[.ca] The Last Full Measure: The Life and Death of the First ... (ISBN 087351405X)

When was the last time a book made you cry?:
I heard Richard Moe on National Public Radio promoting this book. Having heard of the First's heroism in Ken Burns' "The Civil War" I was curious. Did 262 frontiersmen from Minnesota really save the Union line at Gettysburg? They did. I knew how these men's charge would end, and so did they. "Every knew in an instant what it meant. Death or wounds to us all." Knowing this, they fixed their bayonets and charged into a force that outnumberd them five to one. As I was reading the climactic pages of the book, my wife walked into the room and saw me with tears streaming down my cheeks, and asked why. I couldn't bring myself to read it to her aloud . Men like the First Minnesota willingly sacrificed themselves to save our Union. In so doing, they covered themselves in glory for all time. All Americans should pray that we as a nation be worthy of that sacrifice.

The People! The People!:
As the Ken Burns quote on the backcover says, this book is about the PEOPLE! The reader gets to really know individuals in the Regiment. This isn't a book that tries to do too much - you merely experience the war along with the First Minnesotans. It isn't about generals or politicans or who did what when. Richard Moe does a fabulous job.. as he states in his intro, he merely takes all the letters and testomonials and puts them together in a readable and exciting text. You will be amazed by the bravery of this regiment too. There are some very entertaining characters and stories along the way. One problem I have is that the most interesting soldier, Thomas Pressnell kind of dissapears before Gettysburg and isn't mentioned much in the epilogue. This guy climbed trees, escaped a Rebel Prison Guard, and even met Abraham Lincoln! Two of the main characters, Issac and Henry Taylor (featured on the cover photograph) are very real, likeable, honest guys. This book shows that the Civil War is about much more than Generals and Politicians bickering back and forth- there are REAL humans who experienced the war, and you can certainly relate to them.

Grand Odyssey of Minnesota Frontiersmen in Civil War.:
The men of the First Minnesota could swing an axe, and did so, building bridges and making roads. They could shoot -- straight and fast, and did so on some of the most famous battlefields of the Civil War. They were a "cool" Regiment, men who stood fast. And they died, as a Regiment, on the battlefield of Gettysburg. This book should be read by every high school senior in Minnesota, and most elsewhere. Moe captures the simple competence of these frontiersmen, their ability to walk for long distances (Antietam), work with tools (Peninsula Campaign) and to stand fast and fight hard -- in each battle. The First Minnesota was raised in the West, in the new state of Minnesota, but fought with the Army of the Potomac. This gives their story a sense of an American Odyssey -- Moe captures the changing nation as a backdrop to the war. The First Minnesota struggles to learn how to cook crabs... and how to fight the Secesh. The diaries and newspaper articles of the time illuminate the nation through the stories these men tell. Finally, the Civil War buff will love this book. The book tells one entire arc of the Civil War through the life and death of this Regiment. And Moe's writing is so simple and clear, the story unfolds and makes the early eastern battles understandable.

Electric!:
This work makes your jaw sag. There were many heroic actions at Gettysburg: Pickett's charge, the 20th Maine, the 15th Alabama, the Iron Brigade, just to mention a few. But no one unit played a more significant role, to less subsequent acclaim, than the First Minnesota Volunteers. One of the first regiments to respond to Lincoln's initial call, their service reads like a history of the Army of the Potomac. Their key work, however, was done on July 2nd 1863. During the Gettysburg campaign they suffered 70% casualties, 232 out of the 330 engaged. Amazingly, the majority of these casualties occurred in less than 45 seconds. Even more amazing, after three days of fighting in which many units had distinguished themselves, the contribution of the First Minnesota, especially on the second day, wasn't immediately apparent to those who had not witnessed it. Such was the carnage of Gettysburg. This is their story.

Bless this man!:
Richard Moe does an outstanding job with a great piece of American history. I had never read a book that made me so proud to be a part of this great country. Author uses diary inscriptions and letters the soldiers sent home to piece together a brilliant story of the up's and down's of the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment, some of our greatest men of the Civil War.