Richard Moe
The first Minnesota Volunteers company, that state's sole representative in the Army of the Potomac, is best remembered for its heroic charge on the second day of Gettysburg. The Minnesotans, however, served for three full years, beginning in 1861 at Bull Run and enduring some of the Civil War's bloodiest battles. Of a thousand original enlistees, fewer than 200 stood in ranks when the regiment mustered out in April 1864. Moe's account is regimental history at its best, as he synthesizes letters, diaries and contemporary newspaper reports to recapture the perspective of the men themselves. He depicts their bursts of patriotic zeal, their frustration in the face of repeated defeats, and above all their sense of duty and comradeship, which kept the regiment steadfast through the Union's darkest days. Moe is president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. (Apr.)
The First Minnesota Volunteers were among the earliest groups to volunteer for service during the Civil War. The unit was usually on the front line for every major battle and paid the extreme sacrifice, especially at the Battle of Gettysburg. This is a skillful portrait of the trials and tribulations of those volunteers during the first three years of the war. Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, uses the letters, diaries, and personal narratives of the unit's soldiers to create an excellent eyewitness account of battles from Bull Run to Gettysburg with the Army of the Potomac. The author creates a graphic picture of the horrors and sufferings that were endured during battle as well as life in the camps between battles. This account will rank among the best regimental histories of the Civil War. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/93.-- W. Walter Wicker, Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston
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