Minnesota in the Civil War
Gettysburg
Although Minnesota was a new state when the American Civil War started, it was the first to contribute troops to the Union effort, with about 22,000 Minnesotans serving. Alexander Ramsey, the first governor of Minnesota, was in Washington on April 13, 1861, when the war broke out. He sent a telegram back to Saint Paul urging his lieutenant governor, Ignatius L. Donnelly, to call out volunteers. The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was particularly important to the Battle of Gettysburg.
