WI 15th Inf Co I. Residence: Elk Mound, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. Born “Bersven Nilson” at Ovre Fleskemo, Maalselvedalen, Troms, Finmark, Norway. Left with his parents and ten siblings from their home in Norway on 12 May 1861. Sailed from Bergen on 25 May 1861. Reached Quebec on 9 Jul 1861. Came to La Crosse, Wisconsin, on 16 Jul 1861. Moved to Elk Mound, west of Eau Claire. Civil War: Age 19. Unmarried. Enlisted 8 Nov 1861 at Withon, Wisconsin, and mustered at Madison, Wisconsin, 20 Dec 1861. Private. On sick leave in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in May, 1863. Was with the provisions transport from Stevenson, Alabama, in September and October 1863. Was on Military Police duty on 23 May 1864. Mustered out with I Company at Chattanooga, Tennessee, 10 Feb 1865. Post war: Lived at West Superior, Wisconsin. Sources: (WHS Series 1200 box 76-11; red book vol 20 p132) (Buslett p600) (Ager p315; p15, photo, e51) (Ulvestad p313) (Gjertveit) (“Notes of a Civil War Soldier“ by Bersven Nelson, publ. in Norwegian-American Studies, vol 26, by NAHA, 1974) “Nelson, Bersven”
