The Last Civil War Veterans

“It really matters very little who died last,” wrote Civil War historian William Marvel, “but for some reason we seem fascinated with knowing.” Drawing on a wide range of sources including correspondence with descendants, this book covers the last living Civil War veterans in each state, providing details of their wartime service as soldiers and sailors and their postwar lives as family men, entrepreneurs, politicians, frontier pioneers and honored veterans.

Frank L. Grzyb, author of six previous books, has contributed numerous articles to newspapers and magazines about America’s Civil War. He is a member of the Rhode Island Civil War Round Table and lives in Rhode Island.

Frank L. Grzyb
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 208
Bibliographic Info: 71 photos, appendices, glossary, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6522-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2488-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations viii
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by Brigadier General Richard J. Valente USA (Ret.) 1
Preface 3
Introduction 5
1. An Overview 13
2. The Union 15
3. The District of Columbia 56
4. The Confederacy 61
5. The Border States 87
6. The Western Territories (as of April 1865) 97
7. The Territories of Alaska and Hawaii 123
8. The “Last of the Last” 133
9. Is This the Final Chapter? 142
Appendices
A: The Last Civil War Veteran from Each State 145
B: The Last Ten Civil War Nurses 146
C: The 1890 U.S. Census and Veterans Schedule 147
D: Union and Confederate Veterans Who Resettled Overseas 149
E: The Last Survivors of Major Events or Milestones Before, During and After the Civil War 153
Chapter Notes 175
Bibliography and Further Reading 184
Index 193

“a through piece of work, fully documented and capably written…but future scholars who want to consider such questions will doubtless find this an indispensable starting point”—Civil War News; “[this book] is an enthralling chronicle of the military and civilian lives of the last surviving Civil War veterans living in the United States…a fine addition to your Civil War library that reveals how men who survived the war became peaceful citizens.”—Salient Points.