7th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 7th Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army that served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Elijah Evan Edwards was chaplain of the 7th Minnesota Infantry.

Service
The 7th Minnesota was mustered into Federal service at Camp Release, Fort Snelling, and St. Peter, Minnesota, between August 16 and October 30, 1862. Over the course of the War, the Seventh fought in Minnesota against the Dakota and then moved South. They fought decisive battles on the Western front of the War and spent much of their time moving between engagements.

Though the regiment was not fully formed, some companies participated in the US-Dakota War in the fall of 1862. They fought at the Battle of Wood Lake in September of that year. Following the surrender of Little Crow and the Dakota, the Seventh spent the winter in Minnesota. The next summer, they accompanied Henry Sibley on raids against Indians to the west of Minnesota. They fought in the Battle of Big Mound in July, 1863. Then, they returned to Minnesota and were sent South in October of that year.

After arriving in St. Louis, the regiment spent the winter there. Once spring arrived, the regiment moved east into Paducah, Kentucky. From there, the Seventh moved South into Tennessee and by the end of June were in northern Mississippi. In July, they fought Confederate forces in the Battle of Tupelo. They pursued Sterling Price but did not engage his troops. They arrived in Nashville that winter and contributed to the Union victory at the Battle of Nashville. After the battle, they moved further South and arrived in Alabama for the Battle of Spanish Fort, one of the last battles on the Western front. The war ended soon afterward, and by July the Seventh was heading North for home.

It was mustered out in St. Paul, Minnesota, on August 16, 1865.

Casualties
The 7th Minnesota Infantry suffered 2 officers and 31 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 138 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 171 fatalities.

Colonels

 * Colonel Stephen Miller - August 24, 1862, to November 6, 1863.
 * Colonel William Rainey Marshall - November 6, 1863, to August 16, 1865.