother was as well. Somehow they both survived.
 
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