Ager
“Oberst Heg og hans Gutter”, by Waldemar Ager. Publ. 1916, Fremad Publ. Co., Eau Claire WI. (Photo page numbers are from this edition.). English translation is “Chickamauga”, publ. 2000 by The Norwegian-American Historical Association. (Page numbers are from the Norwegian edition except those marked with the letter “e”, which are from the translation.) Ager was en editor in Eau Claire.
Bjerke
Robert Bjerke “Manitowoc Skogen”, a biographical and genealogical directory of the residents of Norwegian birth and descent in Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties in Wisconsin from the first settlement to 1900, publ. Dobbs, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 1994).
Blegen
Blegen, Theodore C. “Norwegian Migration to America”, publ. NAHA 1940, p383-417. Blegen was dean of the University of Minnesota Graduate School.
Borgerkrigen
See Larsen-Gjertveit
Buslett
“Det Femtende Regiment”, by O. A. Buslett, publ. 1894, by B. Anundsen, Decorah IA. “The Fifteenth Wisconsin” by O. A. Buslett, translated by Barbara G. Scott, Ripon Wisconsin, publ. 1999. Ole Amundsen Buslett included in his work many anecdotes and soldiers’ letters. The Scott translation is available from Dee Grimsrud, Madison, Wisconsin.
DCHS
Douglas County, Minnesota, Historical Society.
FCHS
Freeborn County, Minnesota, Historical Society.
Gjertveit
Lars Gjertveit of Bodo, Norway, has made a listing of the Field Officers of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment Infantry.
GPO
“The Martyrs who, for our country, gave up their lives in the prison pens in Andersonville, Georgia”. Quartermaster General’s Office, publ. 1866.
Grimsrud
Dee Anna Grimsrud is a reference archivist at the Historical Society of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. She is a recognized authority on Wisconsin’s Civil War soldiers, especially those of the 15th Regiment.
Hedberg
Blaine Hedberg holds the Gerhard Naeseth Chair at Vesterheim Genealogical Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
Heg
The Civil War Letters of Hans Christian Heg,”, edited by Theodore C Blegen, publ. Norwegian-American Historical Society, Northfield, Minnesota, 1936.
ILSA
“Adjutant General Military and Naval Department Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865.” Illinois State Archives Microfilm.
ISW
“Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion”, Vols 1-6, publ. 1908, Iowa General Assembly Roster Board, Des Moines IA. Also available on a CD.
KJR
Jerry Rosholt, Vesterheim, Decorah, Iowa, visiting cemeteries.
Larsen
Richard N. Larsen, Oregon, Wisconsin. Civil War Researcher, who has shared detailed information on Wisconsin regiments.
Larsen-Gjertveit
Roy H. Larsen, a Norwegian historian, is webmaster of ([http://www.scandinavianconfederates.wbts.info/](http://www.scandinavianconfederates.wbts.info/)), a roster of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish soldiers who served in Confederate units during the American Civil War. He and Lars Gjertveit have spent years searching what they call “the forgotten boys of the south”. Theirs is the most extensive study of this subject known to exist. The site is in English and Norwegian.
Larson
Bruce Larson, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Civil War researcher, who shared his information on Minnesota units.
Love
“Wisconsin in the War of the Rebellion” by Wm. DeLoss Love. Publ. 1866. Church and Goodman, Chicago. Pages 1056-1136 list all Wisconsin unit men who were killed in action, who died of their wounds, or who died of disease. Love was a Milwaukee clergyman. Copies of his book are almost impossible to find; the Archives section of the State Historical Society in Madison has a copy.
MCIW
“Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865”, The Legislature of Minn. Act of 16 Apr 1889. Publ. 1890.
Meeker
“Roster of the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment” (compiled from “Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, publ. 1886 and from other sources) by Scott Campbell Meeker, Middleton WI., posted on the Internet 29 Nov 1998. Meeker’s website (www.15thwisconsin.com) includes many photos and individual stories of Norwegians in the famous 15th.
MINN
“Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Minnesota” Publ. Pioneer Printing Co., 1866.
MSAW
“Minnesota in the Spanish-American War” by Franklin F. Holbrook, publ. Minnesota War Records Commission, St. Paul, 1923.
Naeseth
“Norwegian Immigrants to the United States”, by Gerhard B Naeseth, a director of the University of Wisconsin Memorial Library, Madison. Naeseth spent 48 years of his life working on genealogy, first of his own family and then of others. His work is the basis for a five volume biographical directory of Norwegians arriving in the United States from 1825 through 1850. The first volume was published in 1993, shortly before Naeseth’s death. His assistant, Blaine Hedberg, completed volumes two through four, and is at work on volume five.
Naeseth-Hedberg
Volume four of the series “Norwegian Immigrants to the United States.”
Nelson
“History of the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in the United States”. Vols. I and II. Publ. 1900, O. N. Nelson & Co., Minneapolis.
Obituaries
Most county historical societies collect obituaries of veterans. We have searched many such libraries and will search more. The Vesterheim Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library in Madison has many privately printed family histories.
ONI
“Our Norwegian Immigrants”, edited by John Thallaug & Rolf Erickson. Publ. Dreyers Forlag, Oslo, c1978.
Oudenstad
Oudenstad, Halvard, “Utvandringen til Amerika fra Biri/Snertingdal, Vardal/Gjovik, 1846-1915”, publ. Gjovik historielag, Norway, 1981.
Pension List
“The Executive Documents printed by order of the Senate of the United States for the second session of the 47th Congress, 1882-83.” List of Pensioners on the roll, Jan 1, 1883.
Quiner
“The Military History of Wisconsin in the War for the Union” by Edwin B. Quiner, publ. 1866, Clarke & Co., Chicago. Republished in 2000 by the St. Croix Valley Civil War Round Table, Hudson WI. Quiner, a journalist and printer in Madison, began gathering Wisconsin stories early in the Civil War. He died in 1868.
Rokke
Lee Rokke is a celebrated genealogist in Minnesota. She is a long time member of the Norwegian-American Genealogical Association. Her specialty is family histories of immigrants from Sigdal and Eggedal
Roll of Honor
The Army Quartermaster General, shortly after the Civil War, began publishing a series of burial rosters of various cemeteries. This “Roll of Honor” series now runs 27 volumes, containing 228,639 names. Not all burial sites are included. There are duplicates and there are errors. Nonetheless, this is the only record of burials of Union soldiers. These books, along with a name Index, have been reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
Rygg
“Norwegians in New York 1825-1925” by A. N. Rygg. Publ. by The Norwegian News Company, Brooklyn NY, 1941.
RUS
“The Roster of Union Soldiers 1861-1865”, by Janet Hewett, publ. by Broadfoot Publ. Co., Wilmington NC 1998.
RWV
“Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865”, Vol I & II. Compiled under direction of the Adjutant General. Publ. Madison WI, 1886.
SDSHS
“WPA Veterans’ Cemetery Gravesites”. South Dakota State Historical Society, Pierre SD
TAR
Payroll muster rolls of WI 15th Co E, saved by Captain T.A.Rossing. Held for more than a century by Luther College Library, Decorah IA. They have been transferred to the Archives, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI.
Ulvestad
“Nordmaendene i Amerika” by Martin Ulvestad (Ole Johannes Martinus Ulvestad), publ. 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis MN. Ulvestad was a celebrated collector of historical data. It is said that he sent out thousands of questionnaires to Norwegian settlers throughout America. There are many duplicate entries in his book. Some regimental clerks identified Norwegian enlistees as “born in Sweden” so Ulvestad is the place to look to identify which of these is really Norwegian.
Varden
“Varden”, God Helg, Telemark. 5 Jul 1997, p21
Walk
Violet Walk, PO Box 324, Grafton IA 50440. Mrs. Walk is completing a survey of all Worth County, Iowa, residents who served in the Civil War and of all Civil War veterans who later lived in Worth County.
WHS
Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin. Three sets of records:
“Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900.” 259 boxes of muster and payroll records of Wisconsin military units. These were sent during the war to the Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office.
“Red book”, popular name for Series 1144 “Regimental and Descriptive Rolls”, a series of books, one for each military unit, containing information copied in 1866 from the Series 1200 records.“Blue book”, similar to the Red book, but copied 25 years later, also from the Series 1200 records. These were created to aid Wisconsin Veterans in applying for pensions. They include information about the battles in which a soldier served.
WLCW
“Wisconsin Losses in the Civil War” by Charles Edward Esterbrook, publ. by state printer, Madison WI, 1915.
XSS
“List of Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, living in Iowa”, by William L Alexander. Publ. Des Moines IA 1886.
Military Records
Soldiers were to be paid every other month (and sometimes were) and company clerks prepared muster rolls listing all members of the company and showing which soldiers were on hand to get their money. Each of these muster rolls was copied from the one used two months earlier, and each showed the soldier’s name, place of birth, age, enlistment dates and rank. Each company clerk kept one copy, sent one to the regimental headquarters, sent one to the War Department in Washington, D.C., and sent one to the adjutant general of the state from which the unit came. After the war, legislatures ordered that this information be copied and printed and that was done. In some states – Wisconsin is one – the original muster rolls still exist.