Oscar G. Wall

Name: Oscar G. Wall Company: B Discharged for Disability
Birth Date: June 25, 1844 Place: Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana	Mustered In Date: February 10, 1862 Rank: Private Age: 17 Residence prior to military service: Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana
Death Date: 1911 Place: Unknown Burial: Unknown	Mustered Out Date: August 29, 1862 Rank: Private Age: 18 Residence following military service: Lanesboro, Fillmore County, Minnesota Vocation following military service: Post Master, State Legislator, Author

Oscar G. Wall Biography Military Narrative

Oscar Garrett Wall was born June 25, 1844, in Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana, the second of six children of Gilbert W. and Margaret (McGrew) Wall. Oscar's siblings were Philander P. (born August 11, 1841), Hattie L. (born April 18, 1847), Caroline E. (born March 1, 1850), Samuel W. (born January 25, 1852), and William W. (born August 16, 1854).

Oscar's father, Gilbert W. Wall, enlisted in Company B on January 17, 1862, as a 40-year-old musician. Oscar was mustered into Company B about three weeks later on February 10. On June 25, 1862, the elder Wall was transfered to Company A, which had already been sent south to fight in the Civil War, and he would serve to the end of the war. Also serving in Company B was Oscar's uncle, Sergeant James G. McGrew, who was Oscar's mother's brother and would later be promoted to Captain.

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 court house at Shakopee the evening of the 22nd, passing through Belle 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. The company reached La Fayette, Minnesota, on the 24th -- 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.

Private Wall served with Company B at Fort Ridgely throughout the summer of 1862, including the defense of the Fort in August. He was discharged for disability on August 29, 1862. In 1863, Oscar served on the Sibley expedition into eastern North Dakota.

The 1880 U.S. Census shows 36-year-old Oscar living in Lanesboro, Fillmore County, Minnesota, with his wife, Maria (age 30, born in Illinois), and his niece, Addie (age 20, born in Wisconsin). His occupation at the time was listed as "Post Master."

From 1885 to 1886 while still living in Lanesboro, Oscar G. Wall served District 2, Fillmore County, as a state legislator in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

In 1909, Oscar G. Wall published a book entitled Recollections of the Sioux Massacre, printed at "The Home Printery," Lake City, Minnesota, by M. C. Russell, Proprieter. The book is subtitled, "An Authentic History of the Yellow Medicine Incident, of the Fate of Marsh and his Men, of the Siege and Battles of Fort Ridgely, and of Other Important Battles and Experiences Together with a Historical Sketch of the Sibley Expedition of 1863." Recollections of the Sioux Massacre by Oscar G. Wall is available in full view format as a pdf document through Google Books and in various formats at the Internet Archive.

The online database of Minnesota Legislators Past & Present lists his death date as 1911.

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