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Minnesota in the Civil War: An Illustrated History
From the opening shots at Bull Run until silence fell over Appomattox, the young men of Minnesota were active combatants in the nation's epic struggle.
Minnesota in the Civil War draws upon the Minnesota Historical Society's vast collections of soldiers' diaries and letters, as well as contemporary newspaper accounts, rare photographs, drawings, maps, uniforms and equipment, to create a vivid picture of daily life. What emerges are vivid, haunting images of the heaviest and deadliest fighting—Bull Run, the Hornet's Nest at Shiloh, Antietam, Chattanooga, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Nashville, Sherman's march to the sea—but also the overwhelming loneliness and tedium of war. Amid the mud and monotony, the endless days of drilling interrupted by short spurts of intense fighting, these young men reflect, often eloquently, on their mortality and the persistent fear that they will never again see their loved ones.
Every page contains moments of simple a Tennessee woman who gives her best quilt to a Minnesota boy to disguise his uniform behind enemy lines, a young private struggling for the right words to tell his mother that his brother has been killed at Gettysburg. And images of unspeakable the savagery of the surgeon's tent or the slow torture of prison life in Libby and Andersonville. Here, too, are many forgotten aspects of the war from the Red River expedition and the Mobile Bay expedition to the eight-hundred-mile pursuit of Confederate General Sterling Price through Arkansas and Missouri to the second war on the homefront as the Dakota Indians took up arms in August 1862.
Beginning with the famous Civil War paintings on display in the Minnesota State Capitol, author Kenneth Carley narrates the story of the Minnesota regiments and their sacrifices to the Union cause. The result is a multi-dimensional picture of Minnesota's contribution to the Civil War. From the first eager volunteers of the First Minnesota to the final bugle calls as troops were mustered out at Fort Snelling, Minnesota in the Civil War is a tribute to both the daily courage Minnesota's soldiers had to gather and the valor they showed on battlefields across the country in the name of preserving the Union.
Minnesota in the Civil War draws upon the Minnesota Historical Society's vast collections of soldiers' diaries and letters, as well as contemporary newspaper accounts, rare photographs, drawings, maps, uniforms and equipment, to create a vivid picture of daily life. What emerges are vivid, haunting images of the heaviest and deadliest fighting—Bull Run, the Hornet's Nest at Shiloh, Antietam, Chattanooga, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Nashville, Sherman's march to the sea—but also the overwhelming loneliness and tedium of war. Amid the mud and monotony, the endless days of drilling interrupted by short spurts of intense fighting, these young men reflect, often eloquently, on their mortality and the persistent fear that they will never again see their loved ones.
Every page contains moments of simple a Tennessee woman who gives her best quilt to a Minnesota boy to disguise his uniform behind enemy lines, a young private struggling for the right words to tell his mother that his brother has been killed at Gettysburg. And images of unspeakable the savagery of the surgeon's tent or the slow torture of prison life in Libby and Andersonville. Here, too, are many forgotten aspects of the war from the Red River expedition and the Mobile Bay expedition to the eight-hundred-mile pursuit of Confederate General Sterling Price through Arkansas and Missouri to the second war on the homefront as the Dakota Indians took up arms in August 1862.
Beginning with the famous Civil War paintings on display in the Minnesota State Capitol, author Kenneth Carley narrates the story of the Minnesota regiments and their sacrifices to the Union cause. The result is a multi-dimensional picture of Minnesota's contribution to the Civil War. From the first eager volunteers of the First Minnesota to the final bugle calls as troops were mustered out at Fort Snelling, Minnesota in the Civil War is a tribute to both the daily courage Minnesota's soldiers had to gather and the valor they showed on battlefields across the country in the name of preserving the Union.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Kenneth Carley
6 books2 followersKenneth Carley was a journalist who wrote for the Ortonville Independent, the Minneapolis Star, and the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune's Picture magazine. He was also the founder and past president of the Twin Cities Civil War Round Table and was named to the citizens' advisory committee of the Minnesota Civil War and Sioux Uprising Centennial commission.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 25, 2022
Concise articles covering the major Civil War battles involving Union Army regiments from Minnesota.
November 21, 2015
Though badly written there were some stories that were quite interesting. Unfortunately there was no flow in the stories laid out and the high number of grammatical mistakes made for a frustrating read. My favorite story was the quilt story. We had an amazing group of volunteers fight in the civil war it is too bad that more effort wasn't put into this book.
January 20, 2016
While the story is a bit disjointed, this new edition is a welcome improvement over the original 1965 version. It contains many letters and stories from the men of the various Minnesota units, along with many photos of the men. It is a fine addition to Civil War library.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews