The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment 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 ...

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 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment was mustered 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 ...

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 ...

. for three year's service on December 5, 1863, and were mustered out on November 17, 1865, and May 4, 1866. It served entirely in Minnesota,

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

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

guarding the frontier against 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 ...

Indians. In 1864 the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry was headquartered at Fort Snelling under Colonel Robert Neil MacLaren.

Service history

Organized in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

on December 5, 1863, to January 5, 1864. Duty there and garrison posts on Minnesota frontier till May, 1864. March 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 th ...

May 24–28, 1864. Sully's Expedition against hostile Indians west of the Missouri River June 5 to October 15, 1864. March to Fort Sully, Missouri River, June 5 – July 1. Pursuit of Indians to the

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, ...

July 5–28. Battle of Tah kah a kuty or

Battle of Killdeer Mountain The Battle of Killdeer Mountain (also known as the Battle of Tahkahokuty Mountain) took place during Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully's expedition against the Sioux in Dakota Territory July 28–29, 1864. The location of the battleground is in modern ...

July 28. Passage of the Bad Lands August 348. Action at Two Hills, Bad Lands, Little Missouri River, August 8–9. Rescue of James L. Fisk's Emigrant train September 10–30. Engaged in frontier and patrol duty between Forts Wadsworth, Abercrombie, Ripley and Ridgley, Headquarters at Fort Snelling, till May, 1866. Mustered out Companies "B," "C," "D," "E," "F," "G," "I" and "M" November 17 to December 29, 1865, Company "A" April 2, 1866, Company "H" April 28, 1866, and Companies "K" and "L" May 4, 1866.

Battles and campaigns

*Battle of Tah Kah A Kuty or

, July 28, 1864. * Battle of the Badlands, August 8 to 9, 1864. *Rescue of Fisk's Emigrant train at

Fort Dilts Fort Dilts was a makeshift sod fort built near Rhame, North Dakota, United States, in September 1864 to fend off attacks by Hunkpapa Sioux Indians led by Sitting Bull upon an encircled wagon train of would-be gold-miners and a small military e ...

, September 10 to 30,1864.

Colonels

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Robert Neil MacLaren - January 13, 1864 - November 17, 1865.

Casualties and total strength

The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry had 4 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds received in battle and an additional 3 officers and 56 enlisted men died of disease. Total fatalities were 6

War Poet

At the outbreak of the

, Edward Thomas, a

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). ...

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

native to

Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. History Following the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, which opened the Northwest Territory to ...

and whose

Bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...

was Awenydd, was living and working as a schoolmaster at the

Welsh-American Welsh Americans () are an American ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales, United Kingdom. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U.S. popu ...

farming settlement at South Bend Township, in Blue Earth County,

. In 1862, he enlisted in Company E of the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment. During his military service, Thomas wrote many Welsh language poems, including ''Pryddest ar Wir Fawredd'', which later won the Bardic Crown at an

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

held in

Minersville, Pennsylvania Minersville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Anthracite coal deposits are plentiful in the region. The population was 4,388 at the 2020 census. Minersville is located west of Allentown, northwest of Philadel ...

. Following the end of the war, Thomas became a

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

Notable people

* Robert Neil MacLaren: MacLaren (sometimes spelled McLaren) started out his career as the

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 ...

of the

6th Minnesota Infantry Regiment The 6th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 6th Minnesota Infantry spent much of the war in the Northwest fighting Dakota Indians rather than participating in the b ...

. MacLaren was present at 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 ...

and the

Battle of Wood Lake The Battle of Wood Lake occurred on September 23, 1862, and was the final battle in the Dakota War of 1862. The two-hour battle, which actually took place at nearby Lone Tree Lake, was a decisive victory for the U.S. forces led by Colonel Henry H ...

. MacLaren was eventually was promoted to the rank of Colonel and given the command of the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Cavalry on January 12, 1864. In 1865 MacLaren served as the commandant of

and was present for the execution of Chief Shakopee III. He was later

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

with the rank of Brigadier General in December of 1865. * Edward Thomas: a

, served in Company E. * Jacob Nix: Nix was a supporter of the

German revolutions of 1848–1849 The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated p ...

and was an active

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

. Nix settled in

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 ...

and took part in the

Battles of New Ulm The Battles of New Ulm, also known as the New Ulm Massacre, were two battles in August 1862 between Dakota men and European settlers and militia in New Ulm, Minnesota early in the Dakota War of 1862. Dakota forces attacked New Ulm on August 19 ...

as a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

Captain before being enrolled as the Captain Company L, 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment and later transferred to Company G, 2nd Minnesota Cavalry. Nix was discharged on November 4, 1864. *

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

. Pfaender first served as the Lieutenant colonel of the 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment under Colonel

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, ...

from October 1862 to November 1863 before transferring to the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment. *Benjamin Franklin: Franklin was a Private in Companies H & K of the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry. While travelling from Fort Wadsworth in Dakota Territory, to Fort Ridgley in Minnesota he and several others were caught in a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

which caused the entire party to suffer from

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

. Both of Franklins arms and legs required

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

and made him a quadruple amputee. His likeness can be found on many

Carte de visite The ''carte de visite'' (, English: 'visiting card', abbr. 'CdV', pl. ''cartes de visite'') was a format of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero ...

held in both private collections, as well the collections of both the

National Museum of Health and Medicine The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) is a museum in Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. The museum was founded by U.S. Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond as the Army Medical Museum (AMM) in 1862; it became the NMH ...

and the

National Museum of Civil War Medicine __NOTOC__ The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is a U.S. historic education institution located in Frederick, Maryland. Its focus involves the medical, surgical and nursing practices during the American Civil War (1861–1865). History T ...

References

* *

External links

The Civil War Archive WebsiteNarrative of the Minnesota Second Regiment of Cavalry

Minnesota Historical Society page on Minnesota and the Civil War