Every Man Did His Duty

Finalist 2013 Minnesota Book Award Minnesota The First Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was the first volunteer regiment offered in service to President Lincoln after the fall of Ft. Sumter. Men and boys attended patriotic rallies throughout the young state and signed their names to papers that pledged they would answer the president’s call. They were strong men toughened by rugged pioneer life and in the next three years they drew on that strength time and again. The men of the First Minnesota served in nearly every major battle in the eastern campaign with the Army of the Potomac and were frequently cited for their professional conduct in the field and for their bravery – nowhere more so than at the Battle of Gettysburg where their harrowing sacrifice saved the Union from defeat and helped turn the tide of the war. Every Man Did His Duty tells the individual stories of over a hundred men who served in the First Minnesota from the regiment’s commanders to its courageous young pri