Biography
Woolson was born in Antwerp, New York to Willard P. Woolson (1811-1862). He claimed to be born on February 11, 1847, but his entry in the 1850 United States Census lists him as born in 1850.
His father, Willard Woolson, enlisted in the Union Army. Willard was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh and was transported to an Army hospital in Windom, Minnesota, where he eventually died of his wounds. Albert and his mother moved to Windom to accompany Willard. Albert enlisted as a drummer boy in Company C, 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment on October 10, 1864, becoming the company's drummer. The company never saw action, and Albert Woolson was discharged on September 7, 1865.
Woolson returned to Minnesota, where he lived the rest of his life. He was a carpenter and later a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), a powerful political organization made up of Civil War veterans where he became senior vice commander in chief in 1953.
In his final days, he lived at 215 East Fifth Street in Duluth, Minnesota. Woolson died at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth on August 2, 1956, at what was thought to be the age of 109, of a "recurring lung congestion condition". Woolson was buried with full military honors by the National Guard at Park Hill Cemetery.
Following his death, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:
"The American people have lost the last personal link with the Union Army ... His passing brings sorrow to the hearts of all of us who cherished the memory of the brave men on both sides of the War Between the States."
Read more about this topic: Albert Woolson
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