The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment was a Minnesota USV cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment was mustered at Fort Snelling,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. for three year's service on December 5, 1863, and were mustered out on November 17, 1865, and May 4, 1866. It served entirely in Minnesota,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

, and

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

guarding the frontier against the Sioux Indians.

Battles and campaigns

*Battle of Tah Kah A Kuty or Killdeer Mountain, July 28, 1864. *Action at Two Hills, Bad Lands, Little Missouri River, August 8 to 9, 1864. *Rescue of Fisk's Emigrant train at

Fort Dilts Fort Dilts was a makeshift sod fort built near Rhame, North Dakota, United States, in September 1864 to fend off attacks by Hunkpapa Sioux Indians led by Sitting Bull upon an encircled wagon train of would-be gold-miners and a small military es ...

, September 10 to 30,1864.

Colonels

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Robert Neill McLaren

Casualties and total strength

The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry had 4 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds received in battle and an additional 3 officers and 56 enlisted men died of disease. Total fatalities were 6

War Poet

At the outbreak of the

, Edward Thomas, a

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has al ...

war poet A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...

native to

Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.638709, -84.148087). Although the city is located primari ...

and whose Bardic name was Awenydd, was living and working as a schoolmaster at the Welsh-American farming settlement at South Bend Township, in Blue Earth County,

. In 1862, he enlisted in Company E of the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment. During his military service, Thomas wrote many Welsh language poems, including ''Pryddest ar Wir Fawredd'', which later won the Bardic Crown at an

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, ac ...

held in

Minersville, Pennsylvania Minersville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Anthracite coal deposits are plentiful in the region. The population was 4,388 at the 2020 census. Minersville is located west of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, a ...

. Following the end of the war, Thomas became a

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

. Edited by Revs. Thos. E. Hughes and David Edwards, and Messes. Hugh G. Roberts and Thomas Hughes (1895), ''History of the Welsh in Minnesota, Foreston, and Lime Springs, Ia.'', page 273.

References

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External links