[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16223]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          THE SONS OF COLVILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garrett of New Jersey). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in honor of Minnesota's 
135th Infantry.
  It is hard for us to imagine what it must have been like in the 
spring of 1861 when cannons announced the first battle of the Civil War 
by firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Minnesota's first 
Governor, Alexander Ramsey, happened to be in Washington on other 
business. Upon learning the news, he raced to the White House to become 
the first Governor to volunteer troops for the Union Army.
  A few nights later, in Red Wing, Minnesota, William Colvill used his 
considerable size and agility, as he stood almost 5 feet, 5 inches 
tall, to elbow his way to the front of the line to become the first 
volunteer in the first regiment of the first State that volunteered 
troops to preserve the Union.
  Minnesota's First Regiment fought with distinction in many of the 
bloodiest battles in the Civil War, including Fredericksburg, Bull Run, 
and Antietam. American history has a special footnote, however, to 
commemorate their actions on July 2, 1863 in that most famous of Civil 
War contests, the Battle of Gettysburg.
  General Winfield Scott Hancock, commander of the Union forces, saw 
the vulnerability of General Sickles' New Yorkers, who had moved 
forward, leaving a huge gap in the Union line. Hancock noticed that the 
First was positioned somewhat south of the middle of the long Union 
line on Cemetery Ridge. He nervously rode up and asked, Colonel 
Colvill, how long can you hold your position? Colvill, who spoke in 
short, crisp sentences firmly answered, ``General, to the last man.''
  Now, this was no idle boast. By the end of that day, the regiment 
would suffer 82 percent casualties.
  That single phrase, ``to the last man,'' survives today as the motto 
of the Minnesota National Guard detachment that traces its heritage to 
the Minnesota First Regiment.
  When the regiment headed off to war from Fort Snelling in 1861, they 
were 1,023 strong. After Pickett's charge at Gettysburg had been 
repelled only 2 years later, just 67 men could answer the call.
  The Minnesota First went on to see action in the Spanish American War 
and served with distinction in the Philippine Insurrection. During 
World War I it was mustered into service, but did not see action as a 
unit.
  That changed in 1941 when war clouds gathered far across the sea. The 
135th Infantry became the first division to be activated and shipped 
out. Advance units of the 135th sailed to Africa to take on the famed 
Africa Corps of Field Marshal Rommel. Despite being outmanned and 
underequipped, the 135th turned back the Desert Fox and his Army.
  After World War II, the 135th once again saw action in Korea.
  Today, the 135th is a battalion; no longer a regiment. It has five 
companies compared with 20 years past. It is concentrated in 
southeastern Minnesota as a member of the historic 34th Red Bull 
National Guard Division.
  That is why, this July 11 through 13, the thin ranks of the 135th 
Infantry's combat veterans of World War II and the Korean War, the 
``Sons of Colvill'' as they are known, will gather to remember. They 
will close ranks in Mankato, Minnesota, to honor those who have fallen 
and to remember one more time the sacrifices of a generation.
  Once again, they will listen to the special music that identifies the 
135th: ``March of the Red Bull Lesions,'' ``The Old Gray Mayor,'' ``The 
Sons of Colvill.'' It will be a final hoo-ah for the surviving men of 
World War II, and it will be one more commemoration for the thinning 
ranks of the Korean War vets. And, it will be one last chance for us to 
say, ``thank you, well done, oh good and noble servants. You have 
brought hope and freedom to millions who will never know your names.''
  Mr. Speaker, I salute the brave Minnesotans who have given so much to 
keep the lamp of liberty burning brightly throughout the world. To the 
families of those who have made the supreme sacrifice, we cannot 
adequately salve the wounds that will never heal. The best that we can 
say is that we will never forget.
  May God bless you. May God continue to bless our country and all who 
defend her.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.

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