2nd Minnesota Sharpshooters Company
A Union Army sharpshooter company from Minnesota that served in the Eastern Theater during the American Civil War.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The 2nd Minnesota Sharpshooters Company was a Union Army volunteer unit organized in Minnesota during the American Civil War. It was one of the state companies recruited for Colonel Hiram Berdan's specialist sharpshooter organization, commonly known as Berdan's Sharpshooters. Unlike ordinary infantry companies, Berdan's units required recruits to demonstrate exceptional rifle accuracy before enlistment. Candidates for the Minnesota company reportedly had to place ten successive shots inside a 20-inch target at 200 yards. The unit then received additional instruction in marksmanship and skirmishing and was equipped with green uniforms intended to provide camouflage and Sharps .52-caliber breechloading rifles, which offered a considerably higher rate of fire than the muzzle-loading rifles commonly issued to infantry. Raised in January 1862, the company drew many of its recruits from Rice and Steele Counties. William F. Russell served as its first captain, while recruiting officers tested prospective soldiers in several Minnesota communities. After training at Fort Snelling, the company traveled east in April 1862. It initially joined the 1st United States Sharpshooters as Company I and reached the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign. Its first reported combat was at Hanover Court House on May 27, 1862. The company was soon detached from the United States Sharpshooters and assigned to the 1st Minnesota Infantry, joining that regiment on June 1, 1862. It became the regiment's eleventh company and was designated Company L. In this role it participated in the Peninsula operations and the retreat following the Seven Days Battles. Its most severe early ordeal came at Antietam on September 17, 1862. Company L was caught in the intense fighting around the West Woods and suffered very heavy losses, including the deaths or disabling wounds of approximately half its men. It subsequently took part in the Army of the Potomac's operations around Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg in July 1863, Company L served with the 1st Minnesota in the II Corps. During the second day it operated as skirmishers while the rest of the regiment made the celebrated charge that helped preserve the Union center. The company also participated in the defense against Pickett's Charge on July 3. In November 1863 it formally left the 1st Minnesota Infantry and became an independent sharpshooter company within the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps, retaining the brigade association in which it had already served. The company continued campaigning through the Overland Campaign and the siege operations around Petersburg, including actions at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Its term of service ended on March 19, 1865, after which the unit was disbanded. Soldiers whose enlistments remained active were transferred principally to the 1st Minnesota Infantry Battalion, while some entered the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment. The company is therefore remembered not as a commercial brand but as a specialized Civil War military formation whose identity rested on precision marksmanship, skirmishing, and service with the Army of the Potomac.
History
The 2nd Minnesota Sharpshooters Company originated in the Union Army's effort to create unusually capable riflemen for reconnaissance, skirmishing, and precision fire. Colonel Hiram Berdan organized the specialist companies that became associated with Berdan's Sharpshooters. Applicants faced a demanding shooting examination; for the Minnesota company, the stated standard was ten consecutive hits within a 20-inch target at 200 yards. Successful recruits received training beyond the normal infantry curriculum, particularly in dispersed formations and independent field movement. Their green uniforms were intended to make them less conspicuous, and Sharps .52-caliber breechloaders gave them faster firing capability than the muzzle-loading arms issued to most infantry. The Minnesota company was raised in January 1862, with substantial recruitment in Rice and Steele Counties. Captain William F. Russell was its original commander. After assembling and training at Fort Snelling, the company went east in April. On May 3 it was assigned as Company I of the 1st United States Sharpshooters and joined Colonel Berdan near the Army of the Potomac's operations in Virginia. It first saw combat at Hanover Court House on May 27, where its role reflected the unit's intended use as an advanced and supporting force. At the end of May, the company was detached and ordered to join the 1st Minnesota Infantry. It arrived on June 1 and was redesignated Company L. The attachment continued through the Peninsula Campaign, the retreat after the Seven Days Battles, and subsequent operations. At Antietam, the regiment's position near the West Woods became exposed to concentrated Confederate fire. Company L suffered particularly severe casualties, losing roughly half its strength. The company later participated in the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville campaigns, although those assignments produced less decisive action for the unit than Antietam and Gettysburg. Gettysburg was the company's most consequential engagement. Serving with the 1st Minnesota in the II Corps, Company L operated as skirmishers on the battle's second day while the remainder of the regiment made a critical charge against Confederate forces threatening the Union line. On the third day the regiment helped resist Pickett's Charge. These actions placed the Minnesota sharpshooters within one of the most important defensive episodes of the battle. On November 23, 1863, Company L was separated administratively from the 1st Minnesota Infantry and continued as an independent company in the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps, Army of the Potomac. The unit fought through the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Russell resigned on February 20, 1863, and was succeeded by Emil A. Bürger, who later resigned. Mahlon Black then became the final commander and led the company until its service ended. The company's term expired on March 19, 1865, and it was disbanded. Remaining soldiers were transferred to the 1st Minnesota Infantry Battalion or, in some cases, to the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment. The successor infantry battalion later participated in the Grand Review in Washington and mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, on July 15, 1865.
- 1865
Service ended
[1]The company's term expired on March 19 and the organization was disbanded; eligible veterans transferred to successor Minnesota units.
- 1863
Gettysburg
[1]The company served with the 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg, acting as skirmishers and helping the regiment defend the Union center against Pickett's Charge.
- 1863
Became an independent company
[1]On November 23, the company ended its formal attachment to the 1st Minnesota Infantry and continued independently within the II Corps.
- 1862
Company raised in Minnesota
[1]The company was organized in January, drawing recruits primarily from Rice and Steele Counties and selecting men through a demanding rifle examination.
- 1862
Training at Fort Snelling
[1]After mustering, the recruits completed initial training at Fort Snelling before traveling east to join the Union war effort.
- 1862
Joined the 1st United States Sharpshooters
[1]The company reached Washington and was designated Company I of the 1st United States Sharpshooters during the Peninsula Campaign.
- 1862
First combat at Hanover Court House
[1]The company participated in its first reported action at Hanover Court House on May 27.
- 1862
Redesignated Company L of the 1st Minnesota Infantry
[1]After detachment from the United States Sharpshooters, the company joined the 1st Minnesota Infantry and became Company L.
- 1862
Antietam
[1]Company L fought at Antietam on September 17 and suffered extremely heavy losses in the West Woods fighting.
Products and positioning
A specialist Union Army formation distinguished by rigorous rifle qualification, advanced skirmishing training, camouflage-oriented uniforms, and the use of Sharps breechloading rifles.
Marketing campaigns
- 1864Overland Campaign and Petersburg operations
Virginia · United States
After becoming independent, the company participated in the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg operations.
Outcome. The unit remained in the field until its term expired in March 1865.
- 1863Gettysburg Campaign
Pennsylvania · United States
The company operated as skirmishers and fought alongside the 1st Minnesota in the defense of the Union position during the battle.
Outcome. Union forces won at Gettysburg, and the company continued active service in the II Corps.
- 1862Peninsula Campaign
Virginia · United States
The company joined the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign, received further skirmisher training, and fought at Hanover Court House before transferring to the 1st Minnesota Infantry.
Outcome. The company continued with the 1st Minnesota after the Union withdrawal from the peninsula.
- 1862Maryland Campaign
Maryland · United States
As Company L of the 1st Minnesota, the unit fought at Antietam, where concentrated Confederate fire in the West Woods caused catastrophic casualties.
Outcome. The company remained in service despite losing approximately half its men.
Brand decisions
1863
Administrative separation from the 1st Minnesota InfantryStrategyBackground
The company had served as Company L of the 1st Minnesota since June 1862.
Action taken
On November 23, the Army reassigned it as an independent company within the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps.
Aftermath
It continued campaigning with the same brigade structure through the 1864 operations and the approach to Petersburg.
1862
Adoption of specialist recruitment and equipmentStrategyBackground
Berdan's organization sought to create a force superior to ordinary infantry in precision fire and dispersed skirmishing.
Action taken
The company used a demanding marksmanship test, specialized training, green uniforms, and Sharps breechloading rifles.
Aftermath
The unit operated as a specialist sharpshooter formation in the Army of the Potomac.
Sources1 sources
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