UnionMinnesota

1st Minnesota Infantry

Union · Formed 1861-04-29 · Mustered out 1864-05-05
Raised From
Minnesota
Initial Strength
262
Formed
1861-04-29
Mustered Out
1864-05-05

Service Summary

The 1st Minnesota Infantry was a Union regiment raised in Minnesota during the American Civil War. The regiment was recruited from Minnesota. It mustered into service with an initial strength of approximately 262 soldiers. The regiment was formed on April 29, 1861. It was mustered out on May 5, 1864.

Key Engagements

Battles and campaigns in which the 1st Minnesota Infantry served. Linked entries open the engagement's full record.

1861 · VirginiaFirst Bull Run
1862 · MarylandAntietamView record ›
VirginiaFredericksburg
July 2, 1863Gettysburg

Distinctive Record

On July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg, the 1st Minnesota was ordered to charge a far larger Confederate force to buy time for the Union line to reform. In five minutes they suffered 82% casualties - the highest single-engagement loss of any Union regiment - and saved the Union center.

Civil War context

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.

Source

Regimental data from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service (public domain). Reference: National Park Service.

Questions about this regiment

What was the 1st Minnesota Infantry?
The 1st Minnesota Infantry was a Union regiment raised in Minnesota during the American Civil War. It was formed on April 29, 1861.
Where was the 1st Minnesota Infantry raised?
The regiment was raised in Minnesota.
What battles did the 1st Minnesota Infantry fight in?
The 1st Minnesota Infantry saw action at First Bull Run (1861), Antietam (1862), Fredericksburg, Gettysburg (July 2, 1863).
How large was the 1st Minnesota Infantry?
The regiment mustered in with an initial strength of approximately 262 soldiers.
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