Swedish American Genealogist

Volume 31 | Number 1 Article 8

3-1-2011

From Hälsingland to Bloody ShiloPaul Sward

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Recommended CitationSward, Paul (2011) "From Hälsingland to Bloody Shilo," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 31 : No. 1 , Article 8.Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol31/iss1/8

16 Swedish American Genealogist 2011:1

When I began my foray into Swedishgenealogy, I discovered that I had anumber of distant relatives that hadserved in the American Civil War. Insearching for background material,I found that much had been writtenabout German and Irish immigrantsoldiers, but I found very little onSwedes. However, enough has beenwritten to provide a basic under-standing of Swedish-American in-volvement in the Civil War. Inparticular, I found Roger Kvist’sarticles on the Swedish UnionGuards,1 and the Galesburg LightGuards,2 as well as his article on thesocial history of Swedish-Illinoisunits in the Civil War,3 very helpful.Those articles along with NelsHokanson’s work on Swedish immi-grants and Olson, Schön, and Eng-berg’s History of Swedes in Illinois,served as a foundation to begin myinquiry.4

Subsequently, I obtained the mili-tary and pension records of the Swed-ish relatives that I had identified whohad served in the Civil War. As Iexamined these records, one indi-vidual in particular captured myinterest.

Andrew Engstrom(Anders Engström)Anders Engström was born in Viken#9, Alfta Parish, Gävleborg län,

From Hälsingland to Bloody Shiloh and beyond

A Swedish - American farm boyin the American Civil War. Part 1

BY PAUL SWARD

Sweden, on May 26, 1842, to BondenPer Jönsson Engström and CarinAndersdotter.5 Church records indi-cate that Per Engström with his wifeand five children departed from theparish on July 15, 1853, for NorthAmerica.6 In one of Anders’s obitu-aries, it states that the family sailedfrom Gävle to New York arrivingafter eighty days at sea.7

The Engström family journeyed toIllinois where they joined the BishopHill Colony that had been foundedby the Janssonist religious sect.Bishop Hill Church records indicatethat Per Jönsson Engström andfamily became members in 1853.8 PerEngström and family appear in the1860 Illinois Federal Census with thelast name of Angstrom, farming inWeller Township (Bishop Hill PostOffice), Henry County, Illinois. At thispoint Anders is identified as Andrew.

Swedish-AmericanVolunteersOn April 15, 1861, President Lincolnissued a call for 75,000 volunteers toserve for three months to repress therebellion. By the end of the warapproximately 2,250 Swedes hadenlisted in the Union army. The stateof Illinois alone provided in excess of1,300 Swedish soldiers.9 In responseto the first call for volunteers, theGalesburg Light Guards, which had

been organized in Galesburg, Illinois,and consisted exclusively of Swedes,volunteered their services. Becauseof the overwhelming response ofvolunteers, this company was notcalled into service. However, a secondcall occurred when Congress author-ized 300,000 volunteers for threeyears service. The Galesburg Com-pany was reformed. However, manyof the original members had joinedother units. At muster the new com-pany consisted of 97 Swedes and twoGermans.10

Andrew Engstrom enlisted in thiscompany on September 1, 1861. Theoriginal enlistment document is notpart of the record. The companydescriptive book is unclear as towhere he enlisted. Civil War recordsare often incomplete or contradictory.Andrew is shown as enlisting atBishop Hill/Wataga, Illinois. The

A tintype kept in the family, believed tobe Andrew Engstrom.

Anders’s birth records from 1842 May 26 in Alfta, Hälsingland, Sweden.

17Swedish American Genealogist 2011:1

correct information appears to bethat his residence was Bishop Hilland that he enlisted in Wataga.However, because of this confusingdocument, his residence is listedincorrectly in the Illinois AdjutantGeneral’s Report as Wataga, Illinois.The company descriptive book fur-ther indicates that Andrew was nine-teen years old, 5’7" inches in height,was a farmer, had a “flatered” com-plexion, dark hair, and dark eyes.11

Andrew is appointed as a musician(drummer) and is mustered in atCamp Butler in Springfield, Illinois,on September 5, 1861. The companywas designated as Company C of the43rd Illinois Infantry. The 43rd Illinoiswas, with the exception of CompanyC, primarily composed of and com-manded by German-Americans.Company C was designated the flagcompany for the regiment.12

A Union infantry drum.

A Swedish drummer boygoes to warOn October 13th the regiment wasordered to St. Louis where they weregiven old Austrian muskets. Prior tobeing sent to Otterville, Missouri,they were issued old Harpers Ferryand English Tower muskets. Theseweapons had been altered from flint-lock to percussion guns. This was animprovement, but still substandardfor the era. The regiment arrived atOtterville on November 4th andremained there until they were or-dered back to St. Louis on January20, 1862. After their arrival in St.Louis, they were issued .54 caliberBelgian rifles. This was an excellentweapon and served them well at the

Battle of Shiloh.13

On February 6th the 43rd Illinoiswas ordered to join General Grant’sexpedition against Fort Henry andFort Donelson in Tennessee. FortHenry surrendered after being at-tacked by naval gunboats beforeGrant’s army came into play. Grantmoved on to attack Fort Donelson,but the 43rd Illinois remained at FortHenry to guard the transports andsupplies. This assignment did not sitwell with the boys of Company C:“This proved a great disappointmentto many of the Swedish boys who hadan apprehension that the war wouldbe over in a short time and theywould have to return home withouthaving taken part in any real bat-tle.”13 Unfortunately, this was a need-less concern. Company C and An-drew Engstrom were about to becaught in the maelstrom of one of themost horrific battles fought in theAmerican Civil War.

Bloody ShilohOn April 6, 1862, Company C wasencamped near Pittsburg Landing,Tennessee, and a short distance froma small church named Shiloh. The43rd Illinois was assigned to the 3rd

Brigade of General McClernand’sDivision of General Grant’s Army ofthe Tennessee. The regiment hadbeen there for three weeks and everymorning for the last week the Colonelof the regiment had rousted his menearly. Apparently they made so muchnoise that there had been frequentcomplaints to General McClernandfrom other units.14 The regiment’searly rising was fortuitous on thisday. As the soldiers of Company Cwere awaiting orders to form ranksthat morning, volleys of musketryfire were heard coming from thepicket line. Confederate GeneralJohnston and his 44,000 soldiers ofthe Army of Mississippi had starteda surprise attack.

The 43rd Illinois was one of the fewregiments that was prepared to meetthe enemy. Parenthetically, Andrew’sobituary claimed that he was the firstdrummer to beat the long roll (callto arms) that day.15 Quickly many

Union regiments collapsed under theRebel attack. The 49th Illinois Regi-ment, which was on the 43rd Illinois’simmediate left, panicked and fled thefield. Company C as part of the 2nd

Battalion of the 43rd Illinois was or-dered to fill the gap. For approxi-mately ten minutes the 2nd Battalionstood their ground although heavilyoutnumbered.

Eventually the Confederate on-slaught forced them to fall back uponthe rest of the regiment. At this point,one of boys of Company C had beenkilled and three others were severelywounded. The 43rd Illinois held itsposition for a time, but soon it wasforced back when flanked by Con-federate forces. It reformed approxi-mately one thousand feet from itsoriginal position leaving 36 deadsoldiers behind.

The 43rd Illinois held this positionrepulsing several determined as-saults until it and two other regi-ments were the only Union unitsremaining on this part of the bat-tlefield. The enemy was on theirflanks and in their rear.16 AnotherSwedish boy of Company C had losthis life and others had been severelywounded. The 43rd Illinois retreatedby a circuitous route of about onemile and was able to unite with otherUnion forces. From this position theyrepulsed three other frenzied char-ges and stood firm until nightfall.17

On the second day of the battle thesituation reversed. Significant Unionreinforcements had arrived and theConfederates were driven from thebattlefield. The 43rd Illinois saw com-bat on the second day, but not of thesame intensity. On the third day theConfederates retreated to Corinth,Mississippi. The Battle of Shiloh re-sulted in 13,047 Union soldiers beingkilled, wounded, or captured. TheConfederate forces suffered 10,699casualties.18

These losses were stunning con-sidering that the losses from Amer-ica’s three previous wars – the Revo-lution, the War of 1812, and the Mexi-can War totaled only 23,741.19 The43rd Illinois had seen 49 of its soldierskilled and 157 wounded in the bloodyfighting at Shiloh. Three Swedes of

18 Swedish American Genealogist 2011:1

medical treatment took their toll onthe average soldier. In addition,Union soldiers – and in particularSwedish-born soldiers – were unusedto the southern climate. Quite oftenthey would be encamped near or berequired to slog through malarialbottom land or swamps.

Prior to Shiloh, six Swedes of Com-pany C had died and one had beendischarged for disability unrelated tocombat. Before the end of 1862 an-other eleven soldiers were dischargedfor disability and five more had died.Additionally, another eight were dis-charged for the wounds that they hadreceived in combat. Of the 99 soldiersthat began with Company C, 15 weredead and 20 others had been dis-charged for wounds, illness, or in-juries.21

A turning point in thewar – siege of VicksburgThe 43rd Illinois participated in theSiege of Corinth, Mississippi, whichresulted in the capture of that cityon May 30th, 1862. The 43rd Illinoisspent the next year in southern Ten-nessee and northern Mississippi. Theregiment was sent on frequent expe-ditions to counter Confederate troopmovements or intercept Rebel raid-ers. In one particular brisk action the43rd Illinois engaged the forces of thefamous Confederate cavalry general,Nathan Bedford Forrest. It occurredin mid-December near Jackson, Ten-nessee. The 43rd Illinois was part of aforce that had been sent to interceptForrest who had been conducting oneof his spectacular raids behind Unionlines. Although unsuccessful instopping Forrest’s raid, the 43rd Illi-nois and 61st Illinois repulsed a

Company C had been killed andfourteen had been severely wounded.The Captain of Company C, OlofEdvall, had received a mortal woundon the second day. He died a monthlater.20 Fortunately, Andrew Eng-strom survived the bloodbath ofShiloh apparently unscathed.

Illness, injury, and deathThe sad fact of life in the Union armywas that far more men died fromillness or accidents than due to com-bat. This was also true for CompanyC. Almost constant exposure to theelements, frequent marches in in-clement weather, improper nutrition,poor sanitation, and 19th century

The Shiloh monument of the Illinois 43rd

regiment.

19Swedish American Genealogist 2011:1

cavalry charge by Forrest’s troopers,inflicting heavy casualties on theRebels and only suffering two wound-ed men.

On May 1, 1863, the regimentalrecords indicate that Andrew Eng-strom was relieved of his previousduty as a drummer and became aregular private. For the remainder ofthe war Andrew would carry a mus-ket.

Also in May 1863, the 43rd IllinoisRegiment became part of the Vicks-burg Campaign. They boarded asteamboat and traveled up the YazooRiver to challenge a small Confed-erate force, commanded by GeneralWirt Adams, which was threateningGeneral Grant’s supply line neces-sary to maintain the siege at Vicks-burg. After landing near Satartia,Mississippi, the 43rd Illinois and otherunits drove the Confederates fromthe area, effectively ending thethreat. Until Vicksburg fell, the 43rd

Illinois was encamped at HainesBluff protecting the supply line.22

performed this function until per-haps as late as the beginning of 1864.

By the end of 1863, three addi-tional men were mustered into Com-pany C, all Swedes, but this did notcompensate for the additional losses.Another five Swedes had been dis-charged for disabilities, two othershad been reassigned to the InvalidCorps, and another four had died.24

Andrew reenlistsDue to the considerable losses the43rd Illinois had incurred, the regi-ment was reorganized in September1864. Companies A, B, and C wereconsolidated into a new Company A.This new company was officered bythe Swedish officers from CompanyC and the majority of soldiers in thisnew company were the Swedish boysfrom Company C.

In November of 1863 there werenine months remaining of the three-year enlistment. The boys in the newCompany A were offered a thirty dayfurlough and transportation backhome if they reenlisted. Additionally,they would receive a $400 bounty,paid when they were mustered out,if they reenlisted. Most of the sur-viving members of the old CompanyC reenlisted. Andrew reenlisted onNovember 18th, 1863, for anotherthree years. An actual copy of hisreenlistment is extant. This docu-ment indicates that Andrew was bornin “Helsingland,” Sweden, that hewas twenty-one years old, and a far-mer. Of special interest is that An-drew did not sign his name, but“made his mark” which served as asignature.25 It is unknown whetherAndrew’s motive for reenlistmentwas patriotism, camaraderie, or themoney.

The furlough began in February1864. While back in Illinois, CompanyA gained 30 new recruits all of whichwere Swedes.

To be continued.

Notes:

The Union troops enter Vicksburg on 1863 July 4. (Picture from National Geographic,vol. 124/1, July 1963).

Across the MississippiAfter the surrender of Vicksburg, the43rd Illinois was transported to He-lena, Arkansas, to be part of an ex-pedition to capture Little Rock, Ar-kansas. The Union forces under gen-eral Steele forced the Confederatesto flee Little Rock on September 1,1863. Although the first unit to enterLittle Rock was a cavalry regiment,the 43rd Illinois was allegedly the firstinfantry regiment to enter the cityupon its capture.

It is interesting to note that thewell-known Swedish-American Colo-nel Hans Mattson, commanding the3rd Minnesota Infantry Regiment,also made that claim for his regi-ment.23 The 43rd Illinois was detailedto serve as provost guard in LittleRock. The provost guard served asthe army’s police force, (although thisseems a curious assignment for aregiment consisting primarily ofnative speaking German and Swed-ish soldiers). It appears that they

1 Kvist, Roger. “The Swedish UnionGuards of Bishop Hill During theCivil War,” Swedish AmericanGenealogist (SAG), Vol. XVI, No. 3,September 1996.

20 Swedish American Genealogist 2011:1

2 Kvist, Roger. “The Galesburg LightGuards During the Civil War,”SAG, Vol. XVII, No. 2, June 1997.

3 Kvist, Roger. “A Social History of theSwedish Ethnic Units from Illinoisin the Civil War,” The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly,Vol. L, No. 1, January 1999.

4 Olson, Schön, and Engberg. Historyof the Swedes in Illinois, Chicago1908.

5 Alfta Parish, Gävleborg län, Födel-selängd (Birth records).

6 Alfta Parish, Gävleborg län, Husför-hörslängd (Cl. survey AI:15a:228).

7 Unknown Kansas newspaper, 1915.8 Bishop Hill Colony Church Mem-

bership Book.9 Hokanson, Nels “Swedish Immi-

grants in Lincoln's Time,” 1942.

10 Kvist. “The Galesburg LightGuards During the Civil War.”

11 Andrew Engstrom’s CompiledMilitary Service Record, NationalArchives and Records Administra-tion.

12 Olson, Schön, and Engberg.13 Ibid.14 Ibid.15 Hicken, Victor. Illinois in the Civil

War, Urbana, 1966.16 Unknown Nebraska newspaper,

1915.17 Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April,

New York, 2001.18 Olson, Schön, and Engberg.19 Sword.20 Foote, Shelby. The Civil War; a

Narrative, New York, 1963.21 Olson, Schön, and Engberg.

22 Report of the Adjutant General ofthe State of Illinois ContainingReports for the Years 1861 – 1866,Springfield, 1901.

23 Bearss, Edwin. The Campaign ForVicksburg, Dayton, 1986.

24 Olson, Schön, and Engberg.25 Report of the Adjutant General of

the State of Illinois ContainingReports for the Years 1861–1866,Springfield, 1901.

The author:Paul D. SwardE-mail <wikblom@yahoo.com>

Frank Buckles, who drove an Armyambulance in France in 1918 andcame to symbolize a generation ofembattled young Americans as thelast of the World War I doughboys,died on Sunday 27 Feb. 2011 at hishome in Charles Town, W. Va. He was110.

His death was announced by afamily spokesman, David DeJonge,The Associated Press said.

He was only a corporal and henever got closer than 30 or so milesfrom the Western Front trenches, butMr. Buckles became something of anational treasure as the last livinglink to the two million men whojoined the American ExpeditionaryForces in France in “the war to endall wars.” Frank Woodruff Buckleswas born Feb. 1, 1901, on a farm nearBethany, Mo. He was living in Oak-wood, Okla., when America enteredWorld War I and he tried to enlist inthe Marine Corps at age 16, havingbeen inspired by recruiting posters.

The Marines turned him down asunderage and under the requiredweight. The Navy didn’t want himeither, saying he had flat feet. But theArmy took him in August 1917 afterhe had lied about his age, and hevolunteered to be an ambulance driv-

er, hearing that that was the quick-est path to service in France.

He traveled widely over the years,working for steamship companies,and he was on business in Manilawhen the Japanese occupied it follow-ing the attack on Pearl Harbor inDecember 1941. He was imprisonedby the Japanese, losing more than 50pounds, before being liberated by anAmerican airborne unit in February1945.

After retiring from steamshipwork in the mid-1950s, Mr. Bucklesran a cattle farm in Charles Town,and he was still riding a tractor thereat age 104.

The oldest U.S. veteran of the WWI has passed away

The last known of the nearly 5million American veterans of WorldWar I, Frank Buckles, was laid to restat Arlington National Cemetery.

According to media there are nowonly two veterans from the “GreatWar” still alive.

They are the seaman ClaudeChoules, born in Britain, and now liv-ing in Australia, where he is the old-est living man. The other survivor isBritish Florence Green (née Patter-son) who joined the Women's RoyalAir Force in September 1918 at theage of 17,[2][3] where she served asan Officer's Mess Steward [waitress].

Both survivors were born in 1901.