Born September 15, 1842, 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 and Ole
Never married
Died October 19, 1862, U.S.
military hospital, Town of Bowling Green, Warren County, State of Kentucky
Buried in
Grave N 10445, National Cemetery, City of Nashville, State of Tennessee
Peter Urness was enlisted in the 15th Wisconsin by Captain Ole C. Johnson for 3 years service in Company B. Peter's brother Anders J. Urness had previously joined the same company, and his brother Ole J. Urness would join it some 2 years later. 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. Anders was mustered into Federal service at the rank of Private on January 31, 1862, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, State of Wisconsin. At the time the army listed him as being 18 years old and not married. His residence was recorded as Town of Black Earth, Dane County, Wisconsin.
After a month at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Private Urness left there on March 2, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. From then until September, 1862, he is believed to have been "present" with the 15th. As such he would have participated in the successful siege of Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River in the State of Tennessee during March and early April, 1862, and on the surprise raid on Confederate forces at Union City, Tennessee, in late March, 1862.
From early April until early June,1862, Private Urness helped to occupy and reconstruct the fortifications at Island No. 10. Starting June 11, 1862, he and his company would have left there by steamboat to take part with the 15th on campaign through Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama. In August and September he participated in the grueling 400 mile retreat with U.S. Major General Don Carlos Buell from Alabama up to the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, with the last 2 weeks being on half rations and short of water.
At some point during the retreat Private Urness became ill. On September 17, 1862, he and several other 15th soldiers were left behind to recuperate at a military hospital in the Town of Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky. Unfortunately, he succumbed to "disease" a month later. The following description of his passing is attributed to "a Veteran" and is drawn from Ager's 1916 history of the 15th Wisconsin.
| "...this little [Peter] Urness fellow was always regarded by all of us as a kind of pet. His winning nature made him beloved by all. He had the habit of washing his feet every day. One day, when he sat by the fire washing, he said to me that he did not have long to live. I laughed at him and said that was only his imagination, which I believed. But I had to help him to bed, which we never had to do before, and at his request I removed from under his pillow a portfolio with some letters and a photograph of his sister. These objects I promised to give to his brother Anders, which I also did later, along with his brotherly greetings. He called the nurse and asked her to call all the Norwegians to his bedside, which was also done. When they came he could no longer see; but he called us by name and asked us to come closer. Then he took each of us by the hand and thanked us for the love we had shown him. When he had said goodbye to all, he folded his hands on his chest and recited the Lord's Prayer clearly for us all.. We stood around his bed and thought he must have tired himself, that he had fallen asleep. But to our great astonishment, he was dead. I have seen many die and dying; but never have I seen anyone die so peacefully and it seemed as painlessly as he." |
The body of Peter Urness was initially buried at Bowling Green. However, at some point (probably after the war) he and the other Union soldiers buried there were dug up, moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and re-buried in the national cemetery there.
Sources: Genealogical data from Darlene & Harland Hanson; Oberst Heg og hans gutter [Colonel Heg and His Boys] by Waldemar Ager (Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1916); 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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