The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-09-25

In the aggregate, AT officers and men.
But when President Lincoln called
tor troops the apathy that had been
displayed in the matter of military or
ganization was cast off, and what mill
t1amen there were at the time, and the
guardsmen of the different frontiers
towns, gladly volunteered their services,
and their example reused their neigh
bors. sAdjt. Gen. Acker rendered his
resignation to the governor and was
one of the first to offer his services.
He became captain of Company b,
First Minnesota, and died hero at
Shiloh. Since Jan. 1, 1851, thirty one
new militia companies had been formed
in the state, and six of these volun-
teered their services for the war that
was declared in the spring. 1t was in
April, 1861. that Gov. Ramsey rendered
to President Lincoln, through the sec
rotary of war, Simon Cameron, the gall
liant First Minnesota. The history Of
this regiment, and of fourteen other
Minnesota regiments, is not, of course,
the history of the Minnesota state
militia, but because there were militia
men in the regiments the glory won by
these in the war adds glory to the his
tory of the state militia.
During the first years of the Civil
war, especially in 1852, the Indians in
lh1I1iCoOlo litduC uuluOSt- O1 dlIdchS
upon the settlers in different parts Of
the state, and the militiamen who did
not enlist, were frequently called upon
to defend exposed settlements. During
the attack on New Ulm in 1852, Charles
g. Flandrau, then of Traverse and one
of the judges of the supreme court,
commanded a company of militia that
came to the defense of the settlers.
Capt. Bierbauer, of Mankato, COM
WIN 6a1 oil III Cy,x T41,~ n
Zimmerman, of South Bend, command
ed seventy three men.
Henry Hastings Sibley was one of
the famous militiamen of the Civil war
days. He was commander of the mill
tary forces against the hostile Sioux
from 1852 to 1865. He was first COM
missioned colonel the day after the In
dian outbreak, and six days after the
battle of Wood Lake he was appointed
brigadier general by the president. In
the battle of Wood Lake, which was
fought Sept. %. 1853, Gen. Sibley had
under him 1000 men, 275 Of whom be-
longed to the Third Minnesota infantry,
paroled prisoners just returned from
the South, and they were, therefore,
United States troops. But the re-
mainder of.fis troop We're militia com
panies. some of them newly organized
and others that had been organized in
the JdIiudTy Ol 1901. L he sI1lIltldIIldIl
of the West during the period of the
Civil war was quite as much of a hero
as the volunteer soldier.
One Company Left
The natural apathy toward all things
military which succeeded the period of
the war, and the lack Of state encour-
agement, caused the national guards
to drop out of existence. In 1881 there
was just one company in the service.
During that year, and the succeeding
one, the necessity of a well drilled force
to meet emergencies became apparent.
and the military spirit began to revive.
The Legislature of 1881 provided for a
militia organization and for the exemp-
ton of militiamen from jury duty.
AS a direct result of this legislation
the First battalion was organized.
From this small beginning the regiment
grew until, at the call for volunteers,
the state of Minnesota could boast of
three full regiments.
The time was rapidly approaching
when the national guardsman would be
called upon to serve again under Uncle
Sam. Minnesota was not only the first