The 7th 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 ...

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 ...

that served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Elijah Evan Edwards was one of the chaplains of the 7th Minnesota Infantry. Oliver Perry Light was another, promoted to Full Chaplain on 16 Apr 1863.

Service

The 7th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was mustered into Federal service at Camp Release, Fort Snelling, and

St. Peter, Minnesota St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. It is 10 miles north of the Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area. The population was 12,066 at the 2020 census. St. Peter is the county seat of Nicollet County and home ...

, between August 16 and October 30, 1862. In August Companies A, B, F, G, and H marched to relieve the embattled

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 ...

.7th Regiment Minnesota Infantry, Battle Unit Details, Union Minnesota Volunteers, National Park Service, Department of the Interio

/ref> They would see action at the

Battle of Birch Coulee The Battle of Birch Coulee occurred 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 warriors followed a U.S. burial expedition, incl ...

and at 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 Ha ...

in September. Following the surrender of the Sioux, the Seventh spent the winter in Minnesota. The next summer, they accompanied Colonel Henry Sibley against the native peoples in

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 ...

. They fought in the

Battle of Big Mound The Battle of Big Mound was a United States Army victory in July 1863 over the Santee Sioux Indians allied with some Yankton, Yanktonai and Teton Sioux in Dakota Territory. Background The defeat of Little Crow in the Dakota War of 1862 ...

in July, 1863. They returned to Minnesota to be sent south to

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in October for the winter. Once spring arrived, the regiment moved east to

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

. From there, it headed south into

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and by the end of June were in northern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. In July, they fought Confederate forces in the

Battle of Tupelo The Battle of Tupelo, also known as the Engagement at Harrisburg, was a battle of the American Civil War fought from July 14 to 15, 1864, near Tupelo, Mississippi. The Union victory over Confederate forces in northeast Mississippi ensured t ...

. They pursued

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

but did not engage his troops. They arrived in

Nashville 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 ...

that winter and contributed to the Union victory at the

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 18 ...

. After the battle, they moved further south into

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

for the

Battle of Spanish Fort The Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Mobile ne ...

, one of the last battles on the Western theater. The war ended and by July the Seventh was heading north for home. The Regiment was mustered out in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, on August 16, 1865. MHS 7th Minnesota

* Casualties The 7th Minnesota Infantry suffered 2 officers and 31 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 138 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 171 fatalities.Civil War Archive
/ref>

Colonels

Both of the 7th regiment's commanders were later elected governor of Minnesota: *

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 ...

Stephen Miller – August 24, 1862, to November 6, 1863. * Colonel

William Rainey Marshall Willian Rainey Marshall (October 17, 1825January 8, 1896) was an American politician. He was the fifth Governor of Minnesota from January 8, 1866 to January 9, 1870 and was a member of the Republican party. He served as an officer in the 7th M ...

– November 6, 1863, to August 16, 1865.

References

* {{Cite book ">editor1-first=C. C. , editor1-last=Andrews , editor1-link=Christopher Columbus Andrews , publisher = Printed for the state by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Pioneer Press Co , location = St. Paul, Minn , title = Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars 1861-1865 , date = 1891 , ol=7088819M

External links

The Civil War Archive

Minnesota Historical Society page on Minnesota and the Civil War

Service

Colonels

Further reading

References

External links

See also