The 2th Minnesota Regiment Monument is located on Snodgrass Hill at the Chickamauga National Battlefield. This monument was placed in honor of the 2th Minnesota for their service in the Battle of Chickamauga on Sept 19/20, 1863. The 2nd Minnesota Infantry was organized at Fort Snelling, Minnesota and mustered into Federal service service beginning June 26, 1861.
Inscription: (Upper front of pedestal, raised lettering:)
2ND. MINNESOTA
(Plaques on each side of pedestal describe the battle and list regiment engaged) unsigned
Description: "A bronze grouping of three uniformed Civil War soldiers, one holding a flag and two kneeling on either side of him, is mounted on a rectangular granite. The soldier on the proper right has a backpack and holds his rifle. The soldier on the proper left has just been shot and grasps his chest as he falls backward. Bronze inscription plaques are mounted on each side of the base. Flanking each plaque are reliefs of decorative leaves and other foliage. The monument is mounted upon a rectangular, two-step base."
Remarks: "The monument commemorates the involvement of the 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Chickamauga during the Civil War. It was placed by the veterans. Another cast of this work stands in the Marion National Cemetery, in Marion, Indiana. IAS files contain excerpt from Jack Kerr's "Monuments and Markers of the 29 States Engaged at Chickamauga and Chattanooga," Collegedale, TN: The College Press, n.d.; and a copy of Georgia Historic Resources 1988 form, Historic Preservation Section, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The monument is on the National Park Service List of Classified Structures, No. 03216."
Source - Smithsonian Art Inventory
From the NRHP nomination form:
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Structure Number: |
MT-901 (see note) |
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LCS ID: |
003216 |
Historical Significance:
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National Register Status:
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Entered - Documented
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National Register Date:
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11/24/1998
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National Historic Landmark?: |
No
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Significance Level:
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Contributing
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Short Significance Description:
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Marker contributes to national significance of park under NR Criterion A because it represents national movement among veterans & related groups to commemorate Civil War battlefields. This was the first U.S. national military park.
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Short Physical Description
Monument is 19' high & 11' x 7'4" at its base. On a three-step base is a rectangular pedestal carrying a bronze plaque on its front. Pedestal supports bronze sculptural group consisting of a color-bearer and two infantrymen, one of whom is wounded.
Long Physical Description
Monument Text (FRONT):
2ND MINNESOTA
THE SECOND REGIMENT MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
Occupied this position Sunday, September 20, 1863, from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., successfully maintaining it against repeated assaults by the enemy, and withdrawing only after the attempt to take it had been abandoned.
This regiment was engaged September 19th, on the Reed's Brigade Road, and in the afternoon of Sept. 20th, at Kelly's Field, in every contest, repulsing the enemy opposing it. Having 384 men engaged. Its loss was 34 Killed, 114 Wounded, and 14 men (detailed for care of wounded) were captured; Total loss 42 per cent.
Col. Ferd. Van Derveer, commanding the brigade, in official report of: "It is a notable fact that the 2nd Minnesota had not a single man among the "missing" or straggler during the two days engagement."
Official report of Col. Ferd'd. Van Derveer, Commanding Brigade
_____________________________________________________________
Monument text (BACK):
(State Seal)
1893
ERECTED BY THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
In commemoration of the
Gallant and Patriotic Services
Of her Citizen Soldiers on the
Battle Field of Chickamauga
-1863-
"The Union; it must and shall be preserved:
SECOND REGIMENT MINNESOTA INFANTRY
COL. JAMES GEORGE
LIEUT. COL. J. W. BISHOP
MAJOR JOHN B. DAVIS
THIRD BRIGADE -
COLONEL FRED. VAN DERVEER, COMMANDING -
2ND MINNESOTA COL. JAMES GEORGE
9TH OHIO COLONEL G. KAMMERLING
35TH OHIO LT. COL. H. V. BOYNTON
87TH INDIANA COLONEL N. GLEASON
BATTERY I, 4TH U.S. ARTILLERY - LT. F. G. SMITH
THIRD DIVISION -
BRIG. GENERAL J. M. BRANNAN, COM'D'G.
14TH ARMY CORPS -
MAJ. GENERAL GEO. H. THOMAS, COM'D'G.
ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND -
MAJ. GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS, COM'D'G.
THE SECOND REGIMENT MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Occupied this position Sunday, September 20, 1863, from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., successfully maintaining it against repeated assaults by the enemy, and withdrawing only after the attempt to take it had been abandoned.
This Regiment was engaged September 19th on the Reed's Bridge Road, and in the forenoon of Sept. 20th, at Kelly's Field, in every contest, repulsing the enemy opposing it. Having 384 men engaged, its loss was 34 killed, 114 wounded, and 14 men (detailed for care of wounded were captured; total loss 42 percent.
Col. Fred. Van Derveer, Commanding the Brigade, in official report of: "It is a notable fact that the 2nd Minnesota had not a single man among the "missing" of straggler during the two days engagement".
Material(s)
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Structural Component(s)
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Material(s)
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1.
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Substructure
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Limestone
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2.
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Superstructure
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Granite
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3.
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Superstructure
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Bronze
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Construction Period:
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Historic
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Chronology:
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Physical Event
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Begin Year
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Begin Year AD/BC
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End Year
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End Year AD/BC
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Designer
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Designer Occupation
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1.
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Built
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1894
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AD
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Taft, Lorado
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Sculptor
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My Sources
1.
NRHP Narrative
2. Wikipedia -
Battle of Chickamauga
3. The Civil War Home -
The Chickamauga Campaign - Union Order of Battle
4. Wikipedia -
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
5. SIRIS -
Second Minnesota Regiment Monument, (sculpture).
Note
Trailhead Graphics, Inc. has produced a map of the Chickamauga Battlefield showing the locations of all of the monuments and the markers on the battlefield. Each location on the map has a number associated with it that cross-references to an index on the back of the map that has the name of the marker (called the Chick-Chatt NMP monument numbering system). This number corresponds to the structure Number listed on the NPS List of Classified Structures that is normally prefixed with the letters MT for the Chickamauga Battlefield.