The 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment, also known as the Mounted Rangers, was a Minnesota USV mounted infantry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

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 ...

. The companies of the regiment were initially mustered in between October and December 1862 at St. Cloud, St. Peter and

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 ...

for three month's service which was extended to a year. Thirty to forty men from the Renville Rangers militia volunteered at Fort Snelling when their militia was decommissioned by joining the company raised from Faribault County. The Minnesota Mounted Rangers served entirely in

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 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 ...

in response the hostile Santee

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 ...

. The men were mustered out between October and December 1863.

Service history

Organized at St. Cloud, St. Peters and Fort Snelling, Minnesota from October 9 to December 30, 1862. Organized for frontier duty against Indians. 1st Battalion engaged in frontier duty till June, 1863. Sibley's Expedition against Indians in Dakota Territory June 16-September 14. Battle of Big Mound, D. T., July 24. Dead Buffalo Lake July 26. Stony Lake July 28. Missouri River July 28-30. 1st Battalion on duty at Fort Ripley, and rest of Regiment at Fort Snelling, Minn., till December. Mustered out October 20 to December 7, 1863.

Battles and campaigns

* Sibley's Expedition against Indians in Dakota Territory, June 16 to September 14, 1863. * Battle of Big Mound, July 24, 1863. * Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, July 26, 1863. *

Battle of Stony Lake The Battle of Stony Lake was the third and last engagement of Henry Hastings Sibley's 1863 campaign against the Sioux, Santee, Sioux, Yankton, Sioux, Yanktonai and Lakota people, Teton Sioux in Dakota Territory. Following the battle, the Ind ...

, July 28, 1863. *Operations along the Missouri River, July 28 to 30, 1863.

Colonels

Samuel McPhail Samuel McPhail (May 2, 1826 - March 6, 1902) was a Minnesota settler, lawyer, judge, military officer, and is the founder of Caledonia, Redwood Falls, Alta Vista Township, and Redwood County, Minnesota. Early life McPhail was born on May 2, ...

- October 1862 to December 1863.

Casualties and total strength

The 1st Minnesota Cavalry lost two officers and four enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds received in battle. An additional 31 enlisted men died of disease. Total fatalities were 3

Notable people

* Samuel McPhail: McPahil was the Colonel and commander of the regiment. Originally born in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, McPhail was a veteran of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and was an early settler of

Renville County, Minnesota Renville County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 14,723. Its county seat is Olivia, Minnesota, Olivia. History The Minnesota Territory legis ...

. During the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

McPhail led a cavalry relief column to rescue Captain Hiram P. Grant, Captain Joseph Anderson, and Major Joseph R. Brown who had been ambushed by

Little Crow Little Crow III ( Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Wahpekute Dakota chief who led a faction of the Dakota in a five-week war against the United States in 1862. In 1846, after surviving a violent leadership contest w ...

in the

Battle of Birch Coulee The Battle of Birch Coulee occurred on 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 people, Dakota warriors followed a U.S. buri ...

. * Jacob Nix: Nix served as the Captain of Company L from December 28, 1862 to December 1863 when he was transferred to the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment where he then commanded Company G. *

William Pfaender William Pfaender Sr. (born Jakob Wilhelm Pfänder, July 6, 1826 – August 11, 1905) was a German-American politician and businessman. Biography Born in Heilbronn, Kingdom of Württemberg, Pfaender emigrated to the United States in 1848 an ...

: Mayor, postmaster, and

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

from

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm ( ) is a city and the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River a ...

. Pfaender first served as the Lieutenant colonel of the regiment until his transfer to the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment. *

John Hauenstein John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

: A renowned

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

from

. He was later the founder and operator of the Hauenstein Brewing Company. Hauenstein served as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company L under Captain Jacob Nix. * Eugene M. Wilson: A

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and Democratic

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 ...

who served in various legal and political offices in

including as a

member of Congress A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and as the fifth and seventh

mayor of Minneapolis The mayor of Minneapolis is the chief executive officer of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, responsible for overseeing the city's administration. As the political and ceremonial leader of the city, the mayor also represents Minneapolis on the ...

. * Eugene Saint Julien Cox: Minnesota

and

. Cox served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

in 1873 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and then served in the

Minnesota State Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

in 1874 and 1875. * Horace Austin: Republican politician and the 6th

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory ...

References

Annual Report of the Adjutant General, of the State of Minnesota, for the Year Ending December 1, 1866, and of the Military Forces of the State from 1861 to 1866
Saint Paul inn. Pioneer Printing Company, 1866. The "First Regiment Mounted Rangers, Minnesota Volunteers" begins on page 633.

External links

The Civil War Archive WebsiteMinnesota Historical Society page on Minnesota 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 1863 1863 disestablishments in the United States {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub