Born November 1, 1840, Storeli Farm, Naes Parish, Hallingdal, Buskerud, Kingdom of
Norway
Parents were Knud Knudson Storlie (1790-1845) and Kari Olsdatter
Rustand/Rusten (1810/14-1889)
Immigrated to America, spring 1859
Married
September 26, 1864, to Bergit d.y. Larsdatter Vipe (1841-1922)
Married at Town of Spring
Grove, Houston County, State of Minnesota
Died August 31, 1919, Spring Grove,
Houston County, Minnesota
Buried at Saviour's Church Cemetery, Town of Riceford, Houston County,
Minnesota
Christian Knudson was enlisted by Captain Knud J. Sime in Company H of the 15th Wisconsin on December 7, 1861. Christian joined up for a 3 year term of service at the Town of La Crosse, La Crosse County, State of Wisconsin. The men of Company H called themselves "Heg's Rifles" after the 15th's first commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg. It was also known as the "Voss Company" because so many of its members came from that region of Norway.
Christian was mustered into Federal service at the rank of Private on February 13, 1862, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. At the time he was listed as 21 years old and not married. The Army recorded his residence as the Town of Spring Grove, Green County, Wisconsin. In actuality he was from the Town of Spring Grove, Houston County, Minnesota.
After less than a month at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Private Knudson left there on March 2, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. From then until August, 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. That summer he would have been with the 15th on campaign through Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama.
Starting August 20, 1862, Private Knudson was "left sick at" a U.S. Army hospital at the Town of Iuka in the State of Mississippi, when the 15th marched away. At some point later the regiment lost track of his whereabouts. Starting March 31, 1863, the 15th began listing him as a deserter. In actuality, he had been honorably mustered out of Federal service on October 14, 1862, at the City of Nashville, Tennessee, due to physical disability resulting from his illness.
After his discharge Christian Knudson lived and worked as a farmer in Fillmore County, Minnesota. He applied for and received a veteran's pension from the government. Unfortunately, confusion lingered over whether he had left the Army honorably or dishonorably. Christian was still erroneously listed as a deserter in the official Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 published by the State of Wisconsin in 1886. And there was even confusion in Buslett's 1895 history of the 15th, Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage. Its biography of Christian states that he "was reported as a deserter on 31 March 1863, but is thought to have been discharged." The following appears elsewhere in Buslett's book.
| "During the war several members of the Regiment went missing without this being recorded. In order to avoid keeping the names on the Rolls, they were written off as deserters. Captain [Andrew A.] Brown of Company H, with help from Colonel [Ole C.] Johnson, has provided proof that the following missing men in his company were not deserters. These are: Ole Helgeson, Christain Knudson, Nils A. Johnson, Erik Evenson, Sylfest Thompson, and Ole O. Nerford." |
Sources: Genealogical data from his Great Granddaughter Carolyn J. Storlie, and from Dee Anna Grimsrud, MLIS, CGRS; Civil War Compiled Veteran Pension Records, by Pension Office, Dept. of the Interior (Washington, DC); 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).
This page Copyright by Scott Cantwell Meeker of Deep
Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created December 27, 2000. Last updated
December 31, 2001.