The 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment was a Minnesota USV

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

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 conscripted ...

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 th ...

Service

The 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment mustered in at St. Paul, and

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

, between November 1864 and February 1865. Many of the officers were recruited from discharged veterans: sergeants from the 1st Minnesota while corporals came from the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

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, and 5th Minnesota Vol. Regiments. The 1st Minnesota Heavy was composed of twelve companies / batteries, of 140 men plus officers in each. It was the largest unit Minnesota sent to war numbering 1700 men. The regiment was assigned to

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

duty at

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. There it was in charge of the heavy guns at forts defending the city in anticipation Southern General John Hood might try and retake the Chattanooga. The regiment saw no combat, remained there until the close of the war. The 1st Minnesota "Heavies" were mustered out of service on September 27, 1865.

Albert Woolson Albert Henry Woolson (February 11, 1850 – August 2, 1956) was the last known surviving member of the Union Army who served in the American Civil War; he was also the last surviving Civil War veteran on either side whose status is undisputed. A ...

, who was a 14-year-old company drummer in the regiment, became the last surviving veteran of the American Civil War from either side. He died in 1956.

Commanding officers

*Lt. Colonel Luther L. Baxter, February 25, 1865, to April 26, 1865. *Colonel

William Colvill William Colvill, sometimes spelt William Colville (c.1612–1675) was a 17th-century Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland and scholar and was the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1662 to 1675. Life Colvill was educated ...

, April 26, 1865, to May 6, 1865. *Colonel Luther L. Baxter, May 7, 1865, to September 27, 1865.

Casualties and total strength

The regiment lost 87 enlisted men to disease. Many more suffered from scurvy and would never regain complete healt

References

* *{{cite book , title = The Union Army; A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States, 1861–65, Vol 4. , publisher = Federal Publishing Co. , year = 1908

External links

The Civil War Archive

Minnesota Historical Society page on Minnesota and the Civil War

Service

Commanding officers

Casualties and total strength

References

External links

See also