On This Date in Minnesota History: April 29

April 29, 1861 - Josias Ridgate King, a member of the Pioneer Guards, St. Paul, Minn., is generally acknowledged to be “the first to volunteer for the Union cause.”  He reportedly “bounded on to the stage [during a Pioneer Guard rally meeting] before the [volunteer sign-up] book could be handed around and signed. One version has him declaring, ‘Here's another for the war,’ while another has him declaring, ‘I'll be the first to sign.’

Josias Ridgate King

In St Paul, at the intersection of Kellogg Blvd and Summit Ave, there is a tall statue dedicated to the men who served during the Civil War. Atop the fifty foot shaft is an excellent sculpture of a soldier, three times larger than life. Josias posed as the model for the sculpture and his face can easily be recognized as the statue's face.”

http://www.1stminnesota.net/1st.php?ID=0052

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain April 29, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.