[History] The First Minnesota at Gettysburg

[Atterdag]

Author: Last Roman
Original Thread: The First Minnesota at Gettysburg

The First Minnesota at Gettysburg

Background: This was the first volunteer regiment raised after Lincoln called for troops, being offered by Minnesota Governor Jim Ramsey, who happened to be in Washington DC at the time. Time and again, it would take heavy causalities but fought with bravery and distinction until mustered out of service at Fort Snelling in 1864. Many of it's veterans would serve in other Minnesota units still fighting in the eastern front.

At Gettysburg: The thing the regiment is most famous for is their actions at Gettysburg, during the 2nd day of the battle. Their actions prevented a serious breach in the Union line near the Cemetery Ridge. General Winfield Hancock ordered the regiment to assault Wilcox's Alabama Brigade, being outnumbered 5-to-1, to buy time for reinforcements. The regiment charged over 100 yards of open ground to meet the Confederates, and held them off for 5 minutes, until the regiment commander, Colonel Colville, fell and the Confederates started to surround the regiment. The 1st went back into position and prepared for the Confederate counter-attack, but the Confederates retreated when they could not find reinforcements. Of the 262 Minnesotans who made the daring charge, only 47 remained. It was the greatest percentage of causalities in the American Civil War.

The Charge:



Later, General Hancock, who had ordered the regiment to charge the Confederate's position, wrote:

"I had no alternative but to order the regiment in. We had no force on hand to meet the sudden emergency. Troops had been ordered up and were coming on the run, but I saw that in some way five minutes must be gained or we were lost. It was fortunate that I found there so grand a body of men as the First Minnesota. I knew they must lose heavily and it caused me pain to give the order for them to advance, but I would have done it [even] if I had known every man would be killed. It was a sacrifice that must be made. The superb gallantry of those men saved our line from being broken. No soldiers on any field, in this or any other country, ever displayed grander heroism."



http://rhet5662.class.umn.edu/heroes/1stmin.html
http://www1.minn.net/~cbarden/firstmn.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Min...nteer_Infantry
http://firstminnesota.org/history/first.html