Gabriel J. Somme
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| Name at Enlist | Gabriel J. Somme |
| Birth Name | |
| Lived | May 1818 – 9 Sep 1900 |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Chicago, Cook County, IL |
| Company at Enlistment | A |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 15 Nov 1861 |
| Death Location | National Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers, Milwaukee, WI |
| Burial Location | Wood National Cemetery, Milwaukee, WI |
| Immigration | 1845 |
Gabriel J. Somme was born in May 1818 in Norway. He immigrated in 1845.
Gabriel joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company A. The men of the company called themselves the “St. Olaf’s Rifles.” They were also known as the “Sailor Company” because of the large number of seamen in its ranks, and as the “Chicago Company” because so many of its members were residents of that city.
The army listed him as living in Chicago, IL, age 43, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on October 25, 1861 at Chicago. He mustered on November 15, 1861 at Madison, WI as a Private (Menig). He was missing in Battle of Stones River, TN on December 31, 1862, but came back to the Regiment and promoted to Corporal (Korporal). Somme was sick at Knoxville, TN on November 28, 1863 and sick at Knoxville on February 24, 1864. On May 27, 1864, he was taken prisoner in the Battle of New Hope Church, GA. He mustered out at Madison, WI on December 6, 1864 at the expiration of term of service.
After the war, he lived in WI. In old age, he lived in the National Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers in Milwaukee, WI. He died on September 9, 1900 and is buried in Wood National Cemetery, Milwaukee, WI.
Sources: WHS Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin; Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.20; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.266; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.329; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.293; National Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers, Roll 111, p.150; 1900 Census, Enumeration District #203, p.20; Wisconsin Vital Records Death Index, Vol. 25, p. 732, reel 87; Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960, p.583.