On This Date in Minnesota History: April 19

April 19, 1896 – Private Marshall Sherman died in St. Paul on this date.  His “name goes down in the annals of 1st Minnesota history as the man who captured the battle flag of the 28th Virginia Infantry at the battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, during what became known as Pickett's Charge. For his gallantry during the battle he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

http://www.1stminnesota.net/SearchResults.php3?ID=0337

Picketts charge from a position on the Confederate line looking toward the Union lines, Zieglers grove on the left, clump of trees on right / Edwin Forbes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edwin_Forbes_Pickett's_Charge.jpg

The Battle Flag of the 28th Virginia Infantry

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Feb.l 28, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 18

April 18, 1965 – The St. Croix River crested at 94.10 ft. at Stillwater on this date, the highest recorded river level.

http://projects.wchsmn.org/reference/events/1965-flood-crest/ 

On Easter Sunday April 18, 1965 floodwaters of the St. Croix River crested here at 694.07 ft above sea level, highest stage ever recorded at this point, and 19 ft above normal. A mile-long dike built by hundreds of volunteer workers, including teenage boys and girls and inmates of the state prison, prevented the flood waters from inundating the business district of Stillwater.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain April 18, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 17

April 17, 1895 – The Hastings Spiral Bridge was completed on this date after seven months of construction. Labeled the “Only One of Its Kind in America,”¹ the bridge was “the original structure to carry U.S. 61 over the Mississippi River at Hastings,”² and built with “an interesting spiral that wound down to the Hastings (Minn.) business streets. The reason for the design was simple – it had to be high enough for steam boats to pass under it while still exiting onto Main Street.”<sup>3 

1</sup>http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=49690

²http://www.deadpioneer.com/projects/routes/US61/historicus61se/spiralbridge/spiralbridge.htm

³http://www.dakotahistory.org/county/hastings.asp

The Hastings Spiral Bridge

https://www.google.com/search?q=hastings+spiral+bridge&hl=en&rlz=1G1LENN_ENUS473&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6WtXUIaJBYWryQH7hoDADg&ved=0CCAQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=608#hl=en&rlz=1G1LENN_ENUS473&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=public+domain+images+of+hastings+spiral+bridge&oq=public+domain+images+of+hastings+spiral+bridge&gs_l=img.12...8638.16511.0.18705.24.23.0.0.0.5.400.3580.0j9j6j1j1.17.0...0.0...1c.1.AZkSQrQwKm8&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=36b19fe436829044&biw=1366&bih=608

This marker stands where the Spiral Bridge entered Hastings on the south side of the Mississippi River. It is located in Veteran’s Memorial Levee Park.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain April 17, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 16

April 16, 1981 – St. Paul Police “Officer [John J.] O'Brien was killed when a vehicle that was driving recklessly and fleeing other officers struck his patrol car driving 50 mph at Forest and Geranium Avenues. The impact caused Officer O'Brien's vehicle to roll over and strike a house. Officer O'Brien's partner was critically injured. Two teenagers in the other car were killed and one was severely injured.

Officer O'Brien had been with the agency for ten years and was survived by his expectant wife, two children. He was also survived by two brothers who were also officers on the department.”
http://www.odmp.org/officer/10066-police-officer-john-j-obrien

St. Paul Police Officer John J. O'Brien

http://www.odmp.org/officer/10066-police-officer-john-j-obrien

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 15

April 15, 1926 – “In April 1926, the Robertson Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis won a government contract to carry mail between St. Louis and Chicago. Robertson’s chief pilot, Charles Lindbergh, inaugurated the route on [this date].”

“Lindbergh twice had to parachute to safety from his airmail plane. Both times, however, he salvaged most of the mail from the wreckage and put the bags onto Chicago-bound trains.”

Plaque located at Lindbergh family home, Little Falls, Minn.

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 14

April 14, 1983 – “The largest April snowstorm in the Twin Cities happened [on this date]. A strong area of low pressure had ample moisture to work with and deepened over northern Iowa as it moved to the east and northeast. The event started as rain on the 13th and changed over to snow during the wee hours of April 14th. Persons in east central Minnesota were surprised to wake up to a foot of snow on the ground with brilliant morning sunshine. The grand total at the Twin Cities airport from that storm was 13.6 inches.”

http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/april_snow_records.htm

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 13

April 13, 1962 – “A 6+ inch snowfall [postponed] the Twins scheduled home opener against the Los Angeles Angels [on this date]. A crowd of 25,000 was expected but when they played the game the next day, only 8,363 fans show up due to continuing frigid temps.”

http://twinstrivia.com/today-in-twins-history/

http://www.sports-logos-screensavers.com/MinnesotaTwins.html