Tales of History: The 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg

That Order Meant Death

I’ve only recently returned from Gettysburg, dear reader, and let me tell you the reiteration on various plaques and monuments reminding those who read them that they stand on hallowed ground is entirely accurate.

Gettysburg was one of, if not the, pivotal battle in the Civil War. It was very much a make it or break it for both armies where if the Confederacy had won they would likely have been able to threaten Washington DC and force the Union to sue for peace whereas the Union had to stop them at all costs in order to prevent just that.

There are countless moments of climactic drama- the primary engagement on the first day, the battle around Devil’s Den and Little Round Top, and, of course, Pickett’s Charge.

There is, however, one moment of utter gallantry conspicuously absent from the cultural zeitgeist surrounding Gettysburg which is all the more striking as it ties in directly to the battle of Little Round Top- the unspoken heroism of the 1st Minnesota.

You see, on the second day of the battle of Gettysburg (July 2) General Dan Sickles (whether by gross misunderstanding or incompetence) placed his Corps in a position that the entire left flank of the Union army completely undefended.

Realizing that if Confederate general Longstreet took their flank the entire Union army would get cracked like an egg the other Union generals began frantically throwing whatever men they could spare up onto Little Round Top to cover this hole in their defenses.

As they were doing so Sickles’ men were outflanked by Longstreet’s and it seemed for a moment the Union wouldn’t have time for any troops to reach Little Round Top before the Confederates would have it overrun.

Enter the 1st Minnesota.

Having begun the war with 1,000 men, by July, 2 the 1st Minnesota numbered a mere 262.

Originally placed in support of a gun battery, they watched along with the rest of the Union Army as Sickles’ men began falling back in confusion and leaving a hole through which two entire Confederate brigades (roughly 4-8,000 men) came pouring in after them.

Desperate to gain enough time to bring up sufficient reserves to repel the attack General Hancock shouted to the nearest men he could find to charge the advancing Confederates.

Those men where of the 1st Minnesota, dear reader, and to a man they knew that order meant death.

Even so, Hancock was instantly obeyed. Without so much as a blink the men of the 1st Minnesota fixed bayonets and charged down the slope through the concentrated fire of two whole brigades in a charge so ferocious it actually succeeded in breaking the Confederate’s front line. Grossly outnumbered the 1st Minnesota was almost completely surrounded but they refused to quit, engaging in brutal hand to hand fighting until sufficient Union reinforcements came up to join them and force a Confederate retreat.

Standing alone in the breach, the 1st Minnesota had succeeded in halting the Confederate army while being outnumbered six to one, and likely saved the entire Union front from collapsing at the same time.

And they suffered dearly for it.

Of the 262 that entered that fight only 47 were left standing (and an additional 17 would be killed and wounded the next day while helping to repel Pickett’s Charge).

In and of itself this stand is remarkable, dear reader, but with context it transcends into the incredible. Without the knowing and willing self-sacrifice of these men you don’t have Gettysburg. You don’t have Pickett’s charge or Little Round Top because the Union loses the battle then and there pure and simple. The sacrifice of those 262 men charging against a vastly superior force and fighting bitterly for every inch of ground was so stunning that Union and Confederate troops marveled at it *at the time* and their sacrifice was so complete it led to general Hancock being haunted by giving the order for them to charge until his dying day.

Fast forward to today and despite there being a giant fuck off monument to the 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg it is often overshadowed by the towering Pennsylvania monument nearby. The actions of the 1st Minnesota on July 2 are only mentioned in passing when they are mentioned at all and that is a true crime dear reader, particularly as without them the Union would very likely have lost at Gettysburg and from there, the war.

So the next time you see an American flag take a moment to thank the 1st Minnesota, dear reader, because without them Old Glory may not be as we know it today.

Until next time.