John Johnson
[ Record ID: 736 ]
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | John Johnson |
| Birth Name | Johannes Halvorsen |
| Lived | 17 Aug 1843 – 18 Dec 1863 |
| Birth Place | Bø parish, Telemark |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Boone County, IL |
| Company at Enlistment | A |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 15 Nov 1861 |
| Cause of Death | Wounds |
| Death Location | Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN |
| Burial Location | Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN; section D, grave 863 |
| Mother | Rannei Thorsdatter Smestad |
| Mother Lived | 10 Jan 1819-ca1893 |
| Father | Halver Johannesen Kleven |
| Father Lived | 10 Aug 1819-1899 |
| Immigration | 1855 |
Johannes Halvorsen was born in Bø parish, Telemark, and came to Boone Co., IL with his parents and siblings in 1855.
As John Johnson, he 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. His uncle, Andrew Johnson, also joined Company A.
The army listed him as living in Boone County, IL, age 18, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on October 22, 1861, in Boone County, and mustered on November 15, 1861, at Madison, WI, as a Private (Menig). He was left sick at Mississippi River Island No. 10 on June 11, 1862. He was wounded and taken prisoner in the Battle at Chickamauga on September 19, 1863. Johnson returned from imprisonment on October 4, 1863. He died of wounds in Chattanooga, TN, on December 18, 1863 and was buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Hamilton Co, TN, section D, grave 863. His mother applied for and received a pension, which was $8.00 a month.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-2; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.18; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, compiled circa 1885, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol. 20, p. 16; Det Femtende Regiment. Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, 1894, B. Anundsen, Decorah, IA, p. 356; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p. 292; digitalarkivet.no; ancestry.com; findagrave.com; “Norwegian Immigrants 1850 and later”, database, NAGCNL, #39615.