Clark County WI
Civil War Unit Histories
Compiled by Paul Forester, Janet Schwarze, Allan Wessel & Ken Wood
Our Civil War Veterans who fought with this unit were John H. Booth, Co. H (pictured above) & Henry Hickman, Co. K
Colonel
James B. Gilfillan, St. Paul; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Lieutenant Colonel
John Ball, Winona; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Major
Martin Maginnis; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Adjutant
Horatio D. Brown; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Quartermaster
Martin Maginnis, promoted major, Sept. 13, 1864
Nathaniel G. Gault; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Surgeon
Henry McMahon, St. Paul; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Assistant Surgeon
Peter Gabrielson, St. Paul; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Robert L. Morris; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
Chaplain
Charles G. Bowdish, Glencoe; discharged with regiment June 26, 1865
The Minnesota 11th Regiment was organized in August and September 1864 and the men were sent to Ft. Snelling near Minneapolis where they were trained. The original term of service was for three years. John H. Booth enlisted August 29th. On September 20th the Regiment, now over 1,000 strong, marched to St. Paul and boarded steamboats for the trip south to La Crosse, Wisconsin. From there they were loaded into boxcars for the journey to Chicago where they were detained for a week while it was feared they would be diverted to fight in the Northwest Indian Expedition in the Dakotas.
Orders were finally received to proceed to their final destination, Gallatin, Tennessee. It has been said those troops must have felt they were on "the road to Hades" after marching a grueling 800 miles to counter the Confederate forces. They were primarily assigned to guard the Louisville and Nashville railroad in the north central part of the state, near Nashville, from Edgefield Junction to the Kentucky border. By October 12th the companies were all in position and things settled down into a regular routine of guard, picket and patrol. Company C was assigned to Richland. For a month or more prior to the Battle of Nashville, the section of the railroad guarded by the 11th Regiment was worked to its full capacity as troop and supply trains passed continuously on their way to Nashville. On December 15-16, 1864, the sound of the cannons could be heard in the distance as far north as Gallatin. After the Battle of Nashville, the men of the 11th were treated to their first sight of regular rebel troops, as train load after train load of prisoners were sent North for safekeeping.
The 11th was relieved in late June 1865 and on the 26th they started their journey home. At Chicago, the entire regiment rolled themselves up in their blankets and slept in the side path on Michigan Avenue to the great admiration of hundreds of people who came to have a look at the war-worn veterans. They reached St. Paul on July 5th and were mustered out of service on the 11th.
Casualties: 3 Enlisted men killed and 1 Officer and 21 Enlisted men died of disease for a total of 25 fatalities.
The outer lines of the Union Army at Nashville on their day of victory, Dec.16, 1864
Source: State of Minnesota Historical Society
