CDV of Private Albert Woolson, Co. C, 1st Minnesota

CDV of Private Albert Woolson, Co. C, 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery, Last Surviving Civil War Veteran

CDV showing Private Albert Woolson with his regiment at fortifications in Chattanooga, TN. The men stand in uniform alongside a siege gun on pivot, with Woolson positioned at the gun's muzzle with his hand on his hip.

A native of New York, Albert Henry Woolson (1850-1956) watched his father Willard enlist in the Union army in November of 1861. The elder Woolson was wounded in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh and sent to a hospital in Minnesota for treatment. The Woolson family moved west as well to be closer to Willard during his convalescence. Albert signed up for service himself on October 10, 1864 at Windom, MN and gave his age as seventeen at the time of enlistment. He mustered into Co. C, 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery as a drummer and was dispatched with all companies of the regiment to Chattanooga for garrison duty, as part of the Army of the Cumberland. Woolson mustered out in September of 1865 and spent much of his life affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he eventually became honorary commander in chief. At the time of his death in 1956, Woolson was recognized as the last surviving Civil War veteran and was honored with his own monument on the battlefield at Gettysburg. Image published as part of an interview with Woolson that appeared in Life magazine on August 13, 1956.
Condition Report: Surface soil with thin, vertical band of discoloration at left edge. Wear to edges and corners of both image and mount, including slight loss at mount's bottom left corner.