1000 men to fight the South. Word of the Governor's offer spread and communities back in Minnesota quickly raised groups of volunteers in support of Ramsey. The abandoned Fort Snelling, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, was reactivated. The men raised by the communities were sent there and mustered into the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment on April 29. They were the first troops offered by any state to meet Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 men to assist the Federal Government deal with the secession. On May 10 they were remustered "officially" for three years service. From Fort Snelling they boarded river boats to go South to a rail line so they could head east. Josias Redgate King of the St. Paul Pioneer Guard is credited as the first northern volunteer to stand to for Lincoln's call for men to fight the south. First Bull Run On July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia, the regiment fought in the first major battle of the Civil War: the First Battle of Bull Run. While straddling Rickett's Battery in support, it saw heavy fighting on Henry House Hill in close proximity to the enemy. The 1st Minnesota was one of the last regiments to leave the battlefield and suffered among the highest casualties of any northern regiment: 49 killed, 107 wounded and 34 missing. During the 1st Minnesota Infantry's initiation to combat, its honorable conduct was readily distinguishable from that of the other regiments in its brigade: The First Minnesota Regiment moved from its position on the left of the field to the support of Ricketts' battery, and gallantly engaged the enemy at that point. It was so near the enemy's lines that friends and foes were for a time confounded. The regiment behaved exceedingly well, and finally retired from the field in good order. The other two regiments of the brigade retired in confusion, and no efforts of myself or staff were successful in rallying them. I respectfully refer you to Colonel Gorman's report for the account of his regiment's behavior and of the good conduct of his officers and men. Antietam During General John Sedgwick's ill-fated assault on the West Woods, the regiment suffered significant casualties (1 officer killed, 3 officers wounded, 15 enlisted killed, 79 enlisted wounded, 24 enlisted missing, for a total of 122 [28%] of 435 engaged) as Union forces were routed on that part of