The 8th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Minnesota USV

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

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 Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonization of the Americas, European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States o ...

and 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 8th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was mustered into Federal service 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 ...

and

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

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 ...

, between June 2 and September 1, 1862, with ten companies, and deployed in guarding the frontier 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 ...

. The regiment served in this manner until the spring of 1864, when it was assembled to participate in Brigadier General Alfred Sully's Northwestern Indian Expedition against the Sioux. The regiment rendezvoused at

Paynesville, Minnesota Paynesville is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, on Lake Koronis, in the central part of the state. The population was 2,388 at the 2020 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Paynesvill ...

, on May 24, 1864, where it received its regimental colors, was mounted on horses, and attached to the 2nd Brigade of the District of Iowa. The 8th marched through

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 ...

, where it participated in the

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 ...

in July, and at the Battle of the Badlands in August. After crossing into eastern

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 ...

, the regiment reached the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountain ...

, from which point it marched downstream to Fort Union, at the rivers' mouth. From there, the regiment marched toward the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

in search of "hostile" Sioux, but returned to Fort Union empty handed. After reaching

Fort Rice Fort Rice (Lakota: ''Psíŋ Otȟúŋwahe''; "Wild Rice Village") was a frontier military fort in the 19th century named for American Civil War General James Clay Rice in what was then Dakota Territory and what is now North Dakota. The 50th Wiscon ...

in central

, from September 10–30, 1864 four companies were sent 200 miles west to help rescue Fisk's immigrant 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 ...

approximately 13 miles east of the Montana Territory border. At this time, the regiment was transferred to the 23rd Corps, then in the

Department of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The two separated parts of the regiment moved south, but the detachment that had gone to rescue the immigrant train arrived in Nashville first, due to traveling via a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

down the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. In December, 1864 the 8th Minnesota participated in the

Third Battle of Murfreesboro The Third Battle of Murfreesboro, also known as the Battle of Wilkinson Pike or the Battle of the Cedars, was fought December 5–7, 1864, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. ...

, Tennessee, where it suffered 13 men killed and 77 wounded. The regiment then marched to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and landed at Wilmington,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. After moving inland, from March 7–10, 1865 it fought in the

Battle of Wyse Fork The Battle of Wyse Fork, also known as the Battle of Kinston, was fought in the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War, resulting in a Union Army victory. Background At the end of February 1865 the port city of Wilmington had fallen t ...

, North Carolina. The Regiment was present for General Johnston's surrender to U.S. Gen. Sherman at

Bennett Place Bennett Place is a former farm and homestead in Durham, North Carolina, which was the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman. The first meetin ...

, Durham, North Carolina. In the last year of the Civil War, the 8th Minnesota saw service in Minnesota, Dakota Territory,

, Tennessee, Alabama,

, and North Carolina, traveling more miles during that time than any other regiment of the Union Army. The 8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment was finally mustered out on July 11, 1865.

Casualties

The 8th Minnesota Infantry suffered 1 officer and 26 enlisted men who were killed or who died of their wounds received in battle, and another 56 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 83 fatalities.Civil War Archive
/ref>

Commanders

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 ...

Minor T. Thomas – August 24, 1862, to July 11, 1865, promoted to brevet brigadier general in February 1865. * Lieutenant Colonel Henry T. Rodgers – often commanded regiment throughout the last year of the war when Colonel Thomas acted as its brigade commander.

Notes

References

* * * * {{cite book , last=Hodnefield , first=Paul , date=2023 , title=Sherman's Woodticks: The Adventures, Ordeals, and Travels of the Eighth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry During the Civil War , publisher=North Star Press of St. Cloud Inc. , isbn=978-1-68201-137-9

External links