Born November 18, 1839, Bever Grund (Bevergrenda)
near Kongsberg, Buskerud, Kingdom of
Norway
Immigrated to America, 1857
Parents were Frode Johan Lang Eje (Langei)
(circa 1808-after 1865) and Marte Christiansdatter Myra (circa 1808-after 1865)
Married June 7, 1869, to Sophia Ebeltoft at Freeborn County, State of Minnesota
Died May 17, 1873, Oak Lake (Audubon)
Township, Becker County, Minnesota
Buried unmarked grave, Becker County,
Minnesota
Johan Frederik Frodesen Bævre enlisted under the name John F. Bever (sometimes spelled Beaver) for a 3 year term of service in what became Company D of the 15th Wisconsin. He was enlisted by Captain Charles Campbell on October 28, 1861, in the Town of Waupun, Columbia County, State of Wisconsin. The men of Company D called themselves the "Norway Wolf Hunters." They were also known as the "Waupun Company" because a number of them were residents of that Wisconsin Town. John was mustered into Federal service as a Private on December 8, 1861, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. At the time he was 22 years old and not married, had brown eyes and hair, a light complexion, and stood 5 feet 6 inches tall. His residence was listed as the Town of New Lisbon, Juneau County, Wisconsin.
On January 14, 1862, the men of the 15th were issued Belgian rifle muskets. After nearly 3 months at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Private Bever left there in early March, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. From then until April, 1863, he was recorded as "present" with the 15th. As such he would have been at the successful siege of Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River in the State of Tennessee, and in the surprise raid on Union City, Tennessee, in March and April, 1862. That summer he would have been on the campaign through Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama. In August and September, 1862, he would have been on the grueling 400 mile retreat with General Buell up to the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, with the last 2 weeks being on half rations and little water.
Private Bever would have been present at the October 8, 1862, fighting at the Town of Perryville, Boyle County, Kentucky, which is also called the Battle of Chaplin Hills. While this was the 15th's first big battle, it emerged without any fatalities. In late December he would have participated in the 15th's desperate charge upon a Confederate artillery battery at Knob Gap, Tennessee, just south of the City of Nashville. There the 15th captured a brass cannon. He would have also fought at the long, cold, wet, and bloody Battle of Stone River, Tennessee, also called the Battle of Murfreesboro, at the end of December, 1862. It is there that the 15th first suffered serious battle casualties, and was cited for bravery.
Apparently Private Bever's time in the service wore down his physical health. On April 4, 1863, Captain Albert Skofstad of Company D signed a document recommending his discharge by reason of "being entirely unfit for military service, in my opinion." Shortly thereafter the regiment's 1st Assistant Surgeon Oscar Trenkler agreed, stating that Bever was suffering from "chronic diarrhoea and general debility." Private Bever was honorably mustered out of Federal service "at camp near Murfreesboro" Tennessee, on April 9 or 10, 1863, with a disability discharge.
John Bever returned to Wisconsin, but in October, 1863, he acquired land and began farming in Vernon and Canisteo Townships, Dodge County, Minnesota. There he raised money for the West St. Olaf Church in Vernon Township, which had been organized by the 15th's first Chaplain, Claus L. Clausen. After his marriage John and his wife moved north to what became Becker County, Minnesota, where they were amongst the earliest White settlers. John became active in local government when the county was formally organized in 1871. He served on the first board of county commissioners and as Clerk of Court. His wife died of tuberculosis during the first year of their marriage and he succumbed to the same disease 2 years later.
Sources: Genealogical data courtesy of Mike Oiseth and Tove Dahl Johansen; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] by Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1895); Civil War Compiled Military Service Records by Office of Adjutant General of the United States (Washington, DC); and, Regimental Descriptive Rolls, Volume 20 Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1885).
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