The 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment was a Minnesota USV

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

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 ...

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 ...

Service

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

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

, 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 * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

, 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 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 ...

duty at

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. 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.

Legacy

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. ...

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

Commanding officers

*Lt. Colonel Luther Loren 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 Loren 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