Hatch's Independent Battalion of Minnesota Cavalry or Hatch's Battalion was a Minnesota USV

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

that served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonization of the Americas, European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States o ...

. The unit was primarily made up of volunteers from the states of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, as well as volunteers from the

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 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Service

The unit's formation was a product of the

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

uprising in August 1862. Very quickly nearly every band of Chippewa offered to fight the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

for the

U.S. Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

. First two Wisconsin chiefs sent a letter to President

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

with the offer. Then on 15 September 22 chiefs did the same at the Crow Wing Indian Agency. Both of Minnesota's

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

s and Governor Ramsey thought the Chippewa should be taken up on their offers. A week later 40 odd Chippewa leaders from nearly every band in

, plus a couple from

, arrived in St Paul at Gov. Ramsey's invite. At that time everyone learned that Major general

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

commander of the

Department of the Northwest The Department of the Northwest was an U.S. Army Department created on September 6, 1862, to put down the Sioux uprising in Minnesota. Major General John Pope was made commander of the Department. At the end of the Civil War the Department was re ...

did not want "Indians" in his command as a matter of "public policy". Over the

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

the

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

s decided to go directly to the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Stanton. They proposed a mounted unit of 1000 "auxiliary Chippewa warriors", on "Indian ponys", commanded E.A.C. Hatch, that reported directly to the War Department. It was envisioned as an independent command, functioning "solely" for the prosecution of the Indian War. Pope had issues with most of the proposal and had enough

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

to get it modified. The result was a

mounted Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

unit that reported to his command, solely for the Indian war, with only a few Native Americans in its ranks. To get volunteers a $40.00 bounty was advertised in the papers. The Battalion was Minnesota's last Civil War unit to stand down. Major Hatch sent letters to the media with the

letterhead A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). It consists of a name, address, logo or trademark, and sometimes a background pattern. Overview Many companies and individuals prefer to create a letterhead template ...

"Indian Battalion of Minnesota Volunteers". Chippewa Chief Hole in the Day offered Brig. General Sibley 600 warriors for his 1863 expedition into the Dakota Territory and was turned down. A month later he made an offer to Major Hatch. Hatch had to refuse because of Pope. Hole-in the-day told the newspapers that Hatch was the right man for the command. In 1865 newspapers reported that Hole-in-the-Day regretted not having been able to raise the Chippewa battalion for Major Hatch. Hatch's Battalion was organized at

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 An ...

and

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, with Companies A, B, C, and D being mustered in from July 25, to September, 1863. The majority of soldiers in the battalion came from the southern and central counties of Minnesota, others however, came from

Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks in what is now central Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fort Garr ...

in Canada, as well as

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

communities in both the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

and

. General Pope created a line of defense in the war's

theater of operations In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land, and sea area that is—or that may potentially become—involved in war operations ...

starting at Sioux City, Iowa, through Minnesota to Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory and north to the international border. In early January 1864 several men of the battalion were chosen to go on a scouting mission to the settlement of Saint Joseph (St. Jo) in Dakota Territory as several Sioux were spotted in that direction. A squadron of 12-15 men under the command of Lieutenant William F. Cross left Pembina around 11:00pm towards St. Joseph, some 35 miles away. The squadron saw no activity of Sioux in the vicinity of St. Joseph but found several supposed Sioux encamped in a ravine in the mountains nearby. The first Indian that was seen coming out of a lodge was fired upon and killed, a total of 5 Indians were killed, 3 men and 2 women, all of which were

scalped Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...

. The squadron returned to Pembina having marched some 80 miles in two nights. In May, 1864 the battalion was posted the northern section of the line with Hq posted to

Fort Abercrombie Fort Abercrombie, in North Dakota, was a United States Army fort established by authority of an Act of Congress, March 3, 1857. The act allocated twenty-five square miles of land on the Red River of the North in Dakota Territory to be used for ...

along with Companies A and B assigned to the Fort's

garrison A garrison 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 military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, Company C moved to the stockades at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and Pomme de Terre, while Company D was sent north to Fort Pembina. The 2nd Minn Cavalry had the line south of them to near the Iowa border. The battalion was increased in size when Company E was mustered on August 31, 1864, and again when Company F was mustered on September 1, 1864. In October 1864 Major Hatch received orders from

to retrieve Sioux leaders who had crossed into

lands Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water. Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to: Entertainment and media Film * ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins * ''Land'' (2018 film), a ...

of the British

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

owned by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC).History of Fort Pembina 1870-1875, University of North Dakota Thesis, 8-1968, William D. Thomso

/ref> Companies A, B, C, and D headed to Pembina,

, the first week of October in 1863 but

set in before they reached Pembina. Hatch made an encampment, sending 20 men across the border to meet a HBC trader named John McKenzie. The troop encountered and killed Minnesota Sioux at St. Joseph 15 km across the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

. At

two Mdewakanton leaders were drugged by McKenzie. They were bound to dogsleds and taken to Hatch's men at the border for Minnesota's $1000.00 bounty. The killings at St. Joseph caused almost 400 Sioux to turn themselves in to Hatch as well. Hatch messaged Gen. Pope for instructions and was told he was not to make treaty with them, their surrender was unconditional. When conditions allowed, Hatch accompanied the prisoners back to Fort Snelling. The two chiefs were hung for crimes against unarmed civilians. They were Little Six (Taoyteduta

Shakopee Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of Minneap ...

) and Medicine Bottle (Wakanozanzan). Those Sioux that turned themselves in were sent to

Crow Creek Reservation The Crow Creek Indian Reservation (, '), home to Crow Creek Sioux Tribe ( or Húŋkpathi Oyáte) is located in parts of Buffalo, Hughes, and Hyde counties on the east bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota in the United States. ...

. Hatch left

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in June. On 15 July Lt. Col. C. Powell Adams, ex- 1st Minnesota's assumed command. He was in the 1st Minnesota's Gettysburg charge. In 1865 newspapers reported that Hole-in-the-Day regretted not having been able to raise the Chippewa for the battalion for Major Hatch. The battalion was mustered out between April 26 and June 22, 1866, bringing an end to Minnesota's response to the 1862 Uprising and were Minnesota's last men to put down their swords of war.

Commander

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Edwin Aaron Clark (E.A.C.) Hatch - September 30, 1863 to June 1864 * Lieutenant Colonel Charles Powell Adams - July 15, 1864 to June 22, 1866

Casualties and total strength

Hatch's Minnesota Cavalry Battalion did not lose any men who were killed or who died of wounds received in battle, but did have between 21 enlisted men who died of disease, froze to death, or were imprisoned, for a total of 21 fatalities. These confirmed fatalities were: * Private John Munger of Company A - Died of disease on March 8, 1864 at Pembina, Dakota Territory. * Private Joseph Gagne Jr. of Company C - Died of Disease on April 24. 1864 at Pembina, Dakota Territory. * Private Charles M. Stowe of Company A - Died of disease on July 22, 1864 at Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory. * Private Charles M.B. Hatch of Company C - Died of disease on June 3, 1865 at Alexandria, Minnesota. * Private William Riley of Company D - Died of disease on June 3, 1864. * Private Joseph Hankerson of Company A - Died of disease on September 19, 1863 at Minneapolis, Minnesota. * Private John Turner of Company A - Died of disease on September 2, 1863 at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. * Private Charles D. Maybee of Company B - Died of disease on March 30, 1864 at Pembina, Dakota Territory. * Private Marvin Carry of Company C - Died of disease on October 8, 1863 at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. * Private John Tibbetts of Company C - Died of disease on December 16, 1865 at Pomme de Terre, Minnesota. * Private John Druey of Company A - Died of disease on October 3, 1864 at Georgetown, Minnesota. * Private Samuel P. Hall of Company A - Died of disease on October 15, 1863 at Minnetonka, Minnesota. * Private Edward Stam of Company F - Died of disease on September 18, 1865 at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. * Private Luman Putnam of Company B - Died of disease on October 3, 1863 at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. * Private Frederick Miller of Company C - Died on May 11, 1865. * Private Halvar Sjolee (Halvor Sjøli) of Company F - Died on October 19, 1865 at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. * Private Michael Carland of Company D - Died on May 18, 1864 at Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory. * Private John B. Scott of Company F - Died on March 3, 1865 at Hastings, Minnesota. * Commissary Sergeant Henry C. Knapp of Company F - Died on July 30, 1865 at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. * Private James T. Kirby of Company C - Frozen to death on December 10, 1864 at Pomme de Terre, Minnesota. * Private Joseph Smetiana (Smitana) of Company E - Sent to Insane Asylum on January 23, 1866.

Notable members

* Edwin Aaron Clark (E.A.C.) Hatch - The commander and namesake of the battalion. Hatch was an

Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793 The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

r, and

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

for the

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, and

Blackfoot Confederacy The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or "Blackfoot language, Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up ...

. Hatch was personal friends with Henry M. Rice and Morton S. Wilkinson who advocated for his command as Major. Hatch was also a close friend of Andrew Myrick who was killed during the

Attack at the Lower Sioux Agency The Attack at the Lower Sioux Agency was the first organized attack led by Dakota people, Dakota leader Little Crow in Minnesota on August 18, 1862, and is considered the initial engagement of the Dakota War of 1862. It resulted in 13 settler de ...

. Hatch resigned his command in June 1864 due to illness and worked for

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railway director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest ...

and the

Great Northern Railway (U.S.) The Great Northern Railway was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, it was the creation of 19th-century Canadian-American railroad entrepreneur James Jerome Hill, James ...

. Hatch died in 1882 due to Cholera Morbus. * Lyman Stockwell Kidder - The son of Jefferson P. Kidder, Lyman served as a Private and was later promoted to First Sergeant in Company E. Lyman was later killed as a Lieutenant in 1867 in the

Kidder fight The Kidder Fight (or Kidder Massacre), of July 2, 1867 refers to a skirmish near what is now Goodland, Kansas involving a detachment of ten enlisted men and an Indian scout of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States), United States 2nd Cavalry un ...

. * Charles Karner Bucknum - An early Wyoming pioneer, Wyoming legislator, and Mayor of Capser. Bucknum, Wyoming is also named after him. Bucknum later served as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for

Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War (1861–1865), the later American Indian Wars (1840–1890), and the Spanish–American War, (1898). From 1895 to 1903 ...

during the

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

. Bucknum had previously served as a Corporal in Company F. * Charles Whippo Nash - The 6th Mayor of

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

(1857), 1861 State Senator of Dakota County, Minnesota, and the 5th Grand Master Mason of the Minnesota (1867-1871). * Charles Powell Adams - Minnesota Territorial House member, Senator in the Minnesota Legislature, Mayor of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

, and the Colonel of the

1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Union infantry regiment active during the American Civil War that participated in the battles of First Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg. The regiment is famous for charging into a brigade of Confederat ...

. Adams was the replacement commander of the battalion after the resignation of Major Edwin Hatch in June 1864. * Edward Dampier - Dampier was the 1st Lieutenant in Company F. Dampier's Smith carbine was used by Dr. Henry M. Wheeler to shoot Clell Miller of the

James–Younger Gang The James–Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that revolved around Jesse James and his brother Frank James. The gang was based in the state of Missouri, the home of most of the members. Membership fluctuated from ...

during their 1876 robbery in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

. The carbine is still held by the Northfield Historical Society. * John Hamilton MacKenzie - MacKeznie (McKenzie) was a

r and unofficial

and

guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

for the battalion on its march to Pembina. MacKenzie was also most notably one of the primary men, along with

Andrew Bannatyne Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne (October 31, 1829 – May 18, 1889) was a Canadian politician, fur trader and leading citizen of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Biography Bannatyne was born on the island of South Ronaldsay, Orkney, in Scotland and was ...

, who were responsible for the extrajudicial

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

of the

Chief

Shakopee III Shakopee III (1811 – 11 November 1865) was a Mdewakanton Dakota chief who was involved at the start of the Dakota War of 1862. Born Eatoka, which means "Another Language," he became known as Shakpedan or Little Six after the death of his father ...

. * Charles Henry Mix - The son of

Charles Eli Mix Charles Eli Mix (February 4, 1810 – January 15, 1878) was an American civil servant. He served as chief clerk of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1850 to 1869. For a brief period in 1858, Mix was commissioner of Indian Affairs. During his tim ...

, Mix was an

and

for the

at Long Prairie. Mix was also the secretary for Willis A. Gorman as Territorial Governor. Mix was initially a 1st Lieutenant and later the Captain of Company A. * Henning von Minden - Originally from

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, Von Minden was a German immigrant and veteran of the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

. Von Minden was the Captain of the 1st Independent "German" Company of the Minnesota Volunteers who served in Company G of the

5th Iowa Cavalry Regiment The 5th Iowa Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit from Iowa that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. History The 5th Iowa Cavalry was originally raised as the Curtis Horse in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 5, 1861, and later ab ...

, originally nicknamed the "Curtis Horse Regiment" after

Samuel Ryan Curtis Samuel Ryan Curtis (February 3, 1805 – December 26, 1866) was an American military officer and one of the first Republican Party (United States), Republicans elected to Congress. He was most famous for his role as a Union Army general in the ...

. Henning and the 3 independent Minnesota companies were eventually detached from the 5th Iowa and were designated as Brackett's Battalion in February 25, 1864. By September 1864 Minden was the replacement Major and

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...

of Hatch's Battalion, headquartered at Sauk Centre. Henning was a skilled

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

and topographical engineer who later served as the chief

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

for the Surveyor General of Minnesota in the immediate postwar. The

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

Von Minden Post 105 in

Jordan, Minnesota Jordan is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,656 at the 2020 census. History The community began on November 27, 1853, when Thomas A. Holmes ordered the construction of a sawmill. This establishment gave ...

was named after him.

Equipment

Hatch's Battalion was armed with a variety of weaponry throughout its service from 1863 to 1866, the following list are just some of the weapons they utilized: * Model 1840 Cavalry SaberSummary statements of quarterly returns of ordnance and ordnance stores on hand in Regular and Volunteer Army organizations 1862-1867, 1870-1876, Roll 2 (468). * Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber *

Remington Model 1858 The Remington-Beals Model Revolvers along with subsequent models and variations were percussion revolvers manufactured by Eliphalet Remington & Sons in .31 (Pocket) .36 (Navy) or .44 (Army) caliber, used during the American Civil War, and were th ...

Colt Army Model 1860 The Colt Army Model 1860 is a cap & ball .44-caliber single-action revolver used during the American Civil War made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces. History ...

* 1863 Starr Revolver * Whitneyville Dragoon Revolver *

Sharps Carbine Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874, the rifle wa ...

Burnside Carbine The Burnside carbine was a breech-loading carbine that saw widespread use during the American Civil War. Design The carbine was designed and patented by Ambrose Burnside, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to devote himself full-time ...

* Smith Carbine *

Springfield Model 1855 The Springfield Model 1855 was a rifled musket widely used in the American Civil War. It exploited the advantages of the new conical Minié ball, which could be deadly at over . It was a standard infantry weapon for Union and Confederates al ...

Springfield Model 1842 The US Model 1842 Musket was a .69 caliber musket manufactured and used in the United States during the 19th century. It is a continuation of the Model 1816 line of muskets but is generally referred to as its own model number rather than just a ...

References

* * {{cite book , last = Jones , first = Robert Huhn , title = The Civil War in the Northwest , publisher = University of Oklahoma Press , date = 1960

External links

The Civil War Archive Website

Minnesota Historical Society page on Minnesota and the Civil War

Service

Commander

Casualties and total strength

Notable members

Equipment

References

External links

See also