1st Minnesota Light Artillery

The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery served both in the Western and Eatern theatres of the war taking part in battles from Mill Springs, Kentucky, to Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas.

The battery was mustered in at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. on November 21, 1861. The battery saw its first action at the bloody battle of Shiloh, (see Below), where they played an important part in the defense of the "Hornets' Nest". They saw more hard fighting at Corinth, Mississippi, and as part of the Army of the Tennessee they endured the long campaign to capture Vicksburg, (Click).

Later the battery joined General Sherman's forces in the Atlanta Campaign and his famous "March to the Sea." The Minnesotans continued with Sherman's forces through the Carolinas to the final battle of the war at Bentonville, North Carolina. They also participated in the Grand Review of the major Union armies in Washington, D.C., following the war's end. (Click)

The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery lost 1 officer and 7 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds received in battle and 1 officer and 29 enlisted men died of disease. Total fatalities were 38

The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery was mustered out at St. Paul, Minnesota on July 1, 1865.

OFFICERS: Captain Emil Munch - November 7, 1861 to December 25, 1862 Captain William Z. Clayton - December 25, 1862 to July 1, 1865

Munch

ENGAGED FROM EARLY IN THE MORNING, WHEN CAPT. MUNCH WAS WOUNDED AND DISABLED, IN THE FIRST DAY’S BATTLE OF SHILOH, APRIL 6, 1862. THE RIGHT AND LEFT SECTIONS UNDER COMMAND OF 1ST LIEUT. WILLIAM PFAENDER PARTICIPATED IN THE STRUGGLE OF THE “HORNET’S NEST” WHERE THIS MONUMENT STANDS. THE TWO GUNS OF THE CENTER SECTION WERE DISABLED EARLY IN THE DAY, BUT ONE OF THEM TOOK PART IN THE EVENING IN REPELLING THE LAST CHARGE OF THE CONFEDERATES. CAPT. E. MUNCH AND 1ST LIEUT. F. E. PEEBLES WOUNDED; THREE MEN KILLED AND SIX MEN WOUNDED.

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1st Minnesota Battery monument, Shiloh National Military Park

   
1st Minnesota Battery monument, Vicksburg National Military Park
Reunion of the 1st Battery Minnesota Artillery at Winona, 1888
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