The First Minnesota
By Mitch Berg
In the rush of other events yesterday, I neglected to write a post I’ve had in my mental notes for years. July 2 was the 145th anniversary of the epic charge of the First Minnesota Regiment.
The charge was one of the pivotal moments in the Union victory in the battle of Gettysburg, and arguably of the entire Civil War.
The first of nine regiments of Minnesota troops that fought in the war, the First was the only one to serve in the Army of the Potomac, the key eastern theatre of the war (the other eight regiments served up and down the Mississippi, and in fighting against the Indians in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory).
The First had served throughout the Army of the Potomac’s operations throughout the war; like most veteran regiments, it was down from its initial strength of about 1,000 men when it mustered at Fort Snelling, to 262 on the morning of July 2; the Union army didn’t replace men lost to casualties or illness, preferring to muster new regiments (with the attendant political appointments that went along with forming a new unit).
The First was part of the wave of reinforcements that raced to Gettysburg when it became clear that Lee’s invasion of the North was heading into central Pennsylvania; the day before, Union cavalry under General Buford and the First Union Corps had stopped Lee’s advance in a furious rear-guard action in and around the town of Gettysburg; the First Brigade of the First Division of the First Corps, the “Iron Brigade” – largely Wisconsin and Michigan troops – had suffered eighty percent casualties repelling the Confederate advance until evening and the wave of reinforcements that brought the Minnesotans to the scene.
On July 2, we take up the story by Wayne Pafko at the U of M, and a website on the Regiment:
“To support Maj. Gen. Dan Sickles’ hard-pressed Third Corps, Brig. Gen. John C. Caldwell’s division of the Second Corps was moved to the left, leaving a large gap in the center of the Union line. About 5:00 p.m., parts of Hall’s and Harrow’s brigades were shifted to the left to fill that gap. The First Minnesota was shifted to the left about six hundred yards in support of Evan Thomas’ Company C. Fourth United States Artillery on Cemetery Ridge. From this position, the Minnesotans had a grandstand seat from which to observe some of the war’s most savage and bloody fighting, although at times the smoke of battle obscured their view… When at times the smoke lifted enough to see, the First watched with increasing anxiety as the Union left crumbled under the sledgehammer blows of Longstreet’s Corps. They witnessed the disasters taking place before them, and their apprehension increased rapidly as they saw Sickles’ Third Corps fallback, slowly at first, then in some disorder. The men felt a foreboding of disasters to come. The First Minnesota now occupied the former position of Caldwell’s division. The 262 Minnesotans were hardly an adequate replacement… It was a very thin line, and the batteries on Cemetery Ridge were in grave danger.”
In the fog of war, under immense Confederate pressure, there’d been a snafu, and a Union division had bailed, leaving a hole in the line big enough for Lee to march his entire army through.
It was clear that something had to be done. “…General Hancock, commander of that portion of the battlefield, quickly studied the situation and determined that this Southern rush must be halted, regardless of the hazard. With only a single aid he rode desperately toward the station of the First Minnesota. Reserves had been sent for, they were known to be coming, but the delay might be fatal. If only the approaching troops could be delayed for five minutes, the impending catastrophe could be averted. Hancock galloped madly up to Colonel Colvill and demanded to be told the name of the latter’s regiment; on being told it was the First Minnesota he immediately gave the order to ‘Charge those lines’ and at the same time pointed to the oncoming Confederates.” (P1,p.71)
“Colvill, and every member of the First realized what they were being asked to do – sacrifice themselves to gain the few minutes Hancock and the Union army so desperately needed. Without hesitation, the Minnesotans responded quickly to Colvill’s orders, and, in a moment, the regiment was moving down the gentle slope on the double. The eight companies of 262 men present formed a front of not much more than a hundred yards, as they headed towards the Confederate brigade of more than a thousand men.”
It couldn’t end well, naturally:
The First Minnesota was engaging a force over four times its size. Alfred Carpenter described the advance… “We advanced down the slope till we neared the ravine, and ‘Charge’ rung along the line, and with a rush and a yell we went. Bullets whistled past us; shells screeched over us; canister and grape fell about us; comrade after comrade dropped from the ranks; but on the line went. No one took a second look at his fallen companion. ‘We had no time to weep.'” (C1)
Henry Coates also described the charge… “It seemed as if every step was over some fallen comrade. Yet no man wavers, every gap is closed up… bringing down their bayonets, the boys press forward in unbroken line. Men stumbled and fell. Some stayed down but others got up and continued.” (M1, p.82)
“When the Confederates were only about thirty yards away, Colvill ordered his men to fire a volley into their faces, causing much confusion. Wilcox’s second line returned the fire through the remnants of their own first line, and, according to Colvill, ‘felling more of their own men then ours.’ Colvill shouted, ‘Charge,’ and with a wild yell and leveled bayonets, the First sprang forward, smashing head-on into the somewhat disorganized first line of Wilcox, which recoiled in the confusion back into his second line; both fell back across the dry run and a distance up the far slope…Quickly, the men of the First took whatever shelter they could find behind rocks and the shallow banks of the creek bed, as they began the struggle to win those precious five minutes of time Hancock and the Union army needed. Seemingly confused by the audacious and savage attack upon him, Wilcox’s Alabamians kept their distance from the First, but poured a continuous and heavy fire into the ranks of the Minnesotans. Casualties were extremely heavy…Receiving fire from the front and both flanks, the First could not hold its position much longer, but the attack gained the precious five minutes of time, and a bonus, that the Army of the Potomac needed. Fifteen minutes or more went by – an eternity to the men in the smoky glen. The Confederates poured a murderous fire into the regiment. Meanwhile, Hancock succeeded in rallying some of the Humphrey’s division, which re-entered the fight.”At last the reserves reached the First Minnesota, and the danger was ended. But at what cost…
Of the 262 that started off on the charge, 47 walked out. 82 percent of the regiment was killed or wounded that day.
But it made all the difference; the charge gave Hancock time to reinforce the position along the row of hills, forcing the Confederates back to the lowlands to the west. Reinforced overnight, the row of hills became an impregnable position, into which Lee sent Pickett’s division the next day on its ill-fated charge into a the meatgrinder that broke the back of the Confederate invasion, and with it General Lee’s will and the future of the rebellion.
A monument to the First stands across from the Cathedral above downtown Saint Paul. Many of the First’s officers and men, including Colonel Colvill, are the namesakes of streets around and about Saint Paul.
No word on whether the MinnPost would just as soon forget the whole thing, but for my part, I won’t.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Most of your southern-white-guy-dominated party would like to forget it. Pretty sure the MinnPost, by contrast, generally favors the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Well, the convenient parts of ’em.
I’m sure they’re not too keen on remembering that the 14th Amendment started out partially as a response to a racist gun-control measure.
(Pardon the redundancy).
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Thanks, Mitch, for educating Angryclown about the Minnesotans’ role in the battle. Bet you know a little about the colorful New Yorker, Dan Sickles. Here’s a link for the Mitchketeers:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/sicklesbio.htm
Angryclown has a vid of “Gettysburg” that he likes to watch over the holiday weekend.
You may know that several of the most important battles fought on American soil took place in New York. If it weren’t for Washington’s successful evacuation of Brooklyn and New York in 1776 and Benedict Arnold’s victory at Saratoga the following year, we might all be speaking, well, English right now (but we’d be spelling color with a “u” and talking about wellies and whatnot.)
You may not know of the largely unknown but pivotal naval battle won by Commodore Thomas McDonough on Lake Chambplain in 1814.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
You may know that several of the most important battles fought on American soil took place in New York.
Me? The military history geek? Yes, I certainly do – in fact, I’ve re-read 1776 in the past year. While Churchill noted that you don’t win a war with evacuations, Washington’s successful retreat was both miraculous and vital.
Of course, the battles we actually won to turn the tide were in Jersey…
You may not know of the largely unknown but pivotal naval battle won by Commodore Thomas McDonough on Lake Chambplain in 1814.
Please. I’m a North Dakotan. We’re a maritime people. The salt water is in our veins. I know all about the battle of Lake Champlain.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Good stuff.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Salt water? Dude, Champlain is the biggest freshwater lake in the U.S. after the Great Lakes. And anyone who takes a look at a map can see that Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson River form a mostly navigable, hard-to-defend stretch of waterways linking Canada to New York City and, by the way, potentially cutting New England off from the rest of the states. Kind of important strategically, no? (Not unlike the Mississippi in the Civil War). The Battle of Lake Champlain is, hands down, the most important battle you’ve never heard of.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Mitch said: “Of course, the battles we actually won to turn the tide were in Jersey…”
When you’re playing defense, sometimes you can win by not losing. The invader has to conquer to win. Ask Washington. Or Ho Chi Minh. Or the Iraqi insurgency. Don’t ask Bush, though. Pretty clear he doesn’t know.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Germany surrendered unconditionally in WWI before a foreign invader so much as set a foot on her soil.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Woulda been good to get Britain, France and Russia to beat the piss out of Iraq for several years before we came in at the last minute to grab all the glory, eh?
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:11 pm
By the way, does anyone know what unit John McCain served in at Gettysburg?
Get it? Cause he’s a friggin old guy!
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Germany surrendered unconditionally in WWI
Nope. The armistice was not an unconditional surrender.
It was a negotiated peace (that ended up being on very bad terms to the Germans and, eventually, everyone).
It’s one of the reasons the Allies DID insist on unconditional surrender the next time.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
“Salt water in our veins” is a figure of speech – a colorful localism to show our connection with the maritive lifestyle.
The Battle of Lake Champlain is, hands down, the most important battle you’ve never heard of.
But I’ve heard of it!
I even re-fought it (via Avalon Hill’s classic “Wooden Ships and Iron Men”).
And lost!
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
The clown might note that the 1776 naval battle not far from the 1814 one was also rather pivotal in the formation of the US, and that the undisputed heroic conduct of one Benedict Arnold as the commander was key to that victory. The 1814 battle came at a critical time for peace negotiations and territory, while the 1776 one set up the surrender at Saratoga. Lake Champlain was a pretty important highway back then.
But eggheads in the US Navy argue that Perry’s victory at Put-In-Bay in 1813 was more important. How many folks know of naval battles in Ohio?
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Re: The WWI Amistice.
I stand corrected. The terms were bloody awful, tho — complete demilitarization, loss of territory held before WWI,etc. I was most surprised to see that the Kaiser’s abdication was not part of the armistice terms. He did it on his own with the armistice still unsigned.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Theodore Roosevelt would disagree with those eggheads, nerdbert. He called the Battle of Lake Champlain, a/k/a the Battle of Plattsburgh, “the greatest naval battle of the war.”
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext05/7trnv10.htm
Remember when Republican presidents used to be smart? Not if you were born after Nixon resigned.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Another famous battle that took place in NYC. Summer 1863. After going through Hell in Gettysburg, many soldiers were redeployed to NYC to put down the anti-US/anti-Lincoln rebellion. The citizens of NYC largely sided with the slave-owning southerners. No doubt the nice citizens of NYC wanted to cut-and-run in August 1863 to get out of Lincoln’s war based on lies.
Perhaps the clown had some relatives in the pro-Confederacy riots of 1863.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:16 am
The Battle of Valcour Island was certainly important, nerdbert. As you note, it was an American loss that delayed the British and set up the victory at Saratoga. And Saratoga was important, in large part, because it convinced the French to throw their weight behind American independence. Another British win that led to strategic disaster.
July 4th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Read and learn, Chuck. It’s the only way to shed your profound ignorance.
Yes, New York’s politics were mostly Democratic, and partly Copperhead, in the Civil War. And the city was a center of antiwar agitation, especially after the Emancipation Proclamation and the start of the draft.
The immigrants who rioted – mostly Irish – were motivated by racism and the prospect of losing their grip on the lowest rung of the American economy through competition with millions of emancipated blacks.
So Minnesota had a regiment at Gettysburg? How cute. New York had more than 90 – more than any other state.
Here’s the order of battle: http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/getttour/aporg.htm
Of course you may also want to look at the role of New York and Brooklyn in the abolition movement (see, e.g., Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher), the huge numbers of New Yorkers who served in the war (and the state’s role in making and keeping Lincoln president (the reception given to Lincoln’s pivotal speech at Cooper Union, the crucial support of William H. Seward during Lincoln’s presidency) before making too many more silly statements.
Suffice to say, while there was considerable anti-war feeling in New York during the Civil War, the war wouldn’t have been won without New York. And while the Democrats were the Southern-leaning anti-black party in 1863, it’s now the Republican party. Your snarkily ignorant attempt to parallel the Civil War with Shrub’s invasion of Iraq doesn’t work.
You have been taken to school. Go forth and be stupid no more.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Hey Mitch, I posted a couple of replies that include links – probably sitting in your moderator queue.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Thanks!
July 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Since this thread is getting long it’s up to me to kill it. If you get a chance to visit Gettysburg, Spring or Fall is best, be sure to hire the Docent to drive you around and narrate the terrain and battle for you. If you travel then you will have more time to spend and get a truer apprication for just what went on those few bloody days. I got that tip from a history major, civil war buff I work with and he said he learned thing on the drive. To walk around Little Round Top, the Hayfield and Devils Cauldren (so named before the war) and then stand at the high water mark and look across the valley is quite something.
As to Washington retreating, I would call them more of tactical withdrawels, since many of them sucked the British and their contractors into ambushes.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
So Minnesota had a regiment at Gettysburg? How cute. New York had more than 90 – more than any other state.
Minnesota was a very small frontier state at the time – 172,000 in 1860. Due to the organization of the army, relatively few “Western” units served in the Army of the Potomac. New York had 40 regiments of Cavalry alone, and 268 of infantry – meaning that technically New York had almost twice as many soldiers as Minnesota had people. Comparisons are really pretty futile.
The point wasn’t actually numbers, y’see. It was the event.
New York’s “Irish Brigade” was also prominent on July 2 – and also suffered grievously, losing 40% of its troops.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Yep. Angryclown wasn’t trying to downplay Minnesota’s contribution. (BTW, did I understand correctly that they were plugging the same hole in the line as were Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s Mainers?)
Angryclown was merely answering chuckwagon’s foolish New York slur. And actually the numbers do matter. Minnesota’s men at Gettysburg were brave and sacrificed much. But the United States probably wins the battle and the war without Minnesota. Not without New York.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:19 am
(BTW, did I understand correctly that they were plugging the same hole in the line as were Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s Mainers?)
About a mile off.
The First Minnesota (and the rest of III Corps) fought around Cemetary Ridge, the left-center of the Union line.
Chamberlain defended against an attempt to run around the far left flank, on Little Round Top, a mile or so south of Cemetary Ridge. The 20th Maine was the very left-most unit in the entire Union line; if they hadn’t succeeded, the Confederates would have been able to roll up the entire Union line.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
AC the map is not the terrain, as I tell my boy scouts. Round top is quite a ways away, even by car let alone an army on foot. That High Water mark i mentioned is the northmost point the south reached in the course of the war. It is where the MInnesota stood like the Spartans and broke their advance. It is on a small rise overlooking a valley the rise on the other side of which held Lee’s army. It is very open and seems somewhat lonely. There is even a bit of a gap between it and the hundreds of memorials, each ridge is lined with them, with the south slightly outnumberting the north, that mark the line of battle.
As an aside i would also recommend Harold Coyles two novels of the Civil War to give you an idea of what it was like to fight as an infantryman in the war.