Tosten O. Oppen
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| Name at Enlist | Tosten O. Oppen |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Torsten; Tosten Oleson Oppen |
| Lived | ca. 1832 – 2 Sep 1862 |
| Birth Place | Hedalen, Valders |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Gjerpen, Manitowoc County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | F |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 11 Jan 1862 |
| Cause of Death | Disease |
| Death Location | Columbus, Hickman County, KY |
| Mother | Merit T. |
Tosten O. Oppen was born in Hedalen, Valders, Norway. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company F. The men of the company called themselves “KK’s Protectors” in honor of the 15th’s first Lieutenant Colonel, Kiler K. Jones. “F” was also known as the Valdres Company because a large number of its members hailed from the Valdres region of Norway.
The army listed him as living in Gjerpen, Manitowoc County, WI, unmarried, a farmer, and age 29. He had blue eyes, blond hair, fair complexion, and stood 5’11½”. He enlisted for three years on January 9, 1862 at Madison, WI, and mustered there on January 11, 1862 as a Private (Menig). Oppen was sick at Mississippi River Island No. 10 on June 11, 1862. He died of disease at Columbus, KY on September 2, 1862.
After his death, his mother, Merit T. Olsen Oppen, filed a petition with the Manitowoc County Court. She stated that Tosten left behind “goods, chattels and estate” which should be given to Ole Oleson Oppen of Liberty, WI. Ole was possibly his brother.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, boxes 76-8, 77-8; Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin; Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.90; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1894), p.516; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.308; Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.320; http://www.2manitowoc.com/cvlwrN.html; Manitowoc Weekly Tribune, Manitowoc, WI, 10/22/1862, p.4.