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Ole Johnson Urness
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Believed to have been taken circa 1885
Photo
courtesy of Ole's Great Grandnephew Harland Hanson and his wife Darlene
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Born August 24, 1840, at Urnęs, Sogn, Kingdom of Norway
Parents were
Johannes Olsen Kreken (1813-1894) and Kari Pedersdotter Sandvig (1810-1880)
Immigrated to America,
1861, with his brothers Anders J. Urness and Peter Urness
Married September 17, 1876, to
Bothilda Thice (1859-1907) at Alexandria, Douglas County, State of Minnesota
Died
December 14, 1899, at his home in Urness Township, Douglas County, Minnesota
Buried
at Fryksande Cemetery, Urness Township, Douglas County, Minnesota
Ole J. Urness was enlisted in Company B of the 15th Wisconsin by a "Sergeant Wilson" on January 5, 1864, for a 3 year term of service. His brother Anders J. Urness had joined the same company over 2 years earlier, as had his younger brother Peter Urness, who died of disease after less than 1 year of service. The Urness brothers were one of what is said to have been 3 sets of 3 brothers who served in the 15th.
The men of Company B called themselves the "Wergeland Guards" in honor of the famous Norwegian writer and poet Henrik Wergeland. Ole was mustered into Federal service at the rank of Private on January 28, 1864, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. At the time the Army listed him as being 22 years old and not married. His residence was recorded as the Town of Black Earth, Dane County, Wisconsin.
After a period of training, Private Urness was sent south to the war. He caught up with the 15th on March 31, 1864, just east of Knoxville at Strawberry Plains, Jefferson County, State of Tennessee. The 15th was resting and refitting there after several months of incredibly grueling service marching and counter-marching all over Eastern Tennessee. By many original accounts, this was the worst period of the regiment's 3 year term of service. Poor rations, inadequate clothing and shelter, and unseasonably cold weather made these months nearly unbearable.
Starting in May, 1864, the 15th participated in the famous campaign to capture the City of Atlanta, Georgia, which was led by U.S. Major General William T. Sherman. This campaign was marked by almost daily marching and/or combat for 4 months. The 15th took part in the fighting at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, in early May, and at the bloody Battle of Resaca, Georgia, on May 14-15, 1864. Starting May 22, 1864, Private Urness was listed as "absent sick."
Private Urness did not return to the 15th until sometime in August, 1864. It is likely he then participated with the regiment in its fighting at the Town of Jonesboro, Georgia, on September 1, and at the Town of Lovejoy Station, Georgia, on September 4, 1864. After a well-deserved rest following the capture of Atlanta in early September, 1864, the 15th was briefly assigned to Provost (police) duty in Chattanooga in early October. This was followed by several months of guarding a railroad bridge at Whitesides, Tennessee, near Chattanooga. Some of the 15th's soldiers felt that their time at Whitesides was the easiest duty of their entire war service.
On December 2, 1864, most of the surviving members of Company B, including Anders Urness, were mustered out of Federal service upon the expiration of their 3 year terms of service. Because Corporal Urness had only served 1 year of his commitment, he was not eligible to be mustered out. Instead, he was transferred to Company H, which was known as " Heg's Rifles" after the 15th's first commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg, who has been killed at Chickamauga the previous September. It was also known as the "Voss Company" because so many of its members came from that region of Norway.
On February 13, 1865, most of the surviving members of Company H and the other remaining companies were mustered out of Federal service at the end of their 3 year terms of service. On that date the 15th Wisconsin officially ceased to exist. Corporal Urness and a number of other 15th soldiers who had not yet served their full commitment were transferred to the 24th Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which was then located at Nashville, Tennessee.
In April, 1865, the American Civil War finally finally came to an end when the remaining Confederate armies surrendered to Union forces. On June 11, 1865, the veterans of the 24th Wisconsin were officially mustered out and it too ceased to exist. Corporal Urness and others from the 15th were once again transferred, this time to Company I of the 13th Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A few weeks later the veterans of 13th were mustered out and it ceased to exist. By this time the army no longer needed the services of Corporal Urness and the other remaining ex-15th Wisconsin soldiers, so it mustered them out, paid them off, and sent them home.
After returning from the army Ole moved to Douglas County, Minnesota, where he homesteaded 160 acres in Red Rock Township, receiving a land patent for it on October 1, 1867. A number of former 15th soldiers took up residence in Douglas County, including his brother Anders. In 1871 one of them, Amos Johnson, was responsible for changing the township's name from Red Rock to Urness. From 1876 to 1888 Ole Urness served as the elected Sheriff for Douglas County.
Ole and his wife had 13 children: John, born 1876; Martha, born 1878; Carrie, born 1880; John, born 1882; Louise, born 1885; Louis, born 1886; Onne, born 1890; Bennie, born 1892; Andrew O., born 1893; Emma, born 1894; Marie, born 1896; Annie, born 1898; and Olena, born 1899.
Ole J. Urness died of "pneumonia" at age 59, the same year his last child was born.
The following passage by "a Veteran" appeared in Ager's 1916 history of the 15th Wisconsin.
| "Everyone in the regiment knew the Urness brothers. There were three of them. Anders Urness was the flag carrier or "Color Bearer." He was also mature in his attitude. One could not find a more gallant soldier in the regiment than he. Likewise, his brother Ole, who after the war came to Douglas County and was the sheriff for many years." |
Sources: Genealogical data from Darlene Hanson; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] by Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1895); Regimental Descriptive Rolls, Volume 20 Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1885); and, Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Volume I Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1886).
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All Rights Reserved. Created March 23, 2002. Last updated May
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