At Gettysburg, there were a number of individuals and regiments that willingly gave their lives to ensure a Union victory. My second book, Strong Vincent: a Call to Glory describes the efforts of one man that fit that category. The courage of the First Minnesota Regiment is another.

 On Day Two of the battle, General Dan Sickles moved his Third Corps forward without permission from Gen. George Meade. His troops in the Peach Orchard were facing Confederate forces, some led by General Cadmus Wilcox, late in the day. During a concerted attack, Union forces broke and ran. Union General Winfield Scott Hancock took over when Sickles was injured and removed from the field. He asked Meade for reinforcements, but he had to find a way to stall the Confederate forces until those extra men could arrive.

 Hancock turned to Col. William Colvill of the First Minnesota. Colvill had earlier sent two of his companies to other areas, and he was left with 262 soldiers. The oncoming Confederate onslaught numbered over 1300 men. Hancock ordered Colvill to charge into the enemy. He needed five extra minutes to get his reinforcements into place.

When Colvill ordered his men to put their bayonets on their rifles, all the soldiers knew very few of them would be coming back. Colvill ordered the First Minnesota to attack. The Union regiment poured fire into the first line of Rebels and drove them back. Then the enemy regrouped. The fighting was on, and it was fierce.

The First Minnesota gave Hancock fifteen minutes, ten more than he asked for. With the extra soldiers, Hancock’s defense held, and the Confederates retreated. But it was at a huge cost to the First Minnesota regiment. Of the 262 men that entered into the fray, 215 were killed, wounded or captured – a casualty rate of 82%. That was one of the highest amounts of casualties suffered by one regiment in the entire Civil War.

If you go to Gettysburg, you’ll undoubtedly stop at the big Pennsylvania Monument. After you visit it, look to your left and walk down the road just a little bit, and you will see the monument dedicated to those brave soldiers of the First Minnesota, who willingly sacrificed their lives to help save the Union Army.