Samuel Bloomer Samuel Bloomer ( November 30 , 1835 – October 4 , 1917 ) served in Company B of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War . He was the regiment ' s color sergeant , and after the war he was deeply involved in civic life and the Grand Army of the Republic . Early life . Bloomer was born in Switzerland on November 30 , 1835 . He immigrated to the United States in 1846 with family , including his first cousin , Adam Marty . The family settled in St . Louis for a time before moving to Stillwater . Bloomer worked on the Henry Jackman farm and as a carpenter . He was a member of the " Wide Awakes , " a group that supported Lincoln during the 1860 election . First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry . When news of the Civil War reached Minnesota , Bloomer and his cousins joined the Stillwater Guards , a local militia group . The Guards were mustered into the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Fort Snelling on April 29 , 1861 , forming the nucleus of Company B . Bloomer was initially given the rank of corporal and participated in all the regiment ' s major engagements until the Battle of Antietam . He was wounded slightly in the head at the Battle of Bull Run . During the Battle of Savage ' s Station on June 29 , 1862 , which was part of the Peninsula Campaign , Bloomer was promoted to color sergeant . In the midst of the engagement the standard bearer was killed . Bloomer picked up the colors , and was separated from the regiment for five hours . He returned the colors to the regiment and was promoted for his bravery . While carrying the colors during the Battle of Antietam , Bloomer received a gunshot wound below his right knee . He crawled to safety behind a nearby oak tree as the First Minnesota retreated . Bloomer lay there until the next day when Confederate soldiers carried him to a barn . Eventually Bloomer came into the care of his comrades when the Confederates retreated . On September 20 , 1862 , his leg was amputated . Bloomer spent the rest of his service in military hospitals until he was discharged on December 2 , 1862 . He returned to Stillwater , but became very restless and heartbroken when a local woman refused his proposal of marriage . He accepted a commission as a Lieutenant in the Veteran Reserve Corps . He served until September 19 , 1866 , when he was mustered out . Later life . During his Reserve Corps service he met Matilda J . Burns and married her on December 6 , 1863 . They had four children together . The couple resided in Stillwater after Bloomer ' s service . The veteran worked as a guard at the Stillwater Prison , as an insurance agent , and sewing machine salesman . In September 1875 Bloomer caught his wife committing adultery . They were divorced in 1878 and Bloomer received custody of the children . He married his second wife , Ellen Pressell , in 1882 . Bloomer was subsequently employed as Washington County Treasurer for six years , and established a summer camp on White Bear Lake afterward . Like his cousin Adam Marty , Bloomer was deeply involved in the Grand Army of the Republic ( GAR ) . He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General of the GAR by Marty in 1881 and played a pivotal role in reestablishing the organization in Minnesota . He was a member of both Acker Post in St . Paul and Muller Post in Stillwater . In addition to the Grand Army of the Republic , Bloomer was a member of the Last Man ' s Club along with most of Stillwater ' s Company B veterans . Bloomer was also involved in veterans ' affairs outside these two organizations . In 1905 he was given the honor of carrying the First Minnesota ' s battle flag from the old state capitol to the new . He also formed an organization which raised money and erected a soldier ' s monument on the grounds of the Washington County Courthouse in 1916 . By 1915 Bloomer could barely walk and needed two canes to do so . He died on October 4 , 1917 , and was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Stillwater . An imposing monument of Bloomer as the First Minnesota ' s color bearer marks the site of his burial .