Battle Flags of Minnesota.

1st Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery Regiment - Unit Flag

Organized in fall 1861, the 1st Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery was initially outfitted with two 12-pounder howitzers and four brass rifled guns that were later exchanged for three-inch Rodman rifled guns. At the Battle of Shiloh, the 1st Battery anchored the northern edge of the famed “Hornet’s Nest.” In addition to Shiloh (April 1862), the battery played critical roles in several key actions at Corinth (May and October 1862), Vicksburg (May-June 1863), Kennesaw Mountain (June 1864), Atlanta (August-September 1864), the “March to the Sea” (November-December 1864) and the march through the Carolinas (February-March 1865).

This battle-tested unit proudly painted its wartime engagements on the outfit’s red silk and crossed cannon standard. The blue arrow represents the unit’s assignment to the 17th Corps (Dept. of the Tennessee) near the end of the war.