Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Creator: Mary Laine

Albert Woolson in his army uniform. The photo was probably taken at Fort Snelling following his army enlistment and was later enlarged and painted, ca. 1864. Woolson family archives, Duluth, Minnesota. Used with the permission of the Woolson family.

Albert Henry Woolson had outlived over two million Civil War Union Army comrades when he died in Duluth on August 2, 1956, at the age of 106. At his death, he was recognized as the last surviving Union Army veteran. Civil War historians, however, now recognize him as the last survivor of both the Union and Confederate armies.

Albert Woolson was born in Jefferson County, New York, on February 11, 1850. His parents were Caroline Baldwin Woolson and Willard Paul Woolson—a chair maker, painter, and musician. An 1850 census lists his age as six months old, and an 1855 census lists his age as five; thus his often-reported birth year (1847) and age of death (109) are incorrect. His age on official records varied throughout the years.

In 1861, Willard Woolson migrated to southern Minnesota without his family. On November 9 of that year, he enlisted in Company I, Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment; later, he was a member of a regimental brass band. A common fallacy is that his leg was wounded at the battle of Shiloh and he recuperated in a Windom hospital. His company was not at Shiloh, nor did Windom exist then. His leg was damaged in the Gladiator steamboat accident on the Tennessee River on May 13, 1862.

Willard received a disability discharge on July 19, 1862. His family moved to Minnesota to join him, and by June of 1865 was living in Blue Earth County. Shortly after, he died in Elysian following a leg amputation.

When Albert enlisted in the Union Army as a private at Okaman on October 10, 1864, he was fourteen years old. He may have lied about his age or received parental permission to enlist, since the minimum enlistment age was eighteen. He served in Company C, First Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment. Since he was young, he became a drummer boy and bugler. As a private, he earned sixteen dollars per month.

On October 30, 1864, the members of Company C began their journey to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where their first assignment was to build winter quarters. They served garrison duty there until the fall of 1865 and did not see combat. Woolson was discharged on September 27, 1865, and returned to Minnesota.

In 1868, Albert played the cornet and guitar in a traveling group of minstrels—white performers who blackened their faces to imitate African Americans in a mocking and degrading way. His group included a band, a Highland Scottish dancer, and an acrobat. In that same year he married Sarah Sloper, who died in 1901. In 1904, he married Anna Haugen, who died in 1949. The June 1905 Minnesota census listed his age as fifty-six (he was in fact fifty-three); Anna was twenty-three. Eight children from the two marriages survived to adulthood.

Woolson held several different jobs as he and his family moved around southern Minnesota. When in Windom, he served on the state board of boiler inspectors and was the city water works and electric power plant superintendent. He taught mechanical engineering and music at the Breck School in nearby Wilder. In 1905, he and his family moved to Duluth, where he worked as an electrician, mechanic, and stationary engineer.

In March 1911, Woolson filed suit against Governor A. O. Eberhart when he was not appointed boiler inspector for the three-county area. In addition to his thirty-five years of boiler experience, he claimed that state law gave him preference as a war veteran. The judge ruled the law was unconstitutional in its preference for veterans because it limited the appointment power of the governor.

Woolson was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and proudly wore its blue uniform. He was involved in veteran activities statewide, and was in many parades. As Civil War veterans aged and died, he became a nationally known figure and received much recognition. He was the model for the GAR memorial monument “Last Survivor,” located in the Gettysburg National Military Park, and received 8,000 cards and letters on his 104th birthday (celebrated as his 107th).

When he died in 1956, Woolson was buried with full military honors. Over 1,500 people attended the funeral in the Duluth Armory, including Senators Hubert Humphrey and Edward Thye and Governor Orville Freeman. Ulysses S. Grant III, a grandson of the Civil War US Army general, was honorary pallbearer. Burial was in Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth.

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Laine, Mary. "Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/woolson-albert-henry-1850-1956

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First Published: September 16, 2019

Last Modified: April 15, 2025

Bibliography

1930 United States Federal Census, Duluth, St. Louis, Minnesota. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].

“Albert Woolson Loses Suit.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, April 19, 1911.

Annual Catalogue of Breck School, Wilder, Minnesota, 1903. Windom, MN: Windom Reporter, 1903.

Ashenmacher, Bob. “Vets Want to Give “Last Survivor” Place in Park.” Duluth News Tribune and Herald, April 21, 1985.

“Boiler Inspector’s Report.” St. Paul Globe, February 21, 1900.

E515.5 4th .B76
Brown, Alonzo L. History of the 4th Regiment of Minnesota Infantry Volunteers during the Great Rebellion, 1861-1865. St. Paul: Pioneer Press Company, 1892.

Death Certificate No. 030521
Death Certificate Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Title: Albert Woolson death certificate
Description: Death information for Albert Henry Woolson, Duluth, MN. Died at age 109 on August 6, 1956 in St. Luke’s Hospital, Duluth, MN of chronic congestive failure and arteriosclerotic heart disease.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zlju7fL3hwFrap_LoY6LUrVygGhKy160/view?usp=sharing

“Depot Salutes Last Union Vet—History: The Duluth Heritage Center is Now Home to the Bronze Statue of the North’s Last Civil War Veteran.” Duluth News Tribune, June 10, 2004.

“‘Drummer Boy’ will get Military Funeral.” Minneapolis Star, August 2, 1956.

“Drums to Roll for Woolson’s Last March.” Minneapolis Star, August 3, 1956.

Eldot, Walter. “Woolson Alive in Hearts, Minds of Daughters.” Duluth News Tribune and Herald, February 20, 1986.

Eleventh Census of the United States, Special Schedule, Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, etc. Blue Earth County, Minnesota, June, 1890. Ancestry.com. 1890 Veterans Schedules [database online].

Fransen, Linda. Director of the Cottonwood County Historical Society, Windom, Minnesota. Personal email communications with the author, June 12 and July 5, 2019.

“GAR Sounds Taps Today.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, June 4, 1947.

“GAR Vet, 105, Recalls Seeing Lincoln.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, February 12, 1952.

Gibson, John R. “War Costs Go On and On—1812 Just Paid For.” Minneapolis Star (condensed from the Wall Street Journal), June 28, 1955.

Grim, George. “I’ll Be Last GAR Vet, Says Woolson, 106.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, February 11, 1953.

Larsen, Verne. “The Last Man, Union Statue Ready.” Daily Utah Chronicle, February 17, 1955.

“Last Civil War Vet Called Duluth Home.” Star Tribune, August 7, 2016.

“Last of G. A. R. Posed for Memorial.” New York Times, August 12, 1956.

Mason, David M. “Last Man, Albert Woolson, 106, is Lone Survivor of Those Who Wore the Union Blue.” Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, May 24, 1953.

112.E.2.8F-1
Minnesota. Office of the Adjutant General. Civil and Indian Wars: Pension Registers. Minnesota Historical Society. Indexes, Volumes G–L, P–Q.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00914.xml
Description: Index to Albert Woolson’s pension claim.

Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota People Records Search.
Minnesota State Censuses--1885, Waseca County, IDs 5647170, 5647171; 1875, Nicollet County, ID 5647172; and 1905, Faribault County, ID 5647173.
http://www.mnhs.org/search/people

Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865. Prepared and Published under the Supervision of the Board of Commissioners Appointed by the Act of the Legislature of Minnesota of April 16, 1889, Volumes 1 and 2. St. Paul: Pioneer Press Company, 1890. See “Narrative of the First Regiment of Heavy Artillery” (612–639) and “Narrative of the Fourth Regiment” (198–242) which includes details of the Gladiator steamboat accident on the Tennessee River.
https://books.google.com/books?id=UClQRRqJ5lgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Minnesota+in+the+Civil+and+Indian+Wars,+1861-1865

“Met with the Governor, New Board of Boiler Inspectors Sat at the Capitol.” St. Paul Globe, May 11, 1899.

"Minnesota State Census, 1865." FamilySearch. Blue Earth > South Bend > image 6 of 6; State Library and Records Service, St. Paul.
Description: June 1, 1865, census record for W.P. Wolson [sic], Caroline Wolson [sic], Albert Wolson [sic], and Franklin Wolson [sic], South Bend in Blue Earth Country, Minnesota.

Bert H. N. Collection on Albert Woolson, 1881–1964, 1942–1956
Penrose Library, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington
https://sherlock.whitman.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=CP71274399700001451&context=L&vid=WHITC_NEW&lang=en_US&search_scope=whitc_special_collections&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=default_tab&query=any,contains,Woolson

National Park Service. The Civil War, Battle Unit Details, Union Minnesota Volunteers, 1st Regiment, Minnesota Heavy Artillery.
https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UMN0001RAH

National Park Service. The Civil War, Battle Unit Details, Union Minnesota Volunteers, 4th Regiment, Volunteer Infantry.
https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UMN0004RI

“New York State Census, 1855." FamilySearch. Willard Woolson, E.D. 1, Antwerp, Jefferson, New York, United States; citing p. 22, line #1, family #163, county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 895,241.
Description: Information for Willard Woolson; his wife, Caroline; daughter, Adalade [sic]; son Albert, age five; and son Frank.

Osman, Stephen. Personal email communication with the author, June 12 and June 24, 2019. Subject: Albert and Willard Woolson’s Civil War service.

F605.1.W895 Z99 1956
Pamphlet Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
“Now They Belong to the Ages.” Banner, Volume 60, No. 5: August, 1956.

Passon, Steven Aaron. “Last of the Union Blue—A Biography of Albert Henry Woolson: A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota, 1967.” PhD Dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

R. L. Polk and Company’s Duluth Directory, K-Z, 1910: 2

R. L. Polk and Company’s Duluth Directory, 1920: 2.

“Seeks Position by Court Action, Albert Woolson Would Force Governor to Appoint Him Boiler Inspector.” Duluth Herald, March 10, 1911.

“Ready for GAR Encampment—Woolson Packs—for the Last Time.” Minneapolis Star, August 26, 1949.

112.E.3.3B-1 (box 7)
Registers G-L and Q-R. Book Q, 1905, page 208. In Minnesota. Office of the Adjutant General. Civil and Indian Wars: Pension Registers, Minnesota Historical Society.
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00914.xml
Description: Albert Woolson application for increase in pension. Includes description of claim, medical information provided by A. J. Hammond, M. D. and reason the claim was rejected.

Serrano, Richard A. Old Men, Stolen Glory, and the Mystery that Outlived the Civil War. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2013.

Smith, Robert L. “Albert Woolson, Last Union Veteran, Gets Final Tribute, Franny Watches as Nation Buries ‘Grandpa Al.’” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, August 7, 1956.

114.E.4.6F (box 19)
State of Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Graves Registration Reports. State Archives, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. ID 30640, Albert Henry Woolson, February 11, 1957.

“They Voted for Lincoln…And They’ll Vote Wilkie.” Duluth News Tribune, November 3, 1940.

Trenery, Walter N. “Votes for Minnesota’s Civil War Soldiers.” Minnesota History (March, 1959): 167–172.

United States 84th Congress, Session 1, January 5–August 2, 1955.
H. R. 5907, Private Law 94, Chapter 186, An Act for the Relief of Albert Woolson, signed June 21, 1955.
Description: Approved payment of medical bills for Albert Woolson, the last surviving member of the Union Army, which are incurred after the bill’s signature.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-69/pdf/STATUTE-69-PgA33.pdf

"United States Census, 1850." FamilySearch. Willard P Woolson, Champion, Jefferson, New York, United States; citing family 15, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Willard P Woolson, Champion, Jefferson, New York, United States; citing family 15, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
Description: Willard P. and Caroline Woolson live with their 10-year-old daughter, Adalaid [sic], and their six-month-old son, Henry A.

US Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861–1934 for Albert Woolson.
National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: T288, 546 rolls.
Description: The index to Albert Woolson’s pension application dated July 6, 1891. Class: Invalid, Application No. 103T943, Certificate No. 1011551.

“War Veteran Loses Out, Fails to Compel Governor Eberhart to Appoint Him Boiler Inspector, Judge Dibell Holds that the State Law is Unconditional.” Duluth Herald, April 19, 1911.

“Wilson Lauds Sculptor ‘It’s a Good Likeness.’” Duluth News Tribune, August 10, 1954.

P939
Woolson, Albert. Biographical Data, 1949. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
“Season of 1868, Act of Signors Ethopian [sic] Minstrels Berlesque [sic] Troop Band and Orchestra.” Albert Woolson, January 26, 1949.

“Woolson, Last Union Vet, Dies.” Minneapolis Star, August 2, 1956.

Related Images

The papers (819132) of Private Albert Woolson, discharged from the United States Army in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 27, 1865. St. Louis County Historical Society, University of Minnesota Duluth Archives, Duluth. For a closer view, click the link below.

The papers (819132) of Private Albert Woolson, discharged from the United States Army in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 27, 1865. Used with the permission of St. Louis County Historical Society, University of Minnesota Duluth Archives, Duluth. For a closer view, click the link below.

Monument to Albert Woolson as the last surviving member of the Union Army in the Civil War. Woolson was not at the Gettysburg battle. The statue was placed there in his memory and of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The statue was dedicated in September 1956. Woolson posed for the statue, and it was created by famous sculptor Avard Fairbanks. Used with permission of the St. Louis County Historical Society, University of Minnesota of Duluth Archives.

Photograph of Albert Woolson, ca. 1870. Used with the permission of the St. Louis County Historical Society.

Photograph of Albert Woolson, 1896. In that year, Woolson was the superintendent of the Water Works and Electric Light Plant in Windom. The image appears in the 1896 Cottonwood County Plat Book, available at the Minnesota Historical Society under call number 175R.1.

Forty-two Civil War Union Army veterans, probably in Duluth, May 31, 1915. Albert Woolson is number forty-one in the picture. He is in the last row, second from the far right. Used with permission from the St. Louis County Historical Society, University of Minnesota of Duluth Archives, Duluth.

Ribbon worn by Albert Woolson at the national Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) encampment in Indianapolis held between September 13 and 18, 1942. Attached to the maroon ribbon is a matching Minnesota pin with a gopher that reads, "Minnesota in the Land of 10,000 lakes" and "The Gopher State." The ribbon was donated by his daughter, Frances Campbell, to the St. Louis County Historical Society in Duluth.

Albert Woolson, 107, lone Union Army survivor sits for his bust. Kalervo Kallio, noted Finnish sculptor, puts finishing touches on the clay model, 1954. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Film titled “Albert Woolson.” It shows a Finnish sculptor, Kalervo Kallio, working on a bust of Albert Woolson, the last surviving Union Army Veteran, who is the live model. Black and white, 16mm, silent film, May 24, 1954. KSTP-TV Archive, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. To view the clip, click the link below.

Cartoon of Albert Woolson drawn by Joe Parrish. It is titled “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory.” The cartoon was published on April 16, 1955, in recognition of Woolson being the last surviving Union Army soldier. Used with permission of St. Louis County Historical Society, University of Minnesota of Duluth Archives.

Albert Woolson in his Grand Army of the Republic uniform. The plaque reads, “Albert Woolson, Born February 11, 1847 [sic], Presented by the Children of the Duluth Public Schools in 1952 on the Occasion of his 105th [sic] Birthday.” Photograph by Basgen-Presley, Duluth.

Film titled “Albert Woolson Before Death.” It shows Albert Woolson holding his Civil War portrait, playing a drum, smoking a cigar, and receiving bags of mail. Black and white, 16mm, sound film, August 2, 1956. KSTP-TV Archive, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. To view the clip, click the link below.

SFC Donald A. Anderson and M/Sgt. Leslie E. Kesti, both of Cloquet, members of Headquarters Battery, 257th Gun Battalion, Minnesota National Guard, serve as sentries of honor at the funeral of the late Albert Woolson (the last Grand Army of the Republic veteran) in a Duluth funeral home on August 4, 1956.

Albert Woolson’s funeral in the Duluth Armory, August, 7, 1956.

Albert Woolson’s funeral procession, August 7, 1956.

Bust of Albert Woolson in Duluth City Hall. It was created by well known sculptor Avard Fairbanks and presented to the city in 1954. The pedestal that the bust rests on was donated by the Duluth Association of Musicians, Local 18, to honor Woolson's birthday on February 11, 1955. Photograph by Linda Cameron, September 20, 2019. Used with the permission of Linda Cameron.

Albert Woolson

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Woolson Family Archives

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Albert Woolson’s discharge papers

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University of Minnesota Duluth

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

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Albert Woolson statue in the Gettysburg Battlefield in Ziegler’s Grove.

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Albert Woolson

Photograph of Albert Woolson, ca. 1870. Used with the permission of the St. Louis County Historical Society.

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Albert Woolson

Public domain

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Grand Army Veterans on May 31, 1915

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) ribbon

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Albert Woolson posing for bust sculpted by Kalervo Kallio

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

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Sculptor Kalervo Kallio creating a bust of Albert Woolson

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Chicago Tribune cartoon of Albert Woolson

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Albert Woolson in his Grand Army of the Republic uniform

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St. Louis County Historical Society

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Albert Woolson with his granddaughter, Frances Anne Kobus

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Minnesota Historical Society

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Honor Guard at Albert Woolson’s casket

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Albert Woolson’s funeral service

Albert Woolson’s funeral in the Duluth Armory, August, 7, 1956.

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Albert Woolson’s funeral procession in Duluth.

Albert Woolson’s funeral procession, August 7, 1956.

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

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Bust of Albert Woolson

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Woolson, Albert Henry (1850–1956)

Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Grand Army of the Republic in Minnesota

Colvill, William (1830–1905)

Marty, Adam (1837–1923)

Bloomer, Samuel (1835–1917)

King, Josias R. (1832–1916)

Hubbard, Lucius F. (1836–1913)

Brown, John A. (1841–1925)

Turning Point

Woolson dies in 1956. Three men who are still living claim that they are Confederate Army veterans: John Salling, Walter Williams, and William Lundy. Through extensive research of records such as census schedules and pension files, historian William Marvel determines that the three men are imposters and Woolson had been the last surviving soldier of the Civil War.

Chronology

August 30, 1850

The United States census in Champion, New York, lists Willard Woolson, age thirty-nine and a chair maker, and his wife, Caroline, age thirty. Their son, Henry A., is six months old.

June 12, 1855

The New York State Census in Antwerp lists Albert Woolson’s age as five years old. His father is a landowner and his occupation is a painter. There are three children in the family: Adelaide, Albert, and Frank. Their frame house is valued at $200.

October 10, 1864

Woolson enlists in the First Regiment of Minnesota Heavy Artillery in Okaman. His rank is private, and he serves as drummer boy and bugler in Company C, which later merges with Company D.

September 27, 1865

The US Army discharges Woolson at Nashville, Tennessee, after serving one year. Discharge papers describe him at five feet, five inches tall; seventeen years old; light complexion; blue eyes; and brown hair. His occupation is farmer.

1906

The Minnesota Pension Bureau rejects Albert’s request to increase his six-dollar monthly military pension, stating that it is the highest allowed for his “degree of inability.” As reported by his doctor, Albert suffers from rheumatism and right knee pain.

1947

The three remaining Minnesota Civil War veterans attend the last Minnesota Grand Army of the Republic encampment in St. Paul. The attendees are Albert Woolson, commander (ninety-seven; Anson Baker, Sr. (ninety-seven); and Nathan Colburn (101).

1949

Woolson attends the last national Grand Old Army (GAR) encampment in Indianapolis. Only five elderly soldiers who served in the Union Army in the Civil War attend.

March 12, 1953

James A. Hard, the last surviving Union Army soldier to be in combat, dies in Rochester, New York, at age 111. Woolson becomes the last surviving Union Army veteran and GAR member.

May 1954

Woolson poses for a bust by Kalervo Kallio, a famous Finnish sculptor. The bronze bust is later displayed in the Kyösti and Kalervo Kallio Museum in Finland.

August 1954

A ceremony is held at Hotel Duluth to unveil the bronze bust of Woolson created by Avard Fairbanks, a well-known sculptor. The Duluth City Hall will be the home of the bust. Woolson says “it’s a good likeness.”

1955

The Wall Street Journal reports that Woolson receives a $135.45 pension check ninety years after Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, Virginia, ending the Civil War.

June 21, 1955

President Dwight Eisenhower signs into law “An Act for the Relief of Albert Woolson,” sponsored by Minnesota Senator Edward Thye, to pay Woolson’s future medical bills. Albert’s existing medical bills total over $800.

August 6, 1956

Woolson’s military funeral (with full honors) includes a band; an honor guard of 109 soldiers, each representing a year of his life; a firing squad; and a fighter plane flyover. Burial is in Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth. Eight children survive him.

September 12, 1956

The Sons of the Union Veterans Auxiliary place a statue, “The Last Survivor,” of Albert Woolson in the Gettysburg National Military Park. They raise $17,000 for the sculpture, which Dr. Avard Fairbanks, a well-known sculptor, created.

2004

“The Last Survivor” sculpture, a duplicate of the one at Gettysburg, is moved from its location in Canal Park to outside of the Depot on Michigan Street in Duluth. The Depot is home to the St. Louis County Historical Society.