The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Union infantry regiment active during the American Civil War . The 1st Minnesota participated in the battles of First Bull Run , Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg . The regiment's most famous action occurred on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg when Major General Winfield Scott Hancock ordered the 1st Minnesota to charge into a brigade of 1200 Confederate soldiers. This action blunted the Confederate attack and helped preserve the Union's precarious position on Cemetery Ridge .
71-864: On April 14, 1861, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey was visiting Washington, D.C. when he first heard news of the attack on Fort Sumter causing him, along with Senator Wilkinson , to rush to the office of the Secretary of War , Simon Cameron , to offer 1,000 Minnesotan Soldiers to the Union Army . Two days later, the Adjutant General of Minnesota, William H. Acker, issued an order for Minnesota's Commissary General, H. Z. Mitchell, to enlist men for Minnesota's 1st Regiment. Word spread and communities in Minnesota quickly raised companies of volunteers identified by locality. The companies traveled to
142-465: A U.S. Senator . He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. Born in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania , on September 8, 1815, Alexander was the eldest of five children born to Thomas Ramsey and Elizabeth Kelker (also Kölliker or Köllker). His father was a blacksmith who committed suicide at age 42 when he went bankrupt in 1826, after signing for
213-424: A battery upon Sickles repulse. As his men were passing here in confused retreat, two Confederate brigades in pursuit were crossing the swale. To gain time to bring up the reserves & save this position, Gen Hancock in person ordered the eight companies to charge the rapidly advancing enemy. The order was instantly repeated by Col. Wm Colvill. And the charge was instantly made down the slope at full speed through
284-754: A blanket promotion of each corps and division commander in the Army of the Potomac. The II Corps spent the Northern Virginia Campaign in Washington, D.C., and did not participate in it except at the very end when it moved out to cover the retreat of Maj. Gen John Pope 's army. The corps then marched on the Maryland Campaign , during which time it received a new division of nine month troops headed by Brig. Gen William H. French . At
355-521: A heavy artillery fire, and returned to their original position in line, and bivouacked for the night, pickets being left on the pike. Carrying on from the heavy losses of the previous day, the remaining men of the 1st Minn. were reinforced by detached Companies F and L. The reunited regiment was moved a bit north of the previous day's fight to one of the few places where Union lines were breached during Pickett's Charge . They again had to charge into advancing Confederate troops with more losses. Capt. Messick
426-709: A legislative commission to the Crow Wing agency to address their issues. There 10 chiefs of the Leech lake and Mississippi bands laid out their concerns and offered to fight the Sioux for the government. The commission liked their offer and Gov. Ramsey invited the leaders of 22 bands of Ojibwa to St. Paul. They came on September 23 waving the America flag thinking their offers had been accepted. Ramsey had to instruct them that Major General Pope would not accept their service on
497-642: A note of a friend. Alexander lived with his uncle in Harrisburg , after his family split up to live with relatives. His brother was Justus Cornelius Ramsey , who served in the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. Ramsey first studied carpentry at Lafayette College but left during his third year. He read law with Hamilton Alricks, and attended Judge John Reed's law school in Carlisle (now Penn State-Dickinson Law ) in 1839. He
568-422: A successful resistance to a strong attack of the enemy, making one of the most interesting episodes in the history of that battle. During the fighting at Chancellorsville, Gibbon's 2nd Division remained at Fredericksburg, where it supported Sedgwick's operations, but with slight loss. Not long after Chancellorsville, Couch, unhappy with Joe Hooker's performance as army commander, resigned. Hancock assumed command of
639-529: A total of 4,350 out of less than 10,500 engaged. Gibbon's Division suffered the most, the percentage of loss in Brigadier General William Harrow 's 1st Brigade being unusually severe. Hancock and Gibbon were seriously wounded, while of the brigade commanders, Samuel K. Zook , Edward E. Cross , George L. Willard , and Eliakim Sherrill were killed. The monthly return of the corps, June 30, 1863, shows an aggregate of 22,336 borne on
710-767: The 1st Minnesota Infantry Battalion and went on to fight in the Appomattox Campaign . On May 23-24, the 1st Minnesota Battalion marched in the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, D.C. In July, the 1st Minnesota Battalion moved to Louisville, Kentucky for duty. It was mustered out of service upon completion of its enlistment on July 15, 1865 . Post war, both General Hancock and U.S. President Calvin Coolidge were unrestrained in their praise for
781-399: The 34th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment on the left flank of the division's 1st Brigade, as well as the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry of later Gettysburg fame. The Irish Brigade , of Richardson's 1st Division, also sustained a terrible loss in its fight at the "Bloody Lane", but, at the same time, inflicted a greater one on the enemy. This allowed Colonel Francis C. Barlow to lead
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#1732783315066852-777: The 38th , 39th , 40th , 41st , 42nd , and 43rd congresses. He supported the Radical Republicans , who called for vigorous prosecution of the Civil War, and a military reconstruction of the South. He voted for the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson . Ramsey called for the killing or removal of the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute Dakota from the state of Minnesota during the Dakota War of 1862 . After pressing
923-498: The 61st and 64th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiments to break through the Confederate line. Sedgwick and Richardson were both wounded in the battle; the former eventually recovered and went on to corps command, the latter succumbed to an infection a month and a half after the battle. Oliver Howard succeeded to command of Sedgwick's division, Richardson's division was taken over by Brig. Gen Winfield Hancock , brought over from
994-552: The American Civil War . He happened to be in Washington, D.C., when fighting broke out. When he heard about the firing on Fort Sumter he went straight to the White House and offered Minnesota's services to Abraham Lincoln. He resigned the governorship to become a U.S. Senator , having been elected to that post in 1863 as a Republican . He was re-elected in 1869 and held the office until March 3, 1875, serving in
1065-661: The Army of the Cumberland II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden from October 24, 1862, to November 5, 1862, later renumbered XXI Corps ; the Army of the Mississippi II corps led by William T. Sherman from January 4, 1863, to January 12, 1863, renumbered XV Corps ; Army of the Ohio II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden from September 29, 1862, to October 24, 1862, transferred to Army of
1136-602: The Battle of Antietam the corps was heavily engaged, its casualties amounting to more than twice that of any other corps on the field. Out of 15,000 effectives, it lost 883 killed, 3,859 wounded, and 396 missing; total, 5,138. Nearly one-half of these casualties occurred in Sedgwick's 2nd Division, in its bloody and ill-planned advance on the Dunker church, an affair that was under Sumner's personal direction; this included units like
1207-426: The Battle of Bristoe Station , a II Corps affair, and one which was noticeable for the dash with which officers and men fought, together with the superior ability displayed by Warren himself. He also commanded at the Battle of Mine Run and Morton's Ford, the divisions at that time being under Generals Caldwell, Alexander S. Webb and Alexander Hays. Upon the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac, March 23, 1864,
1278-580: The III Corps was discontinued, and two of its three divisions were ordered transferred to the II Corps. Under this arrangement the II Corps was increased to 81 regiments of infantry and 10 batteries of light artillery. The units of the old II Corps were consolidated into two divisions, under Barlow (now a general) and Gibbon; the two divisions of the III Corps were transferred intact, and were numbered as
1349-527: The James River , and fought at Deep Bottom, July 26, and again on August 14; then, having returned to the lines around Petersburg, Barlow's and Birney's Divisions were engaged at the Second Battle of Ream's Station , on August 25, in which it lost a large number of men captured. At the Battle of Boydton Plank Road , October 27, 1864, the division commanders were Generals Thomas W. Egan and Mott,
1420-534: The 1st Division ( Nelson A. Miles 's), being retained in the trenches. In November, 1864, Hancock was assigned to other duty, and Major General Andrew A. Humphreys , chief of staff to the Army of the Potomac, succeeded to his position. Humphreys was in command during the final campaign, the divisions being under Generals Miles, William Hays, and Mott. The corps fought its last battle at Farmville on April 7, 1865, two days before Lee's surrender. In this final action Brigadier General Thomas A. Smyth of Hays' 2nd Division,
1491-408: The 2nd Brigade of Birney's Division, was among the killed. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House the II Corps again attained a glorious place in history by Hancock's brilliant and successful assault on the morning of May 12. During the fighting around Spotsylvania, Mott's 4th Division became so depleted by casualties, and by the loss of several regiments whose term of service had expired, that it
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#17327833150661562-695: The 3rd and 4th, with Generals David B. Birney and Gershom Mott in command. By this accession, the II Corps attained in April 1864, an aggregate strength of 46,363, with 28,854 present for duty. Hancock, having partially recovered from his wounds, resumed command, and led his battle-scarred divisions across the Rapidan River . In the Battle of the Wilderness , the corps lost 699 killed, 3,877 wounded, and 516 missing; total, 5,092, half of this loss falling on Birney's 3rd Division. Alexander Hays, commanding
1633-500: The Confederate attack and helped preserve the Union's precarious position on Cemetery Ridge at the end of the second day of the battle . Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock , commander of II Corps , could see two brigades of Southerners commanded by Brigadier General Cadmus M. Wilcox breaching the line in front of one of his batteries. Hancock quickly rode up to the troops guarding the battery and asked Colonel William Colvill what unit
1704-540: The Cumberland; Army of Virginia II Corps led by Nathaniel P. Banks from June 26, 1862, to September 4, 1862, and Alpheus S. Williams from September 4, 1862, to September 12, 1862, renumbered XII Corps ; and the Army of the Potomac II Corps from March 13, 1862, to June 28, 1865. Of these five, the one most widely known was the Army of the Potomac formation, the subject of this article. The II Corps
1775-515: The Dakota to sell their land, he and other officials stole from the Dakota's annuities . In response, some of the Dakota attacked American settlements, resulting in the death of at least 800 civilian men, women and children, and the displacement of thousands more. When the Fond du Lac band of Chippewa learned of the uprising they sent a letter to Ramsey to forward to President Lincoln offering to fight
1846-548: The Day to Washington D.C. as Minnesota's candidate to West Point . A number of counties, towns, parks, and schools are named after Ramsey, including: He was the namesake of the Liberty Ship SS Alexander Ramsey launched in 1942. II Corps (ACW) There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps ( Second Army Corps ) during the American Civil War . These formations were
1917-706: The First Minnesota are entitled to rank as the saviors of their country." Minnesota has two monuments at the Gettysburg National Military Park . The more grand of the two bears the inscription: On the afternoon of July 2, 1863 Sickles' Third Corps, having advanced from this line to the Emmitsburg Road, eight companies of the First Minnesota Regiment, numbering 262 men were sent to this place to support
1988-478: The II Corps had not lost a color nor a gun, although it had previously captured 44 stands of colors from the enemy. After more of hard and continuous fighting at the Battle of North Anna , and along the Totopotomoy, the corps reached the memorable field where the Battle of Cold Harbor was fought. While at Spotsylvania it had been reinforced by a brigade of heavy artillery regiments, acting as infantry, and by
2059-569: The Sioux dated September 6, 1862. A few days later on September 9 Ramsey addressed the state legislature proclaiming: "The Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the State," which he justified by citing various outrages against the settlers and violations of their treaties. In the north the Chippewa/Ojibwa were having problems with their Indian agent stealing from them. Gov. Ramsey lead
2130-653: The St. Paul Pioneer Guard is credited as being the first northern volunteer to stand to for Lincoln's call for men to fight the Confederacy. On July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia , the regiment fought in the first major battle of the American Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run . While straddling Rickett's Battery in support, the regiment saw heavy fighting on Henry House Hill in close proximity to
2201-439: The Union the time it needed for reinforcements to be brought up. During the charge, 215 of the 262 who made the charge became casualties within five minutes (47 killed, 121 wounded, 90 missing). That included the unit commander, Col. William Colvill , and all but three of his captains. The 1st Minnesota's flag lost five flag bearers, each man dropping his weapon to carry it on. The 47 survivors rallied back to General Hancock under
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2272-510: The VI Corps as the ranking brigadier general in the division, John C. Caldwell , was too inexperienced and junior for the position. The next engagement was at the Battle of Fredericksburg . In the meantime Sumner had been promoted to the command of a Grand Division—II and IX Corps —and General Darius N. Couch , a division commander of the IV Corps , was appointed to his place. The loss of
2343-604: The account of his regiment's behavior and of the good conduct of his officers and men. During General John Sedgwick's ill-fated assault on the West Woods, the regiment suffered significant casualties (1 officer killed, 3 officers wounded, 15 enlisted killed, 79 enlisted wounded, 24 enlisted missing, for a total of 122 [28%] of 435 engaged) as Union forces were routed on that part of the field. The brigade commander noted, "The First Minnesota Regiment fired with so much coolness and accuracy that they brought down [three times one] of
2414-503: The actions of the 1st Minnesota. Gen. Hancock, who witnessed the action firsthand, placed its heroism highest in the annals of war: "No soldiers on any field, in this or any other country ever displayed grander heroism." Gen. Hancock ascribed unsurpassed gallantry to the famed assault stating: "There is no more gallant deed recorded in history." Emphasizing the critical nature of the circumstances on July 2 at Gettysburg, President Coolidge considered: "Colonel Colvill and those eight companies of
2485-471: The approximately 30,000 men in the corps at the start of the Overland Campaign, 20,000 of them had been lost since then, for a 68% casualty rate. Over half the brigade commanders the corps had had in April had been killed or wounded since then, and over 100 regimental commanders. With most of the best officers and men gone, the II Corps went from being the Army of the Potomac's elite shock troops to
2556-486: The army. The casualties of the two divisions in that battle amounted to 196 killed, 899 wounded, and 90 missing. In the Seven Days Battles , the II Corps was not engaged until Savage's Station when it held off Confederate general John B. Magruder 's troops. The following day, the corps was engaged at Glendale , where John Sedgwick's division was in the thick of the fighting. Israel Richardson's division spent
2627-465: The battle to the north engaged in a standoff with "Stonewall" Jackson's troops on opposite sides of White Oak Swamp; fighting here was limited to artillery dueling. The corps was held in reserve at Malvern Hill . Total II Corps casualties in the Seven Days were 201 killed, 1,195 wounded, and 1,024 missing. Afterwards, Sumner, Sedgwick, and Richardson all received promotions to major general as part of
2698-429: The battlefield. The loss of the eight companies in the charge was 215 killed & wounded. More than 82% percent. 47 men were still in line & no man missing. In self sacrificing desperate valor this charge has no parallel in any war. Among the severely wounded were Col. Wm Colvill, Lt Col. Chas P Adams & Maj. Mark W. Downie. Among the killed Capt. Joseph Periam, Capt. Louis Muller & Lt Waldo Farrar. The next day
2769-585: The brigade known as the Corcoran Legion, so that at Cold Harbor it numbered 53,831, present and absent, with 26,900 "present for duty". Its loss at Cold Harbor including eleven days in the trenches, was 494 killed, 2,442 wounded, and 574 missing; total, 3,510. Birney's Division was but slightly engaged. In the assaults on the Petersburg entrenchments, June 16 – June 18, the Corps is again credited with
2840-558: The command of its divisions. Within three weeks of its organization the corps moved with George B. McClellan 's Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula Campaign , except for Blenker's division, which was withdrawn on March 31 from McClellan's command, and ordered to reinforce John C. Frémont 's army in western Virginia . Blenker's division never rejoined the corps. The remaining two divisions numbered 21,500 men, of whom 18,000 were present for duty. The first general engagement of
2911-521: The command of their senior surviving officer, Captain Nathan S. Messick. The 82% casualty rate stands as the second largest loss by any surviving U.S military unit in a single day's engagement. The unit's colors are displayed in the rotunda of the Minnesota Capitol for public appreciation. In his official report, Confederate Brigadier General Cadmus M. Wilcox perceived the inequality of
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2982-445: The command until August 12, when he was relieved by Major General Gouverneur K. Warren . Warren had distinguished himself at Gettysburg by his quick comprehension of the critical situation at Little Round Top , and by the energetic promptness with which he remedied the difficulty. He had also made a brilliant reputation in the V Corps , and as the chief topographical officer of the Army of the Potomac. He was, subsequently, in command at
3053-409: The concentrated fire of the two brigades breaking with the bayonet the enemy's front line as it was crossing the small brook in the low ground there the remnant of the eight companies, nearly surrounded by the enemy held its entire force at bay for a considerable time & till it retired on the approach of the reserve the charge successfully accomplished its object. It saved this position & probably
3124-565: The corps at Fredericksburg exceeded that of any other in that battle, amounting to 412 killed, 3,214 wounded, and 488 missing, one-half of which fell on Hancock's Division in the unsuccessful assault on Marye's Heights. The percentage of loss in Hancock's division was high, Caldwell's brigade suffering 46% casualties. After Fredericksburg, the Grand Divisions were discontinued and the aging Sumner decided to retire from command. Couch led
3195-573: The corps at the Battle of Chancellorsville , with Hancock, John Gibbon , and French as his division commanders. Sedgwick had been promoted to the command of the VI Corps , and Howard, who had commanded Sedgwick's Division at Fredericksburg, was promoted to the command of the XI Corps . At Chancellorsville, the principal part of the II Corps's fighting fell on Hancock's division, its skirmish line, under Colonel Nelson A. Miles , distinguishing itself by
3266-407: The corps occurred at the Battle of Seven Pines , where Sumner's prompt and soldierly action brought the corps on the field in time to retrieve a serious disaster, and change a rout into a victory. In a fierce engagement with Confederate general Gustavus W. Smith 's division, Brig. Gen Oliver Howard was shot in the arm and had to have it amputated, causing him to miss all of the summer campaigning of
3337-514: The corps, and Brigadier General John C. Caldwell to his division. At the start of the Gettysburg Campaign , Brigadier General Alexander Hays ' brigade joined, and was assigned to the 3rd Division, Hays taking command of the division. At the Battle of Gettysburg , the corps was hotly engaged in the battles of the second and third days, encountering there the hardest fighting in its experience, and winning there its grandest laurels; on
3408-565: The division commander, to ask that support be sent to my men, but no support came. Three several times did this last of the enemy's lines attempt to drive my men back, and were as often repulsed. This struggle at the foot of the hill on which were the enemy's batteries, though so unequal, was continued for some thirty minutes. With a second supporting line, the heights could have been carried. Without support on either my right or left, my men were withdrawn, to prevent their entire destruction or capture. The enemy did not pursue, but my men retired under
3479-403: The enemy's flags, and finally cut the flag-staff in two." The regiment's most famous action occurred during the second day's fighting at Gettysburg , when Major General Winfield Scott Hancock ordered the 1st Minnesota, composed of roughly 250 men, to charge into a brigade of roughly 1,200 men belonging to James Longstreet 's corps and Richard H. Anderson 's Division. Although the regiment
3550-407: The enemy. The 1st Minnesota was one of the last regiments to leave the battlefield and suffered among the highest casualties of any northern regiment: 49 killed, 107 wounded and 34 missing. During the 1st Minnesota Infantry's initiation to combat, its honorable conduct was readily distinguishable from that of the other regiments in its brigade: The First Minnesota Regiment moved from its position on
3621-488: The fight differently (bold emphasis likely refers to the First Minnesota): This stronghold of the enemy [i.e., Cemetery Ridge], together with his batteries, were almost won, when still another line of infantry descended the slope in our front at a double-quick , to the support of their fleeing comrades and for the defense of the batteries. Seeing this contest so unequal, I dispatched my adjutant-general to
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#17327833150663692-473: The first Territorial Governor of Minnesota from June 1, 1849, to May 15, 1853, as a member of the Whig Party . Ramsey was of Scottish and German ancestry. In 1855, he became the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota . Ramsey was elected the second Governor of Minnesota after statehood and served from January 2, 1860, to July 10, 1863. Ramsey is credited with being the first Union governor to commit troops during
3763-599: The grounds that it would not be good public policy. However, they would be contacted if they were needed. In 1863, in response to continued raids on settlers, he authorized a bounty for the scalps of Dakota males. On April 15, 1865, President Lincoln died. There were very few senior officials in D.C. that morning. However, Ramsey was and took part in initiating the transfer of the Presidency to Vice President Johnson . Ramsey served as Secretary of War from 1879 to 1881, under President Rutherford B. Hayes . He
3834-548: The hand, Corporal Henry D. O'Brien repeatedly picked up the fallen colors of the 1st Minnesota and carried a wounded comrade back to the Union lines. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. The 1st Minnesota continued to serve in the Army of the Potomac . In 1863 it participated in the Bristoe and Mine Run Campaigns. The 1st Minnesota mustered at Fort Snelling on April 29, 1864. Many soldiers continued service as
3905-559: The historic 1st Minnesota Volunteers. http://sbv.hatinh.gov.vn/upload/tailieu/thuoc-chong-tram-cam-52-16280737159.htm http://pyttkvtphcm.gov.vn/question/thuoc-chong-tram-cam-va-luu-y-khi-dung/ Archived 2021-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Alexander Ramsey Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 – April 22, 1903) was an American politician, who became the first Minnesota Territorial Governor and later became
3976-435: The largest casualty list. In one of these attacks, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery sustained the greatest loss of any regimental organization in any one action during the war. At this time the corps contained 85 regiments; its effective strength, however, was less than at a previous date. By late June 1864, the II Corps's effectiveness as a fighting force had been severely diminished by almost two months of continuous fighting. Of
4047-462: The left of the field to the support of Ricketts' battery, and gallantly engaged the enemy at that point. It was so near the enemy's lines that friends and foes were for a time confounded. The regiment behaved exceedingly well, and finally retired from the field in good order. The other two regiments of the brigade retired in confusion, and no efforts of myself or staff were successful in rallying them. I respectfully refer you to Colonel Gorman's report for
4118-517: The newly reactivated Fort Snelling to be enlisted into the regiment on April 29. These companies were the first troops offered by any state to meet Abraham Lincoln 's call for 75,000 men to assist the Federal Government to deal with the secession . On May 10, they were re-enlisted for 3 more years of service. From Fort Snelling, they boarded river boats heading south to a rail line, whereafter they headed east. Josias Redgate King of
4189-703: The one hundred regiments in the Union Army that lost the most men in battle, thirty-five of them belonged to the II Corps. The II Corps also fought in nearly every battle in the main Eastern Theater, from the 1862 Peninsula Campaign to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House. The corps was organized under General Orders No. 101, March 21, 1862, which assigned Brigadier General Edwin Vose Sumner to its command, and Brigadier Generals Israel B. Richardson , John Sedgwick , and Louis Blenker to
4260-474: The regiment participated in repelling Pickett's charge losing 17 more men killed & wounded. The 1st Minnesota Infantry suffered the loss of 10 officers and 177 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 2 officers and 97 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 286 fatalities and 609 wounded. The 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment , 34th Infantry Division ( Minnesota Army National Guard ) traces its roots back to
4331-425: The rolls, but shows only 13,056 "present for duty." Deducting the latter from the usual proportion of non-combatants—the musicians, teamsters, cooks, servants, and stragglers—and it becomes doubtful if the corps had over 10,000 muskets in line at Gettysburg. Hancock's wounds necessitated an absence of several months. William Hays was placed in command of the corps immediately after the battle of Gettysburg, retaining
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#17327833150664402-461: The second day, in the fighting at the Wheatfield, and on the third, in the repulse of Pickett's Charge , which was mostly directed against Hancock's position. The fighting was deadly in the extreme, the percentage of loss in the 1st Minnesota of Gibbon's Division, being almost without an equal in the records of modern warfare. The loss in the corps was 796 killed, 3,186 wounded, and 368 missing;
4473-543: The smallest and weakest corps in the army. On June 21–23, the II Corps engaged in the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road where it tried to extend the army's left flank. A.P. Hill 's Confederate troops moved down to oppose them, and the II Corps was repulsed. Actual battlefield casualties were light, however 1,700 men were taken prisoner by the Confederates, including several whole regiments, some of them, such as 15th Massachusetts , once elite outfits. The corps recrossed
4544-557: The troops belonged to. Colvill responded "the 1st Minnesota", to which Hancock responded "Attack that line!" With their bayonets leveled, the Minnesotans broke the first lines. The intensity of their charge disrupted the Southern forces' advances. Just before the 1st Minnesota became nearly encircled by enemy troops, Union reinforcements arrived in time to allow some of the men to make a fighting withdrawal. Their selfless charge bought
4615-471: Was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1839. In 1844 Ramsey married Anna Earl Jenks, daughter of Michael Hutchinson Jenks , and they had three children. Only one daughter, Marion, survived past childhood. Alexander Ramsey was elected from Pennsylvania as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the 28th and 29th congresses from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1847. He served as
4686-521: Was discontinued and merged into Birney's Division, Mott retaining the command of a brigade. The casualties of the corps in the various actions around Spotsylvania, from May 8 to May 19, aggregated 894 killed, 4,947 wounded, and 801 missing; total 6,642, or over one-third of the loss in the entire Army of the Potomac, including the IX Corps. The heaviest loss occurred in Barlow's 1st Division. Up to this time
4757-470: Was killed and Capt. W. B. Farrell mortally wounded, and Capt. Henry C. Coates had to take command. During this charge, Private Marshall Sherman of Company C captured the colors of the 28th Virginia Infantry and received the Medal of Honor for this exploit. The Confederate flag was taken back to Minnesota as a war trophy , where it remains. After being knocked out by a bullet to the head and later shot in
4828-485: Was killed. Smyth was an officer with a brilliant reputation, and at one time commanded the famous Irish Brigade. Recent scholarship notes the quality not just of II Corps' leadership but its individual soldiers, addressing both individual bravery and deep commitment to the Union as depicted in letters and diaries. In spite of homesickness and coming from Democratic homes and ethnic communities which did not favor expanding war aims to emancipation , soldiers of II Corps saw
4899-432: Was one of the commissioners to govern Utah from 1882 to 1886 under the Edmunds Act . The act made it illegal for polygamists to vote or hold office. Ramsey and four others were defendants in the Supreme Court case Murphy v. Ramsey , 114 U.S. 15 (1885). The Supreme Court upheld the federal law that denied polygamists the right to vote. Late in the fall of 1885 ex-governor Ramsey escorted the son of Chippewa Chief Hole in
4970-414: Was outnumbered by a ratio of at least 5 to 1, charging was Hancock's only opportunity to buy time for Union reinforcements to arrive. One survivor stated afterward that he expected the advance to result in "death or wounds to us all". The regiment immediately obeyed the order and Hancock was amazed at the unit discipline, valor, and the tremendous casualties taken in carrying out his order. This action blunted
5041-400: Was prominent by reason of its longer and continuous service, larger organization, hardest fighting, and greatest number of casualties. Within its ranks was the regiment that sustained the largest percentage of loss in any one action; the regiment that sustained the greatest numerical loss in any one action; and the regiment that sustained the greatest numerical loss during its term of service. Of
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