1st Minnesota Vols

When Lincoln called for 75,000 men to help support the Union, Minnesota was the first state to volunteer 1000 troops. The first Minnesota saw action at Gettysburg.

The 1st Minnesota, composed of roughly 250 men, charged into a brigade of roughly 1,200 men belonging to Anderson's Division. Although the regiment was outnumbered by a ratio of at least 5 to 1, charging was Hancock's only opportunity to buy time for Union reinforcements to arrive. One survivor stated afterward that he expected the advance to result in "death or wounds to us all". The regiment immediately obeyed the order, and Hancock was reportedly amazed at the unit discipline, valor, and the tremendous casualties taken in carrying out his order. This action blunted the Confederate attack and helped preserve the Union's precarious position on Cemetery Ridge.