13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Regimental Flag

As one of four Minnesota regiments enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American War, the 1st Infantry Regiment of Minnesota Militia was renumbered the 13th Minnesota U.S. Infantry Regiment. Like the other regiments from the state, it trained at Camp Ramsey at the State Fair Grounds in St. Paul.

The 13th Minnesota was the only regiment to see combat. It was sent to the Philippines and participated in the battle outside of Manila on August 13, 1898, served as a military police unit after the city surrendered, and for next eight months campaigned against Filipino soldiers seeking independence for their country. In October 1899, the regiment returned to St. Paul and Minneapolis, where it was greeted by thousands of onlookers and reviewed by Governor John Lind and President William McKinley.

This flag, embroidered on both sides with the state seal, was presented to the regiment by the Custer Circle G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) from Minneapolis, while the regiment was stationed at Camp Merritt in San Francisco, California before its departure to the Philippines on June 25, 1898. White on one side and light blue on the other, the flag vividly represented the State of Minnesota, and mirrored the official appearance of the state flag adopted in 1893.