William J. Colvill

For other people named William Colvill, see William Colvill (disambiguation).

William J. Colvill
Colvill statue in the Minnesota State Capitol
3rd Minnesota Attorney General
In office 1866–1868
Preceded by	Gordon E. Cole
Succeeded by	Francis R. E. Cornell

William J. Colvill (April 5, 1830 – June 12, 1905) was a Union colonel in the American Civil War who led the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was Minnesota Attorney General from 1866 to 1868 and he also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

On July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg, Confederate General Cadmus Wilcox's Alabama Brigade broke through the III Corp at the Wheatfield. Union II Corp commander, General Winfield Scott Hancock seeing the danger of the Union position being overrun on Cemetery Ridge, ordered Colvill and his brigade to make a suicidal charge to delay the Confederates enough to get reinforcements to the ridge. Without and hesitation, Colvill ordered the charge against a brigade four to five times larger. Of the 282 Minnesotans who made the charge, 217 were killed or wounded. Despite the heavy losses, the Minnesotans were successful in slowing the Confederates until more regiments arrived. Among the wounded was Colvill who was hit three times and severally wounded. He was shot in the shoulder and the ankle. One bullet entered the top right shoulder and tore across his back, clipping off a part of his vertebra and lodging under his left scapula. Both wounds would force Colville to use a cane the rest of his life.

After the battle, Colville recovered in a private home in Gettysburg at 303 Baltimore Street, at the corner of Baltimore and Breckenridge Streets. From there he was sent to a hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania were he remained until February of 1864. He was reunited with his regiment that month as they were being mustered out and sent home.

Back in Red Wing, Minnesota, he edited the Red Wing Republican newspaper. During this time, he was elected to the Minnesota State Legislature. He took his seat in January of 1865. Immediately after the adjournment of the legislature, he received an appointment as colonel of the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery, which was stationed in Chattanooga. On May 6, 1865, he received a brevet commission as brigadier general and was mustered out of service in July of 1865.

After the war, he returned to the state legislature until 1866. He was then elected Minnesota Attorney General from 1866 to 1868. Then he returned to his law practice in Red Wing. He also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1878. During the next decade he served as register of the Duluth Land Office, from 1887 to 1891.

Colvill married Elizabeth Morgan of Oneida County, New York, in April, 1867. In 1893, Colvill had a 167-acre homestead in Grand Marais, Minnesota next to Lake Superior. Others settled there creating a small community. It was named Covill in 1906 after his death.

In 1905, he traveled to the Soldiers Home in Minneapolis to attend a reunion of the veterans of the First Minnesota. While there, he died in his sleep on June 13.

Colvill Park in Red Wing, Minnesota is named for him and he is represented by a statue at the Minnesota State Capitol. In addition, a section of Minnesota State Highway 19 from Gaylord to Red Wing is named in his honor. He is buried in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.