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Syvert (Syver) A. Anderson
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Image believed to have been taken post-Civil War
Photo courtesy of Lac Qui Parle
County Historical Society via Ronald Pearson
Picture appearing above
has been electronically enhanced by Deep Vee Productions
To view a larger, un-altered
copy of the original photo, which includes his wife, click
HERE
Born July 2, 1842, Hanekamb Arnafjord, Vik i Sogn, Kingdom of
Norway
Parents were Anders Hallvardson Hanekamb (1800-1889) and Brita Sjursdotter Lillesand
(1809-1899)
Immigrated to America, 1856
Married March 1, 1865,
to Isabelle Severs (Ingeborg
Torsdotter Lillesand) (1842-1922)
Married at Whitewater, Walworth County, State of Wisconsin
Died December 24, 1938, Town of Cove,
Union County, State of Oregon
Buried Town of Dawson, Lac Qui Parle County, State of
Minnesota
Sjur Andersson Hanekamb was enlisted under the name Syvert A. Anderson in Company B of the 15th Wisconsin by Captain Ole C. Johnson on October 22, 1861. His older brother, Halver Anderson, had joined the company a week earlier. The men of Company B called themselves the "Wergeland Guards" in honor of Henrik Wergeland, the famous Norwegian writer and poet. Syvert was mustered into Federal service at the rank of Private for a 3 year term of service on November 16, 1861, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, State of Wisconsin. At the time he was 19 years old and not married. His residence was listed as the Town of Cambridge, Dane County, Wisconsin.
On January 14, 1862, the men of the 15th were issued Belgian rifle muskets. After nearly 15 weeks at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Private Anderson left there in early March, 1862, with his brother, company, and regiment to join the war. It is believed that he was present at the siege of Island No. 10, Tennessee, and the raid on Union City, Tennessee, in April, 1862. It is thought he was on the regiment's campaign through the states of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama that Summer. It is believed that in August and September he was on the grueling 400 mile retreat with General Buell up to the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, the last 2 weeks of which were on half rations and little water. He is known to have been at the October 8, 1862, Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, which is also called the Battle of Chaplin Hills. In a post-war, sworn affidavit, 2nd Lieutenant Ole P. Olson of Company B recounted this about Private Anderson's actions at the battle.
| "When the Captain called for volunteers to go down toward the line of the enemy for some water, Syvert A. Anderson was the only one to step up. He went and got the water and also captured a rebel prisoner and brought him back as well as the water." |
On December 26, 1862, Private Anderson took part in the 15th's desperate charge upon a Confederate artillery battery at Knob Gap, Tennessee, just south of the City of Nashville. Lieutenant Olson recorded this about what happened.
| "The enemy had a battery on top of the Knob that was shelling us pretty lively. We advanced through the muddy field, mud ankle deep. We got to the foot of the Knob -- Knob very steep and hard to get up in the mud to the top where the battery was. Syvert A. Anderson , then being a spry, strong and brave soldier, started up in advance of the main line as he saw it was at this moment to dare, do or die, to prevent the enemy from getting away with the cannon. He gained the top in the face of the enemy, demanded a surrender and accomplished it. Cannon, caisson, seven prisoners and five horses were capture by him. If Syvert A. Anderson had not acted so bravely and advanced ahead of the main line of skirmishers, the enemy would have had time to get away with the cannon before the main line came up." |
From December 30-31, 1863, Private Anderson fought in the long, cold, wet, and bloody Battle of Stone River, Tennessee, which is also known as the Battle of Murfreesboro. It is there that the 15th first suffered serious battle casualties, and was cited for bravery. On December 31st Private Anderson suffered a severe gun shot wound in his left foot. It is said that he was then captured and briefly held by the Confederates before being paroled to Union forces. However, according to Lieutenant Olson, Private Anderson was "left on the battlefield until January 6th, 1863..." In either case, he was next listed as a patient in an Army hospital in Nashville. Later he was moved to a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. There on September 18, 1863, Private Anderson was honorably discharged from the Army due to physical disabilities resulting from his wound.
After his discharge Syvert Anderson returned to Wisconsin. A year and a half later he married his maternal cousin and lived for a time in the Town of Whitewater, Walworth County, Wisconsin. After the war ended they moved to the Town of Rochester, State of Minnesota, and then homesteaded in Baxter Township, Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota, starting in 1871. There Syvert served as a County Commissioner and became the first commander of the Cassius Fairchild Post of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Syvert wrote the following in a May 28, 1923, letter to his "dear and faithful comrade" Erick N. Barsness of Company B.
| "I have been sick for a long time this spring. I did not know but my time was up, and I had to answer to the last roll call. I am so weak yet, and so shaky I can hardly write so you can understand it. I lost my dear and good wife a year ago. So the time has been a lonesome time to me since." |
In 1926 Lieutenant Olson recommended Syvert for the Medal of Honor for his actions at Knob Gap. It is not known what became of this recommendation. Twelve years later, at the time of his death at age 96, Syvert A. Anderson was said to be the last living Civil War veteran in Lac Qui Parle County. He is also believed to have been the last living member of the 15th Wisconsin.
Sources: Genealogical data provided by Loran Anderson, Dee Grimsrud, Ronald Pearson, Barbara Swedenburg, and Tove D. Johansen; Parish records from Vik in Sogn < http://www.leegenealogy.net/en/leegenea.htm>; Pope County Tribune newspaper (Glenwood, Minnesota, Nov. 1, 1973); Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] by Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1895); and Regimental Descriptive Rolls, Volume 20 by the Office of Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1885).
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All Rights Reserved. Created April 15, 1999. Last
updated August 30, 2002.