Everyday Heroes: The Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3 1863

....Hancock shouted to the regiment’s colonel, "Do you see those colors? Take them."

As the 1st Minnesota’s colonel later related, "Every man realized in an instant what that order meant—death or wounds to us all; the sacrifice of the regiment to gain a few minutes time and save the position, and probably the battlefield—and every man saw and accepted the necessity for the sacrifice."

The Minnesotans did not capture the colors of the Alabama brigade, but the shock of their attack broke the Confederates’ momentum and bought critical time...."