Christopher Johnson
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| Name at Enlist | Christopher Johnson |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Christ Johnson |
| Lived | 1818 – 1890 |
| Birth Place | Sogn |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Freeborn County, MN |
| Company at Enlistment | K |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 11 Feb 1862 |
| Death Location | Freeborn County, MN |
| Burial Location | North Freeborn Lutheran Cemetery, Freeborn County, MN |
| Immigration | 1857 |
| Spouse | Kari Prestegaard |
Christopher Johnson was born in Sogn, Norway in 1818. He married Kari Prestegaard and they came to America in 1857. In 1860, they moved to Minnesota.
Johnson joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company K. The company called itself “Clausen’s Guards” in honor of the 15th’s first Chaplain, Claus L. Clausen. Most of the company was recruited from Scandinavian communities in Minnesota and Iowa, with the rest from Wisconsin. The army listed him as living in Freeborn County, MN, age 40, and married. He enlisted for three years on November 26, 1861, in Freeborn County, and mustered at Madison, WI, on February 11, 1862, as a Private (Menig).
Johnson was sick in Bardstown, KY, in July 1862; in Nashville, TN, in December 1862; and in Knoxville, TN, in February 1864. He was wounded at New Hope Church, GA, on May 27, 1864. He was sick again in July 1864. Johnson served three years and four months. He mustered out with Company K at Chattanooga, TN, on February 10, 1865.
After the war, he returned to Freeborn County. In 1875, he and Kari were living with their son Ole C. (1852). Another son, Erick C. (1843-1931), joined the MN 10th infantry. In February 1882, Christopher Johnson of Albert Lea, Freeborn County, was granted a pension of $2 a month because of injury to his right hand. He died in Freeborn County in June 1890. He was buried in North Freeborn Lutheran Cemetery.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-12; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol. 20, p. 146; Pension List 1882-3, Vol. 4, p. 544; Pensioners on the Roll as of January 1, 1883, living in Minnesota, pub. 1994, Park Genealogical Books, Brooklyn Park, MN; Freeborn County Historical Society, Albert Lea, MN; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, 1894, B. Anundsen, Decorah, IA, p. 630; Nordmændene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p. 296; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p. 318; Blaine Hedberg, NAGC&NL; 1875 MN Census, MNSC_7, Line 3; 1880 Census, Roll: 620, Family History Film: 1254620, Page: 33A, Enumeration District: 091, Image: 0068, ancestry.com.