Minnesota Star Tribune

First Minnesota at Gettysburg: Interactive painting

The First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment played a crucial role in this turning-point battle of the Civil War. Ordered to charge down Cemetery Ridge on July 2, 1863, the regiment successfully stopped the advance of a Confederate brigade nearly six times larger that was threatening to break through the Union-held line. Of about 262 men ordered forward to buy time until reinforcements could arrive, about three-quarters were killed or seriously wounded – the highest single-battle toll for any Union regiment during the war. Col. William Colvill, standing behind the tattered flag, rallies his men forward. He would soon be wounded and crippled for life. Shown here is "The Battle of Gettysburg," an 1906 oil painting by Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum. See this painting at the State Capitol in the Governor's reception room courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.


A calendar of local events marking the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

July 2, 2013 at 7:07PM
  • First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg
    • A dead Union soldier from the 3rd Army Corps represents the battle from earlier that day.
      • A soldier takes up the flag of the Minnesota regiment after the color bearer was shot.
        • Col. William Colville leading the charge moments before being twice wounded.
          • The Alabama Brigade of the Confederate Army, lead by Gen. Cadmus Wilcox.
            • Rocks and stream are known landmarks of the Plum Run rivulet.
              • Interviews and photographs of veterans were used as reference for the painting.
                • Of about 262 men ordered to charge, about three-quarters were killed or wounded.
                  • On the ridge behind the Minnesota volunteers is a Confederate regiment from Florida.
                    • Yellow sky indicates the time of the battle, about 7:00 p.m. on July 2, 1863.
                      Detail from "The Battle of Gettysburg," painted by Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum.
                      Detail from "The Battle of Gettysburg," painted by Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum. (Billy Steve Clayton/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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