Private Charles Goddard sent more than 110 letters home to his mother while he travelled with the First Minnesota. Charley lived in Winona and worked on a farm and in a saw mill before the war. At age 15, he lied about his age to join the army. While serving in the First Minnesota, Charley was badly wounded in the shoulder and thigh at the Battle of Gettysburg. Despite the fact that his thigh wound never healed completely, Charley finished his three years of service before returning to Winona. He died of consumption (now called tuberculosis) at the young age of 23.