Peter O. Larson
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| Name at Enlist | Peter O. Larson |
| Birth Name | Peder Olsen Ofsdahl |
| Other Names | Peter Ofsdahl |
| Lived | 27 Oct 1835 – 10 Oct 1905 |
| Birth Place | Biri, Oppland |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Coon Prairie, Bad Ax (Vernon) County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | B |
| Rank at Enlistment | Corporal |
| Muster Date | 16 Nov 1861 |
| Death Location | Trempealeau County, WI |
| Burial Location | French Creek Lutheran Cemetery, Ettrick, Trempealeau County, WI |
| Mother | Anna Pedersdatter |
| Father | Ole Larsen Ofsdahl |
| Immigration | ca. 1857 |
| Spouse | Martha Nelsestuen |
| Spouse Lived | -ca. 1871 |
| Married On | before 1866 |
| Marriage Location | Trempealeau County, Wisconsin |
| 2nd Spouse | Ingeborg Holmen |
| 2nd Spouse Lived | 1836- |
| 2nd Marriage Date | before 1875 |
| 2nd Marriage Location | Wisconsin |
Peter O. Larson, also known as Peter Ofsdahl, was born on October 27, 1835 in Biri, Norway. His parents were Ole Larson Ofsdahl and Anna Pedersdatter. He immigrated circa 1857 and settled in Coon Prairie, Vernon County, WI.
Larson joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company B. The men of the company called themselves the “Wergeland Guards” in honor of Henrik Wergeland, the famous Norwegian writer and poet.
The army listed Larson as living in Coon Prairie, Bad Ax (Vernon) County, WI, age 27, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on September 23, 1861 at La Crosse, WI, and mustered on November 16, 1861 at Madison, WI as a Corporal (Korporal). He was then promoted to Sergeant (Sersjant). He was wounded and taken prisoner at Stones River, TN on December 31, 1862, and sent to hospital in Nashville, TN. He was discharged from the service at Louisville, KY on April 4, 1863 on account of his wounds.
After the war, he returned to WI and went by the name Ofsdahl. He married Martha Nelsestuen before 1866 in Trempealeau County, WI. Together, they had three children: Anna (1866), Olud (1869), and Andrew (1871). Martha died eight weeks after Andrew was born. Peter remarried to Ingeborg Holmen before 1875 in WI. They had at least four children: Michael (1875), Emma L. (1876), and twins Hans P. and Julia (1879). They remained in Ettrick, Trempealeau County, WI. Ofsdahl died on October 10, 1905 and is buried in French Creek Lutheran Cemetery, Ettrick, WI.
Sources: WHS Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.32; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.388; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.264; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.296; Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Vol I & II, compiled under direction of the Adjutant General, Madison WI, 1886, p.809; Civil War Pension Index, Roll #T288_274; 1890 Veterans Schedules, Roll: 116, Page: 1, Enumeration District: 284; 1880 Census, Roll: 1448, Family History Film: 1255448, Page: 74D, Enumeration District: 063; 1900 Census, Roll: 1819, Page: 3A, Enumeration District: 0128, FHL microfilm: 1241819; findagrave.com; The Whitehall Times and Blair Banner, 10/19/1905; History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, ed. Eben Douglas Pierce (Chicago: 1917), p.509; Biri parish register #4, born and baptised, p. 44, digitalarkivet.no.