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      ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Just three years into statehood,
Minnesota in 1861 was anxious to prove itself.


      Volunteers, the first of an estimated 24,000 state soldiers who
would fight in the Civil War, rushed to sign up to preserve the
Union by putting down secessionist Southern states.


      They fought their first battle three months after the war began.
Dozens more followed, often accompanied by heavy casualties. Late
one afternoon at Gettysburg, four of every five soldiers of the
First Minnesota Volunteers were killed or wounded in a heroic
charge that bought crucial time for the Union army to prevail in
battle and, ultimately, to win the war.


      "These men were incredibly patriotic and brave and many of them
made enormous sacrifices," said Richard Moe, president emeritus of
the National Trust for Historic Preservation and author of "The
Last Full Measure," a combat history of the First Minnesota.

      At the State Capitol, battle paintings, time-worn flags, and
statues of Minnesota's military heroes of the Civil War are
scattered throughout the building. And down John Ireland Boulevard,
across Interstate 94, a large Civil War monument featuring Josias
King, purportedly the first volunteer from the state, rises up from
Summit Park, overlooking downtown St. Paul.


      There, in the shadow of the Cathedral of St. Paul and a short
walk from the Minnesota History Center, a large memorial focusing
solely on the Minnesota soldiers who fought in the Civil War
finally might be built.


      For George Luskey, Bill Dalin, John Cain, Andrew Willenbring and
other members of the Minnesota Boys of `61, it can't come too soon.
As the 150th anniversary of the war unfolds, that fledgling group
is launching an effort to raise $750,000 in private funds to build
it.


      They hope to finish the job within five years, enabling
construction to start before the anniversary of the war's end in
2015. It would join memorials on the nearby Capitol grounds for
World Wars I and II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.


      "I think, really, to do anything less would not do them
justice," said Luskey, a retired deputy sheriff who, like the
others, has long been active in Civil War re-enactments.


      The idea surfaced several years ago, when Luskey and Dalin were
at a Camp Ripley event honoring airborne troops. Dalin said Trudell
Guerue, a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Association, asked
them why they didn't build a memorial to Minnesota's Civil War
troops.


      "We kind of looked at each other, and said, 'Why not?"' said
Dalin, of Lakeville, the group's treasurer.

      Fifteen months ago, they formed the Minnesota Boys of `61 as a
registered nonprofit organization. There's a board but still no
formal membership list.


      The proposal also is in its infancy.

      The Summit Park site owned by the city was recommended to them,
and early support has been secured. There are plans, not only for
the memorial but also for limited parking.


      David Geister, a former re-enactor, has put together renderings
of what the memorial might look like, but no final decisions have
been made.


      Any eventual monument would recognize each Minnesota regiment,
battery, battalion or independent organization.

      One idea, Luskey said, is to have two-dozen individual granite
pieces inscribed with the names of the outfits, along with key
information about them, placed in a circle around a larger bronze
sculpture.


      The effort comes naturally to folks such as Luskey, 62, and
Dalin, 59, who've been captivated by the Civil War since they were
kids and who have relatives who fought or were killed in the war
and the Dakota War of 1862.


      Owning their own uniforms, muskets, swords and other gear,
they've participated in countless re-enactments, had roles in Civil
War movies, and now look to pass that heritage along to younger
generations.


      "We like to link with them," Luskey, the group's president,
said, "so they can grow up and have some sense of history in their own state."


      "We're all walking history lessons," Dalin said. "This
memorial is an extension of that. This is what we live to do."


      A week ago, the Minnesota House took a moment to recognize their
project and to offer support.


      "Everyone needs a sense of history - where we have been and
what brought us to the point where we are today," said Rep. Dean
Urdahl, R-Grove City. "What happened in the Civil War and what
happened in Minnesota in 1862 are still with us today."

      Moe, the author and former National Trust for Historic
Preservation official, echoed those sentiments.


      "It was a different time in our nation - a critical time," Moe
said. "And the war eventually defined who we became as a nation.


      "The idea of recognizing these men has a lot of merit," he
added. "I hope the memorial can be done in a way that tells the
story of the Civil War in a way that educates people what it was
all about. War isn't glorious. ... There was nothing glorious about
that war."

Gallery

In North, Civil War sites, events long 'forgotten'

The 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War will be a somber occasion

History

In the shadow of the Cathedral of St. Paul, a large memorial focusing solely on the Minnesota soldiers who fought in the Civil War finally might be built.

Group to honor Minn. residents of US Civil War

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