American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Collection of approx. 48 documents comprising muster rolls, muster-out roll, manuscript equipment inventories, returns, a manuscript special order regarding ordnance, letters from the A.A.Q.M. to the commanding officer of Co. H, and other miscellaneous documents. Documents primarily span 1864-1865, a period in which the regiment was on the move throughout the Western Theater and actively engaged. Most documents are associated with Co. H while under the command of Captain Chauncey B. Wilkinson.

Information contained on the various forms provides interesting glimpses into the service of the 7th Minnesota. Three Returns of Company H for the months of March, October, and November 1864 identify officers on detached duty recruiting "colored regiments."
A Return of Company H for the month of February 1865 identifies soldiers WIA at the Battle of Nashville and in hospital. An "Abstract of Expenditures" for the 1st quarter of 1865 identifies cartridges expended on March 31 at the Battle of Spanish Fort, Alabama. The 14 muster roles document the regiment's movements throughout the South, being reported from Paducah, Kentucky; LaGrange, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; "In the Field Tenn"; New Orleans, Louisiana; Montgomery, Alabama; and Selma, Alabama. The muster roll of June-Aug 1864 (under Captain James B. Gilfillan, Wilkinson 2nd Lt.) documents the aftermath of the Battle of Tupelo and a skirmish at Tallehatchi River. The muster roll of Oct-Dec 1864 documents the Battle of Nashville, recording that "The Company left Memphis Tenn (where last mustered) on Transports, and proceeded to Nashville Tenn where it rejoined the Regiment on the 1st December. It participated in the Battles before Nashville on the 15 & 16 Dec. Then marched with the army in pursuit of the enemy about 100 miles, to present encampment."

The 7th Minnesota served in the Western Theater for the duration of its enlistment. The regiment was recruited in the summer and fall of 1862, formed in response to Lincoln's summer 1862 call for 600,000 additional troops. The regiment first served on the frontier during the US-Dakota War of 1862, fighting native peoples in the Dakota Territory under Colonel Henry Sibley. Later the regiment participated in campaigns against Confederate forces in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, taking part in numerous engagements including the July 1864 Battle of Tupelo, the December 1864 Battle of Nashville, and General Canby's campaign against Mobile, Alabama in the spring of 1865. Captain Chauncey B. Wilkinson first enlisted with the 3rd MN Infantry before being discharged for disability in March 1862. Less than five months later, he mustered into Co. H, 7th MN as a corporal and remained with the regiment for the duration of its 3-years service during which time he received multiple promotions. His final was promotion was to captain on 12/14/1864. Captain Wilkinson mustered out of service with his regiment at Fort Snelling in August 1865.