2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Regimental Flag

This flag and a national color, the first set issued to the Second, were sent to the regiment while stationed in Louisville, Kentucky in November 1861.

This flag, with a painted state seal on one side, and on the reverse, a federal eagle pattern was purchased by the state from Horstmann Brothers, a Philadelphia military goods supplier. Due to its overall good condition it was used infrequently and not carried into battle.

Organized in the summer of 1861, the Second Minnesota was the state’s largest regiment. More than 1,700 members enrolled in the Second Minnesota over its several years of service. The regiment’s baptism of fire occurred at Mill Springs (January 1862). It also saw notable action at Chickamauga (September 1863), Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga (November 1863), and Sherman’s “March to the Sea” (November – December 1864).