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Last surviving United States war veterans

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The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon his or her death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further.

There were sometimes incentives for men to lie about their ages after their military service ended. In addition, there were some impostors who claimed to have served but did not (such as Walter Williams, who claimed to be 117 in 1959). For example, many former Confederate States in the South gave pensions to Confederate veterans of the American Civil War. Several men falsified their ages in order to qualify for these pensions, especially during the Great Depression; this makes the question of the identity of the last Confederate veteran especially problematic. The status of the officially recognized "last Confederate veteran" is in dispute.

American Revolutionary War

There are several candidates for the claim of the last surviving veteran of the American Revolutionary War:

According to data from the Daughters of the American Revolution, George Fruits died in 1876 at age 114. However, Fruits was never on a pension roll. Fruits's birthdate was more likely 1779 than 1762, as indicated in recent studies. The last surviving veteran may have been Daniel F. Bakeman, who was placed on the pension rolls by an act of U.S. Congress and is listed as the last survivor of the military conflict by the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs.

According to a 1918 report in 1869 there were 887 widows of Revolutionary war Veterans on the pension list; In 1870 there were 727 Revolutionary War Widows. A 1903 US Pension report lists 2 Revolutionary War widows {E.S.Damon and Rebecca Mayo of Virginia} and 3 "Real Daughters" of Am. Rev. Veterans on Pension List On November 11, 1906 the last Revolutionary War widow Esther Sumner Damon of Plymouth, Union Vt died at age 96; reportably afterward a few surviving daughters of American Revolutionary War Veterans were pensioned by Special Acts of Congress.

War of 1812

Mexican-American War

American Civil War

Union

The last surviving Union veteran is considered to be Albert Woolson (1850?-1956), alleged to have been 109. Census research by William Marvel in 1991 indicated that Woolson was 108 years old. However, in 2006, the 1850 census was located, which indicated that he was in fact 106 years old. Being the oldest document, it is considered by some to be the most reliable; however, any genealogist knows that age as recorded in early censuses varies wildly from many birth dates known from those in family Bibles, which were not only usually more contemporary with the event recorded, but were never intended to be seen by others.

The next-to-the last Union veteran was James Albert Hard of New York. He died March 12, 1953, at the claimed age of 111. However, census research indicates that he was probably a year or two younger as well and may have inflated his age to gain service. He is recorded as having joined the Union army May 14, 1861, aged '19.' However, the 1850, 1910, and 1920 censuses indicate that he was born in 1843, 1842, and 1842, respectively.

William Allen Magee died on January 23, 1953 in Long Beach, California, at age 106. He is listed as enlisting as a bugler on October 20, 1863, at age 18 (a 2-year age exaggeration) in Company M, 12th Cavalry Regiment Ohio, as such he is a veteran regardless of age.

The last surviving Civil War general was Brevet-Brigadier General Aaron S. Daggett of Maine, who died in 1938 at age 100. However, others who served in the war and were later promoted to General survived into the 1940s.

Confederate

Candidates include:

  • Pleasant Crump (December 23, 1847-December 31, 1951) of Alabama (verifiable)
  • Felix M. Witkoski (January 5, 1850-February 3, 1952) of California
  • Thomas Edwin Ross (July 19, 1850-March 27, 1952) of California
  • William Loudermilk (October 23, 1848-September 18, 1952) of North Carolina/Arkansas
  • William Jordan Bush (July 10, 1845-November 11, 1952) of Georgia (probable)
  • Arnold Murray (June 10, 1846-November 26, 1952) of South Carolina (possible)
  • William Townsend (April 12, 1846-February 22, 1953) of Louisiana (possible)
  • William Albert Kiney (February 10, claimed 1843, census suggests 1861-June 23, 1953) of Indiana
  • Richard William Cumpston (May 23, 1841-September 5, 1952), of Virginia
  • William Lundy (January 18, 1848?-September 1, 1957) of Alabama/Florida
  • John B. Salling (claimed May 15, 1846?-March 16, 1959) of Virginia (debunked - born in 1858 and no evidence of being a veteran)
  • Walter Williams (November 14, 1842?-December 19, 1959) of Mississippi/Texas

Salling's own status is disputed. In 1991, William Marvel examined the claims of Salling and several other "last Civil War veterans" for a piece in the Civil War history magazine Blue & Gray. Marvel found census data that indicated Salling was born in 1858, not 1846. In the same piece, Marvel confirmed Woolson's claim to be the last surviving Union veteran and asserted that Woolson was the last genuine Civil War veteran on either side. However, Marvel did not present research establishing who, among the several other Confederate claims from the 1950s, some of which appear to be genuine, was the real last Confederate veteran.

Although in 1900 Salling supplied a birthdate of March 1858, he appears to have been born around 1856, still too late to have served in the Confederate Army. The 1860 census lists him as four years old, and the 1870 census as fourteen.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System does not have a listing for Richard William Cumpston. A Thomas J Riddle served in the 59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion). W. Townsend is reported to have served with the 27th La inf-the Civil War Sol & Sail verify that a "W. Townsend" served with the 27th La Inf. Seven men named "A. Murray" served in various South Carolina units.

William Louderback of North Carolina claimed to have enlisted 1864 in Hood's Army; claim does not match 4 men with this surname who served from North Carolina.

William J. Bush is listed as born July 1846 in the 1900 census, and aged 65 in the April 1910 census (suggesting a birthdate of 1844). This suggests that he was at least 106 and did not add years to his age because of a pension-fraud motivation. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors system lists two persons named William J. Bush, one of which served as a Private, Co B, in the 14th Georgia Infantry, and the other one as a Private, Co D, in the 66th Georgia Infantry.

Indian Wars

Spanish-American War

Candidates include:

World War I

Male:

Female:

Spanish Civil War

Five veterans from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are still alive. This unit, comprising mostly American volunteers, was part of the international brigades that fought against General Franco's fascists.

World War II

See also

References

  1. http://books.google.com/books?id=wBIQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA45&dq=Noah+Damon#PPA45,M1
  2. .p.93
  3. The Last Surviving Veterans of America's Wars - Obituaries, Biographies, Pictures and other Data
  4. James A. Hard Obituary
  5. The Chicago Tribune, March 12, 1953, transcribed by K. Torp for genealogytrails.
  6. http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/cwvet.htm
  7. http://www.gascvbrigade9.org/scrapbook.htm
  8. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Murray&GSfn=Arnold&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1952&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=9176965&
  9. http://www.geocities.com/camp1525guidon/featurearticle805.html
  10. ^ Marvel, William (1991). The great impostors. Blue and Gray, Vol VIII, Issue 3.
  11. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=townsend&GSfn=W&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1953&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=6920288&
  12. http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/cwvet.htm
  13. http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?rev=19951
  14. http://www.gascvbrigade9.org/scrapbook.htm
  15. Dan Kaufman, Papa, Mac and Barack (July 29 2008)
  16. Matti August Mattson
  17. Welch, L, Madison veterans for peace, Clarence Kailin chapter (May 26, 2008)
  18. Clarence Kailin
  19. John Hovan
  20. Carl Frederick Geiser
  21. Folsom, Gordon (2008-12-15). Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel. Retrieved on 2009-01-03 from World War II veterans dying at rate of 900 per day http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/letters/5687797.html.

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