Goodhue County
and the
Civil War
In 1861, there were up at about 8,977 people living in Goodhue County.
1,508 of them had enlisted, during the Civil War.
That was approximately 1/6th of the population of Goodhue County.
was just the first of many
Goodhue County Volunteers.
A breakdown follows as to how many men came from each township.
There were Volunteers from Goodhue County in all of
the 11 infantry regiments except the 9th regt.

1st Minn. Co.F, 104 -------- The Goodhue Volunteers

2nd Minn. Co.I, 22

3rd Minn. Co.D, 91 --------- The Scandinavian Guard & Co.E, 93 --- The Red Wing Volunters

4th Minn. Co.D, 45

5th Minn. Co.A, 50 ---------- The Ramsey Guard & Co.H, 40

6th Minn. Co.F, 96 ---------- The Goodhue Guards

7th Minn. Co.G, 93 --------- The Goodhue Tigers

8th Minn. Co.H, 35

10th Minn. Co.D, 73
11th Minn. Co. ,60 ------- The Union Rangers

1st Mounted Rangers

Brackett's Battalion Cavalry

2nd Regiment Cavalry

1st Regiment Heavy Artillery

2nd Regiment Light Artillery

1st Company of Minn. Sharpshooters
The draft was allocated in 1863 for the Union States.
The enlistments for Goodhue County & the State of Minnesota exceeded their draft quota.
Minnesota became a State in 1858..
The 32nd State to join the Union.
The Seal was adopted in1861.
The Seal reflects the happenings of the
times. Minnesota was at the edge of the
Frontier. The Indian on horseback rides
to the west. The settler plows to the east.
Minnesota is where they meet.
The North Star is a link to Minnesota Government, On Line.
It brings you off Privet Anthony's Place but, the trip is worth it.
From August 24th, 1862 to September 22nd, 1862
________________________
On August 27th, 1862 the
Red Wing Cavalry was also organized to serve as a defence of the frontier. Out of its 41 on the muster roll, only about 21 did duty, due to lack of horses.
The company served for about one month.
One other organized to serve in this same time period was the Frontenac Avengers (Capt. Cox)
I have only seen one mention of this militia.
In 1862, because of the war, 21 military districts were established. It was voted in Goodhue County, that every man, that would enlist be given a bounty of $20.00
Just a Little Civil War
Township History
Information on this page came from the Cannon Falls Historical Society, Goodhue County Historical Society and other sources. The background of this page is of an old post card of the Red Wing Court House, Courtesy of a private Collector.
About the Roster
The lists used here is of the historical lists of Goodhue County.
I have noted variances in red, between the sources I have found.
The lists are in alphbabetical order
for each township.
Soldiers are listed in the towns that they gave as their home town, as where they were from and lived at the time of their enlisment.
The linked list are of the names found.
The black list is out of a Goodhue County History Book. In some towns less were found true, in some towns more than the number said were found.
143 Years later, there may be many questions, but there is no one to tell us the answers.
The Township census for this period was not 100% accurate
Thanks for the visit Date of Page December 2000
This page was last updated: January 14, 2011
34
30
33
51
0
21
73
79
85
31
50
102
39
63
39
0
57
96
285
62
62
0
16
103
49
48
1403 Found 1508 Said Enlistments
Music: The Lakes of Pontchartrain
Sequenced by Barry Taylor
Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
This militia was in service in Pine Island when the Civil War Began.
This militia was said to have reported to Red Wing at the time of the 1st call to arms.
The Goodhue County Court House
The beautiful old lady, said to be full of charming detail was built in 1858 by Hill Simmons & Co. for the cost of $25,666.00 She commanded the County for some 73 years when she had outlived her years. She handed over her duties in 1931 and faded to our past.
The building was demolished and replaced in 1932 with a new building that opened in 1933. When the building was removed, it was said at the time, to have been the oldest brick building in Red Wing.
Note: The township of Welch did not exist at this time. At this time, Welch Township was part of what was known as Burnside Township. Welch Township was first petitioned to the county in 1864 as to be it's own Township and was called Grant Township until 1872. As there was one other Grant Township, the name was changed to Welch in memory of & named after Major Abraham Edward Welch, one of the first Goodhue Volunteers.
The First County meeting was said to have been held on a pile of lumber at the corner of Main & Bush Street, Red Wing in 1854