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The 6th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that fought in the Union army during the American Civil War. The 6th Minnesota Infantry spent much of the war in the Northwest fighting Dakota Indians rather than participating in the battles with the Confederacy. Led by William Crooks, the regiment saw action in the American Civil War mainly with the Dakota Tribe.
After the hostilities ended, the 6th regiment remained on the frontier and prepared for possible further fighting with the Sioux, who had been forced to leave Minnesota as a result of the hostilities. During the summer of 1863, under the command of Henry Sibley, the 6th regiment pursued and fought bands of Sioux in the Dakota territory. They pushed them west across the Missouri River and north into Canada. They then returned to Fort Snelling. They continued on garrison duty in Minnesota and to the West throughout the winter and spring of 1863–1864.
By the spring of that year, the men of the 6th regiment successfully argued that they should be sent to the South. They found garrison duty boring and wanted to fight in the war for which they enlisted. Finally, that summer, on June 14, 1864, they left Fort Snelling to go South.
The 950 men of the 6th regiment arrived in Helena, Arkansas, on June 23, 1864, spending the next four months in what Private Charles W. Johnson of Company D described as "a series of swamps, bayous and flat lands, overflowed from the Mississippi in high water, reeking with miasma and covered with green scum in dry weather." On September 30, 1864, 654 members of the 6th regiment were reported as sick; by then, 461 men had been sent to hospitals in the North. By the end of October 1864, two officers and fifty-eight enlisted men had died from disease; the primary cause was malaria. The regiment lost more men to disease than it did in battle.
In Arkansas, the regiment observed guerrilla forces in the region but participated in no battles. After a few months, the men were sent to St. Louis and then to New Orleans in late January 1865.
The 6th Minnesota finally fought the Confederates in the spring of 1865. In Alabama, the 6th regiment took part in General Edward Canby's campaign to capture
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Minnesota Historical Society Site on Minnesota and the Civil War
* {{gutenberg, no=26276, name=History of Company E of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment of Volunteer Infantry Units and formations of the Union Army from Minnesota 1862 establishments in Minnesota Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865
Service
The 6th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was mustered into Federal service at Camp Release andFort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
during 1862.
* A, B, F, G Companies 1 October, Fort Snelling garrison duty.
* C Co. 13 October
* D Co. 29 September
* E Co. 5 October
* I Co. 4 October
* K Co. 10 October Fort Snelling garrison duty.
* H Co. 20 November
The regiment was part of second wave of enlistments following the early battles of the Civil War. The regiment was not immediately sent South because the Army hoped for a quick victory. The regiment participated in the Dakota War of 1862, that erupted in August 1862. Company A fought in the Battle of Birch Coulee
The Battle of Birch Coulee occurred September 2–3, 1862 and resulted in the heaviest casualties suffered by U.S. forces during the Dakota War of 1862. The battle occurred after a group of Dakota warriors followed a U.S. burial expedition, incl ...
, the worst defeat suffered by U.S. forces during the war. Survivors of Birch Coulee defeated Dakota warriors in the decisive Battle of Wood Lake
The Battle of Wood Lake occurred on September 23, 1862, and was the final battle in the Dakota War of 1862. The two-hour battle, which actually took place at nearby Lone Tree Lake, was a decisive victory for the U.S. forces led by Colonel Henry Ha ...
a few weeks later. At the end of September, they also witnessed the surrender of the Dakota at Camp Release.
After the hostilities ended, the 6th regiment remained on the frontier and prepared for possible further fighting with the Sioux, who had been forced to leave Minnesota as a result of the hostilities. During the summer of 1863, under the command of Henry Sibley, the 6th regiment pursued and fought bands of Sioux in the Dakota territory. They pushed them west across the Missouri River and north into Canada. They then returned to Fort Snelling. They continued on garrison duty in Minnesota and to the West throughout the winter and spring of 1863–1864.
By the spring of that year, the men of the 6th regiment successfully argued that they should be sent to the South. They found garrison duty boring and wanted to fight in the war for which they enlisted. Finally, that summer, on June 14, 1864, they left Fort Snelling to go South.
The 950 men of the 6th regiment arrived in Helena, Arkansas, on June 23, 1864, spending the next four months in what Private Charles W. Johnson of Company D described as "a series of swamps, bayous and flat lands, overflowed from the Mississippi in high water, reeking with miasma and covered with green scum in dry weather." On September 30, 1864, 654 members of the 6th regiment were reported as sick; by then, 461 men had been sent to hospitals in the North. By the end of October 1864, two officers and fifty-eight enlisted men had died from disease; the primary cause was malaria. The regiment lost more men to disease than it did in battle.
In Arkansas, the regiment observed guerrilla forces in the region but participated in no battles. After a few months, the men were sent to St. Louis and then to New Orleans in late January 1865.
The 6th Minnesota finally fought the Confederates in the spring of 1865. In Alabama, the 6th regiment took part in General Edward Canby's campaign to capture Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
in March and April 1865. The 6th was in reserve during the capture of Fort Blakeley
The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, about north of Spanish Fort, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War. At the time, Blakeley, Alabama, had been the count ...
on April 9, and then guarded Montgomery.
The regiment was mustered out in Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
, Minnesota on August 19, 1865.Civil War Archive/ref>
Casualties
The 6th Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry suffered 12 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 4 officers and 161 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 177 fatalities.Colonels
*Colonel William Crooks – August 23, 1862, to October 28, 1864. *Colonel John T. Averill – November 22, 1864, to September 30, 1865.See also
* List of Minnesota Civil War UnitsReferences
External links
Minnesota Historical Society Site on Minnesota and the Civil War
* {{gutenberg, no=26276, name=History of Company E of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment of Volunteer Infantry Units and formations of the Union Army from Minnesota 1862 establishments in Minnesota Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865