Andrew A. Teele

Name: Andrew A. Teele Company: A, I First Lieutenant of Company A December 21, 1861; promoted Captain Company I November 18, 1862; resigned.
Birth Date: about 1824 Place: Massachusetts	Mustered In Date: December 21, 1861 Rank: Lieutenant Age: 27(37?) Residence prior to military service: Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota Vocation prior to military service: Hotel Keeper
Death Date: Place: Burial:	Mustered Out Date: April 3, 1863 Rank: Captain

Andrew A. Teele Biography and Civil War Narrative

The 1860 U.S. Census shows 36-year-old Massachusetts-born "Andrew A. Teel" as a Hotel Keeper in the city of Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota. Other Teels living in the household are Edward L. (age 31, Hotel Keeper), Ellen C. (age 25, House Keeper), Frederick M. (age 7), and Jas. E. (age 1). All were born in Massachusetts except James, who was born in Minnesota. It is not entirely clear whose children Frederick and James are or whether Ellen was a wife or a sister, but a likely scenario is that Frederick and James are the sons of Edward and his wife Ellen.

At the outbreak of the Civil War in spring 1861, President Lincoln called for 75,000 men to serve and to bring the Confederate rebels to terms. Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey was in Washington on Saturday, April 13, when the news of the surrender of Fort Sumter arrived. The next morning, Ramsey volunteered to raise 1,000 Minnesotans to serve. Ramsey telegraphed Lieutenant Governor Ignatius Donnelly, and the word was spread through St. Paul and beyond. The men of Goodhue County, Minnesota, responded immediately by volunteering to fight for the Union. By Tuesday, April 23, a company of 114 men had enlisted. These "Goodhue Volunteers" would serve in Company F of the First Minnesota Regiment under Captain William Colvill, Jr.

A second Goodhue County company of 50 men organized on Saturday evening, May 4. Andrew A. Teele was one of this group and was elected first sergeant. This company, however, was apparently not mustered into service as a unit. One of the Privates of this company was L. F. Hubbard, future Colonel of the Fifth Minnesota.

When the call for a fifth regiment of infantry from Minnesota was sent out from Washington by Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, on October 23, 1861, Andrew A. Teele enlisted in Company A of the 5th Minnesota. He was mustered in on December 21, and was elected First Lieutenant. The roster of new recruits published in Executive Documents of the State of Minnesota for the year 1862 lists 1st Lt. Andrew A. Teele of the Fifth Regiment, Company A, as a single, 37-year-old resident of Goodhue County.

In early May, Companies A, E, F, G, H, I, and K of the 5th Minnesota Volunteers headed south, and on May 24 they reported to General John Pope near Corinth, Mississippi. (Companies B, C, and D remained in Minnesota to serve garrison duty at Forts Ridgely, Ripley, and Abercrombie.) They were attached to the Second Brigade (Plummer), Second Division (Stanley) of the Right Wing (Rosecrans), Army of Mississippi. The Minnesota boys immediately went into action with the Siege of Corinth (May 26-30), where they engaged in fighting at Farmington, Mississippi on May 28. Later that same year they were present (but held in reserve) at the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi (September 19) and participated in the (2nd) Battle of Corinth (October 4).

On November 18, 1862, Captain Adam S. Lybe of Company I resigned his position, and Andrew Teele was promoted to Captain of Company I to replace Lybe. While Teele served as Captain of Company I, the 5th Minnesota participated in Grant's Central Mississippi (Railroad) Campaign (November 1862-January 1863). They also joined an expedition against Confederate General Forrest through west Tennessee under the command of General Ralph P. Buckland of the 15th Army Corps. They wintered at Germantown, Tennessee, near Memphis. At the end of March, the 5th Minnesota was moved to Duckport, Louisiana. Captain Teele resigned his position on April 3, 1863, at which point First Lieutenant Alpheus P. French was promoted to Captain of Company I.

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This page is maintained by Tim Bode (timbode@juno.com ). Page created on 11/13/2010. Last modified on 11/13/2010.