| Christian
O. Morbeck
|
Photo taken post-Civil War
Image courtesy of his
Great Granddaughter Karen Morbeck Hayden
Picture shown above has been enhanced
electronically by Deep Vee Productions
To view the original, un-retouched image, click
HERE
Born August 25, 1842,
Vandse-Lista, Vest Agder, Kingdom of Norway
Immigrated to America with his family, 1848
Married March 11,
1875, to Constance Caroline Anderson
Married at West Side Moravian Church, City of
Green Bay, Brown County, State of Wisconsin
Died June 19, 1908, Town of
Coeur d'Alene, State of Idaho
Buried near GAR Memorial, Forest Cemetery,
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Charly Morbeck was enlisted under the name of Christian O. Morbeck in Company F of the 15th Wisconsin by a Lieutenant Kalenbach at the Town of Ephraim, Door County, State of Wisconsin, on February 22, 1862. Charly and his friend Torger Torgerson were 2 of the 4 men recruited by Kalenbach from the Moravian community there. Charly's uncle Reinert G. T. Morbeck had enlisted in Company F several months earlier.
Company F called itself "K.K.'s Protectors" in honor of the 15th's first Lieutenant Colonel, Kiler K. Jones. It was also known as the "Valdres Company" because a large number of its members hailed from the Valdres region of Norway. Christian was mustered into the Federal Army at the rank of Private (Menig) for a 3 year term of service on March 1, 1862, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. The Army recorded him as being a 19 year old unmarried resident of Door County, Wisconsin.
After only 1 day at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Private Morbeck left there on March 2, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. From then until December, 1862, he was listed as "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, and the surprise raid on Union City, Tennessee, in March and April, 1862.
On June 11, 1862, Private Morbeck departed Island No. 10 by steamboat with most of the 15th. His uncle remained behind at Island No. 10, where he died of Typhoid Fever a few weeks later.
Private Morbeck spent the summer of 1862 campaigning through Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama with the 15th. In August and September he would have participated in the grueling 400 mile retreat with U.S. Major General Don Carlos Buell up to the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, with the last 2 weeks being on half rations and short of water.
Private Morbeck would have been present at the October 8, 1862, fighting at the Village of Perryville, Boyle County, Kentucky, which is also called the Battle of Chaplin Hills. While this was the first big battle the 15th was in, it emerged without any fatalities.
On December 26, 1862, Private Morbeck 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 then fought at the long, cold, wet, and bloody Battle of Stone River, Tennessee, also called the Battle of Murfreesboro, on December 30-31, 1862. It was there that the 15th first suffered serious battle casualties, and was cited for bravery. One of these casualties was Private Morbeck, who was wounded in the left ankle by a gun shot on December 31st and taken as a prisoner of war.
Within a few days Private Morbeck was paroled by the Confederates and sent to a Federal Army hospital in the Town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Torger Torgerson was in the same hospital, having also been wounded at Stone River. Christian recovered, but Torger died in early April, 1863.
A week later Private Morbeck reported back to Company F. While he had been paroled (released), he had not been exchanged (formally traded for a Confederate who had been captured and paroled), so on June 27, 1863, he was ordered to Murfreesboro by U.S. Major General William S. Rosecrans. From there he reported to Camp Chase, at the City of Columbus, State of Ohio, on July 17th, and then to the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the next day. On July 21st he was ordered to Benton Barracks near the City of Saint Louis, State of Missouri, to await exchange.
It appears that Private Morbeck reported back to the 15th sometime in October, 1863, when the regiment was located near the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the time Chattanooga was under siege by the Confederate army. The siege resulted in severe shortages of medicine, food, and firewood which, together with cold, wet weather, caused much suffering, sickness, and death. The Confederate siege was finally broken by the Union Army's victorious charge up Mission Ridge on November 25, 1863, which the 15th took part in. Starting November 28, 1863, Private Morbeck is listed as being "absent sick" in Chattanooga.
Starting right after Mission Ridge the 15th was engaged in almost non-stop marching and counter-marching all over Eastern Tennessee throughout the winter of 1863/1864. 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. Private Morbeck returned to the 15th sometime in early 1864 and was listed as "present" till August, 1864. It is not clear how much he participated in the regiment's suffering in East Tennessee that winter.
Starting in May, 1864, the 15th participated in the famous campaign led by U.S. Major General William T. Sherman to capture the City of Atlanta, Georgia. This campaign was marked by almost daily marching and/or combat for 4 months. The 15th's part included fighting at Rocky Face Ridge in early May, at the bloody Battle of Resaca on May 14-15, and at the disastrous Battle of Pickett's Mill (often called Dallas or New Hope Church) on May 27, 1864. There the 15th suffered 50% casualties, including 29 officers and enlisted men taken prisoner -- most of whom later died horrible deaths in the notorious Andersonville Prison.
Private Morbeck would also have fought with the 15th at Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, on June 23, and before Atlanta on July 22. On August 4, 1864, Christian was sent to the Division Hospital by order of the 15th's Regimental Surgeon. He recovered in a few weeks and was then listed as "present" until he mustered out.
Following the capture of Atlanta in early September, 1864, the 15th camped near there for several weeks, resting and refitting. On October 1, 1864, Private Morbeck was appointed as a Corporal (Korporal) in Company F by order of the 15th's commander, Lieutenant Colonel (Oberstløitnant) Ole C. Johnson. In early October the 15th was briefly assigned to Provost (police) duty in Chattanooga. This was followed by several months spent guarding a railroad bridge at Whitesides, Tennessee, near Chattanooga. Some of the 15th's soldiers felt that was the easiest duty of their entire war service.
On January 13, 1865, most of the survivors of Company F were mustered out of the Army at Chattanooga, at the expiration of their 3 year terms of service. They were then sent home to Wisconsin. However, since Corporal Morbeck had joined up some 6 weeks after most of the men in the company, he was temporarily transferred to Company H of the 15th to serve out the rest of his term.
On February 13, 1865, the 15th ceased to exist when Company H, its last company, was mustered out at Chattanooga and most of its men sent home. Corporal Morbeck still had a few weeks left to serve, so he and others like him were transferred to the famous 24th Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Corporal Morbeck was finally mustered out of the Federal Army on March 13, 1865, at the Town of Huntsville, State of Alabama.
After the war Charles Morbeck worked for a time as a store clerk in the Town of Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin. He then bought a sailboat and traded on Green Bay and the islands up around Door County for a few years. After getting married he moved to the City of Astoria, in the State of Oregon, and then back to Green Bay before settling in the Town of Ingalls, in the Upper Peninsula of the State of Michigan, where he ran a general store. Charles is believed to have attended the 15th's annual reunion in 1896 at the City of St. Paul, State of Minnesota [to see a photo of his reunion ribbon, click HERE].
The 1900 census recorded Charles Morbeck, his wife, and 6 children as living in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. In 1902 he applied for a Invalid's Pension, which was subsequently approved. His application stated he could not do manual labor because of his "gun shot wound, sciatica, catarrh bronchitis, disease of eyes, constipation, lumbago, rheumatism, and general disability" related to his military service. It is said that he retired in 1907, passing away a year later due to "Pneumonia."
Sources: Genealogical data provided by Karen Morbeck Hayden; 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); 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 1, Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1886).
This page Copyright by Scott Cantwell Meeker
of Deep
Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created April 9, 1999. Last updated December 25,
2001.