Ole Svendson
Name: Ole Svendson
Company: B
Veteran; wounded August 18, 1862, at Redwood.
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Birth
- Date:
February 12, 1844
- Place: Norway
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Mustered In
- Date: March 2, 1862
- Rank: Private
- Age: 18
- Residence prior to
military service: Norway; Chatfield, Fillmore County, Minnesota
- Vocation prior to
military service:
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Death
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Mustered Out
- Date: September 6,
1865
- Rank: Private
- Age: about 24
- Residence following
military service: Fillmore County, Minnesota; Hay River Township, Dunn County,
Wisconsin; Prairie Farm
Township, Barron County, Wisconsin
- Vocation following
military service: Farmer
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Ole Svendson Biography and Civil
War Narrative
Ole Svendson was born in Norway on
February 12, 1844, the son of Swen and Mary Olson. In 1861, at age 17,
he came to America with his parents and settled in Fillmore County,
Minnesota.
Ole Svendson enlisted in Company B of the 5th Minnesota on March 2,
1862, as a Private. The
first
order of duty for
Company B was to report to Fort Ridgely, near the Minnesota River. They
left Fort Snelling at noon on March 22, 1862, under the command of
First Sergeant Thomas P. Gere. Through
the snow they traveled up the
Minnesota Valley, stopping at the Scott County cour house at Shakopee
the evening of the 22nd, and passing throughBelle Plaine, and Le Sueur,
Minnesota on the 23rd. They crossed the Minnesota River on the ice at
Traverse de Sioux after dark and spent the night of the 23rd at the
Nicollet County court house at St. Peter. That evening the company
reached La
Fayette, Minnesota -- 18 miles from their destination. They
arrived at Fort Ridgely at noon on March 25th, serving garrison duty
and continuing their military instruction and drills. The company was
especially well-trained in skirmishing and received additional training
in artillery.
On Monday, August 18th,
word was
received at Fort Ridgely that a massacre of
whites was taking place at the Lower Sioux Agency. Company B's Captain
John S. Marsh, who had joined up with the Company on April 16,
immediately led
a rescue party of 46 soldiers, including Ole Svendson, and an
interpreter to the Lower Sioux Agency.
About three miles out of Fort Ridgely, the party was overtaken by
wagon teams who followed them, carrying extra ammunition and otherwise
empty
wagons. Picking
up the marching rescue party, the wagons continued on toward their
destination, passing fleeing citizens, burning houses, and mutilated
corpses. About six miles out of Fort Ridgely, the rescue team continued
on by foot.
When the rescue party neared the Redwood ferry crossing on
the
Minnesota River shortly after noon, they found the ferryman's beheaded
and disemboweled body with the ferry on their side of the river. As two
of the soldiers carefully went to the riverbank for a drink, they
noticed Indians concealed on the opposite side. Captain Marsh
nevertheless ordered his soldiers to prepare for crossing. The Indian
warriors across the river opened fire on the men from
Company B. Soon after, Indians who had previously crossed the river
joined in
the
attack. The battle continued until about 4:00 pm with many of
Svendson's
comrades killed. At that time Captain Marsh concluded that
their best plan was to cross the river. In his attempt to lead them,
Marsh was overcome and swept under the water, drowning in spite of
attempts to rescue him.
Sergeant John F. Bishop then took
command of Company
B's rescue party. In describing the incident, Lucius F. Hubbard reported:
Bishop himself had been wounded, Private
Svendson was badly shot and had to be carried, and Bishop decided they
must continue southward on the east side.
The Indians apparently thought that Bishop and his men
had continued to the other side, so they crossed back and prepared for
another ambush. But by nightfall, the remnant of the rescue party found
better protected ground downstream. Not knowing the status of Fort
Ridgely, Bishop sent privates James Dunn and William B. Hutchinson
ahead of the remainder of the band to Fort Ridgely so that they might
ascertain the situation at the lightly guarded fort or inform the
garrison of the disaster at Redwood. Dunn and Hutchinson arrived
at the fort about 10:00 pm finding it safe, and about an hour
later, the rest of the group including the wounded Svendson arrived. In
all, 24 of
Marsh's men had died.
On November 9, Company B
escorted
captured Indians to Fort Snelling, and on December 12, they joined up
with the rest of the 5th Minnesota near Oxford, Mississippi, to serve
in the Civil War. For three years, Svendson was the fifer for Company
B. Private Svendson
re-enlisted as a veteran in early
1864 and continued to serve with Company B until the end of the Civil
War. Major activities of
the 5th Minnesota included Grant's Central Mississippi
Campaign, November, 1862, to January,
1863; the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 18-July 4, 1863; the Meridian
Campaign, February 3-March 2, 1864; the Red River Campaign, March
10-May 22, 1864, including the Battle of Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864;
action at Old River Lake, June 6, 1864; an arduous march through
Arkansas and
Missouri in pursuit of Price,
September
17-November 15, 1864; the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, December
15-16, 1864; and the assault and capture of Fort Blakely, April 9,
1865. Svendson was
discharged at Demopolis, Alabama, and was mustered out with the
regiment at Fort Snelling on September 6, 1865.
Following the war, Ole returned to Fillmore County, Minnesota. Except
for military records, Ole's last name was usually spelled "Swanson." On
April 18, 1867, at Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota, he was married
to Anna Vennes, born February 14, 1851, in Norway, the daughter of
Andrew and Anna Margaret Vennes. While living in Fillmore County, Ole
and Anna had three sons, Matthew, Albert, and William.
In 1873, the Ole Swanson
family moved to Hay River Township, Dunn County, Wisconsin, where he
did farm work for Knapp, Stout, & Company, and also for William
Sprague, the Knapp, Stout, & Company foreman. While living in Dunn
County, seven more children were born: Edward, Alvin, Lettie, Martin,
Ole, Viola, and Lena. The 1880 Census shows Ole (age 35) farming in Hay
River Township. Anna was 29 years old, and they had six children living
with them: Matthew (age 12, at school), Albert (age 10, at school),
William (age 8), Edward (age 6), Alvin (age 3), and Lettie (age 4
months, born in January).
In 1892, Ole Swanson bought 80
acres from Mr. Sprague in section 21, Prairie Farm Township, Barron
County, Wisconsin. His biography
in History of Barron Co., Wisconsin
describes his home in Prairie Farm Township:
He built a log house, 16 by 24 feet, and
moved his wife and three children into it. He also put up a log stable.
He had but little to do with. For furniture he made a bedstead, table
and stools from trees growing on the place. The little cabin was far
from any store, and Mr. Swanson had to bring provisions in on his back.
But a man who had gone through his experiences in the war was not to be
daunted by the privations of the wilderness. He worked with a will and
in time built up a good farm.
While living in Barron County, Ole and Anna had two additional sons: Albert and
Gilbert. In 1894, Alette Maria Svenson ("Lettie") married August O.
Braaten. The 1900 U.S. Census shows Ole (age 56) and Anna (age 49)
Swanson farming in Prairie Farm Township. Children living with them at
the time were Edward (age 26, born January 1874), Martin (age 18, born
March 1882), Ole A. (age 16, born 1884), Viola (age 13, born December
1886), Lina (age 9, born 1890), and Hirtmar (spelling? perhaps also
known as Albert or Gilbert, age 6, born August 1893). Two of their 13
children had died. On May 14, 1905, daughter Viola married Ernest
Hudson. On August 28, 1907, daughter Lina married Otto Kurschner. By
1910, four of their children had died. One of the children who had died
was Lettie. At the time of the 1910 U.S. Census Lettie's husband,
August, and two children (13-year-old Ole and 9-year-old Lydia) lived
with Ole and Anna, as did their 35-year-old son, Edward.
Ole Svendson may have been the last remaining survivor of the Redwood
Ferry ambuscade.
This page is maintained by Tim Bode (timbode@juno.com ). Last modified
on 1/3/09.