Guns Like Lightning: The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery in the Civil War

This little-known unit drawn from across Minnesota—known as a hard-fighting, well-led “band of brothers”—persevered through trials and tragedy in the battle to save the Union and end slavery.

Formed during the autumn of 1861, the 1st Minnesota Battery of Light Artillery participated in most of the Civil War’s major western campaigns, first seeing battle in the “Hornets’ Nest” at Shiloh. In the summer and autumn of 1863 its members took part in the siege of Corinth and fighting at Iuka. They also endured the siege of Vicksburg, later joining William Tecumseh Sherman’s army for the grueling Atlanta campaign, the subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas, and the final Grand Review in Washington, DC.

Few other Minnesota units had such a long and distinguished record. These soldiers engaged in hard, sometimes shattering combat, witnessed firsthand the brutal effects of slavery, and took part in devastating the Confederacy. These experiences changed attitudes and perspectives among the men of the battery, forever altering their lives.

Drawn from a rich variety of manuscript sources as well as official records from state and national archives, Guns Like Lightning traces the organization’s movements and actions and relates stories of individual soldiers, including their backgrounds, motivations for service, and activities during and immediately following the war. This riveting, detailed narrative brings to life the feats and fatigue, the comradery and anguish of Minnesota soldiers defending the Union at all costs.