The 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Minnesota USV

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

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 ...

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 ...

in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Service

On October 23, 1861, Assistant Secretary of War

Thomas A. Scott Thomas Alexander Scott (December 28, 1823 – May 21, 1881) was an American businessman, railroad executive, and industrialist. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, and during the American ...

sent correspondence to Minnesota Governor

Alexander Ramsey Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. He was the first Minnesota Territorial Governor. Early years and f ...

, authorizing him to raise a fifth regiment of infantry in the state. The 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was mustered into Federal service 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 List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, between March 15 and April 30, 1862. The Regiment was split with B Company posted to

Fort Ridgely Fort Ridgely was a frontier United States Army outpost from 1851 to 1867, built 1853–1854 in Minnesota Territory. The Sioux called it Esa Tonka. It was located overlooking the Minnesota river southwest of Fairfax, Minnesota. Half of the ...

, C Company to Fort Ripley, D Company to

Fort Abercrombie Fort Abercrombie, in North Dakota, was an American 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 a military ...

, with the remainder heading off to fight the south. B Co. was the escort that took the women, children and elderly to Fort Snelling from the Yellow Medicine Lower Sioux Agency in November 1862. Companies B, C, and D were relieved and sent south in November- December that year. The 5th Minnesota took part in the following: *

Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth (also known as the first Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry ...

, May 26–30, 1862 (Companies A, E-K) * Farmington, Mississippi, May 28, 1862 (Companies A, E-K) *

Battle of Redwood Ferry The Battle of Redwood Ferry took place on August 18, 1862, on the first day of the Dakota War of 1862. Prelude At 10 am on August 18, 1862, word of the attack at the Lower Sioux Agency reached Fort Ridgely Fort Ridgely was a fronti ...

, Aug 18, 1862 (Company B, Dakota Conflict) * Battle of Fort Ridgely, August 20–22, 1862 (Companies B & C, Dakota Conflict) * Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory, September 3–6, 1862 (Company D, Dakota Conflict) * Iuka, Mississippi, September 19, 1862 (Companies A, E-K present, but in reserve) *

Corinth, Mississippi Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee. History Corinth was founded i ...

, October 4, 1862 (Companies A, E-K) * Mississippi Springs, Mississippi, May 13, 1863 (5th Regiment from here on) *

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, May 14, 1863 * Assault on Vicksburg, May 22, 1863 * Satartia, Mississippi, June 4, 1863 * Mechanicsburg, Mississippi, June 6, 1863 * Richmond, Louisiana, June 14, 1863 * Canton, Mississippi, October 16, 1863 * Brownsville, Mississippi, October 18, 1863 * Barton's Station, Mississippi, October 20, 1863 * Assault on Fort De Russy, Louisiana, March 14, 1864 * Henderson's Hill, Louisiana, March 21, 1864 * Grand Ecore, Louisiana, April 2, 1864 * Campti, Louisiana, April 3, 1864 * Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, April 9, 1864 * Cloutierville, Louisiana, April 23, 1864 * Cane River, Louisiana, April 24, 1864 * Moore's Plantation, Louisiana, May 3, 1864 * Bayou La Moure, Louisiana, May 6 and 7, 1864 * Bayou Roberts, Louisiana, May 7, 1864 * Mansura, Louisiana, May 16, 1864 * Bayou De Glaise, Louisiana, May 18 and 19, 1864 * Lake Chicot, Arkansas, June 6, 1864 *

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North ...

, July 14, 1864 (non-veterans only; veterans on furlough June 17-August 17, 1864) * Oxford, Mississippi, August 21, 1864 * Abbeville, Mississippi, August 23, 1864 *

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, December 15 and 16, 1864 * Fish River, Alabama, March 24, 1865 * Capture of Spanish Fort, Alabama, April 8, 1865 * Fort Blakely, Alabama, April 9, 1865 * Garrison Duty at Montgomery, Selma, and Demopolis, Alabama, until August, 1865 The regiment was mustered out on September 6, 1865.

Casualties

The 5th Minnesota Infantry suffered 4 officers and 86 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 4 officers and 175 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 269 fatalities.Civil War Archive
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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 ...

Rudolph von Borgesrode - April 30, 1862, to August 31, 1862. * Colonel Lucius Frederick Hubbard - August 31, 1862, to September 6, 1865.

Other noted individuals

* Thomas P. Gere,

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

recipient * John Ireland Chaplain and Archbishop of St. Paul, Minnesota

References

Notes

{{Reflist

External links

The Civil War Archive

Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars 1861-1865, by Minnesota, Charles Eugene FlandrauMinnesota and the Civil War
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