Gunder Gunderson
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| Name at Enlist | Gunder Gunderson |
| Birth Name | Gunder Gundersen |
| Other Names | Gunder G. Hanna |
| Lived | 12 Feb 1839 – 1920 |
| Birth Place | Sandnes Parish, Rogaland |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Primrose, Dane County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | E |
| Rank at Enlistment | Sergeant |
| Muster Date | 8 Dec 1861 |
| Burial Location | Hanna Cemetery, Forest City, Winnebago County, Iowa |
| Mother | Delia Andersen |
| Father | Gunder Jacobsen |
| Father Lived | 1801- 1877 |
| Spouse | Dorthe Charlsdatter Raby |
| Spouse Lived | 1843- 1888 |
| Married On | 29 May 1867 |
| 2nd Spouse | Kirsten E. Lockhardt |
| 2nd Spouse Lived | 1861- 1933 |
Gunder Gunderson was born on February 12, 1839 in Sandnes Parish, Rogaland, Norway, the son of Gunder Jacobsen and Delia Andersen. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company E. The men of the company called themselves “Odin’s Rifles.”
The army listed Gunderson as living in Primrose, Dane County, WI, age 23, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on November 12, 1861 in Dane County, and mustered on December 8, 1861 at Madison, WI as a Sergeant (Sersjant). He was wounded and taken prisoner in the Battle of Stones River near Murfreesboro, TN on December 30, 1862. Gunderson was paroled and sent to Camp Chase, OH from December 1862 to October 1863. He was then reduced to ranks. He returned from parole camp on June 16, 1863. On June 22, 1863, he was sent back to parole camp at St. Louis, MO, not having been exchanged. He returned from parole camp on June 16, 1864. He was sick on July 18, 1864 into August. He was promoted from Private to Sergeant on September 1, 1864. He mustered out with the company in Chattanooga, TN on December 20, 1864.
After the war, Gunder Gunderson married Dorthea Charleson, a widow with two children, on May 29, 1867 in Dane County, WI. She was also born in Norway. They moved to Mt. Valley Township, Winnebago County, IA. After Dorthea died in 1888, he married Kirsten. Gunderson had at least 8 children: Maria (1868), Gundar (1870), Bertel (1872), Hans (1874), Julianna (1877), Howard (1881), Ingval (1884), and Gyda (1894). Both Gunder and Dorthea were buried in Hanna Cemetery, Forest City, Winnebago County, IA.
Sources: Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.70; List of Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, Living in Iowa, William L. Alexander, Des Moines, IA ,1886, p.705; Payroll muster rolls of WI 15th Co E, saved by Captain T. A. Rossing; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, Decorah, IA, 1894, p.477; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.275 photo, p.303; Nordmændene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.259, p.287; The Military History of Wisconsin in the War for the Union, Edwin B. Quiner, 1866, Clarke & Co., Chicago, p.621; email to Dee Grimsrud from Mary Lawson; findagrave.com; 1880 Census, Roll: 370, Family History Film: 1254370, Page: 641C, Enumeration District: 231, Image: 0184.