Thorkild A. Rossing
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| Name at Enlist | Thorkild A. Rossing |
| Birth Name | |
| Lived | 7 Apr 1840 – 25 Jun 1923 |
| Birth Place | Rossingødegard (Laandaas) farm, Søndre Land parish, Oppland fylke |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | Wiota, LaFayette County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | E |
| Rank at Enlistment | Sergeant |
| Muster Date | 11 Dec 1861 |
| Cause of Death | Apoplectic stroke |
| Death Location | Decorah, Winneshiek County, IA |
| Burial Location | Lutheran Church Cemetery, Bode, Humboldt County, IA |
| Mother | Bertha Torkildsdatter Vålden |
| Mother Lived | 1811- 1849 |
| Father | Andreas Olsen |
| Father Lived | 1805-1890 |
| Immigration | 14 Jun 1857 |
| Spouse | Marie Lungstad Anderson |
| Married On | 30 May 1864 |
| Marriage Location | Madison, Dane County, WI |
Thorkild A. Rossing was born at the Rossingødegard farm, a subfarm of the Landaas (Landås) farm in the Søndre Land parish, Oppland fylke, in Norway on April 7, 1840. He came to America with his parents in 1857, coming through Quebec. His father, Andreas Olson, started a farm at Argyle, WI. Torkild, however, worked for other farmers. For several years before the war, he attended a school in Warren, IL. The Rossing name appears to have comes from Germany; his great-grandfather was Lieutenant Haakon Rossing from Schleswig-Holstein.
He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company E. The men of the company called themselves “Odin’s Rifles”. The army listed him as living in Wiota, Lafayette County, WI, age 22, and unmarried. Torkild Rossing enlisted for three years on October 4, 1861 at Wiota, and mustered on December 11, 1861 at Madison, WI, as a Sergeant (Sersjant). He was promoted to Sergeant Major on July 1 1862, and transferred to the Regiment’s Non-commissioned staff. On January 16, 1863, he was commissioned First Lieutenant (Løytnant) at Murfreesboro, TN, with rank from September 3 1862. He was detached on recruiting service on December 18, 1863. Rossing was promoted to Captain (Kaptein) at Powers Ferry, GA, and given command of Company E on May 1, 1864, with rank from April 7, to succeed Captain Henry Hauff, who had been killed in action. He was honorably discharged from the service at Chattanooga, TN, on December 20, 1864.
After the war, he lived in Argyle, WI. His wife was also born in Norway. They had a child named Martin H. in 1870 and were living in Delana, IA. He later moved to Lotts Creek, IA, where he was a farmer. In 1886, he was living in Bode, IA.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, boxes 76-7, 78-1; Regimental muster and descriptive rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol. 20, pp 4,70; Payroll muster rolls of WI 15th Co E, saved by Captain T. A. Rossing; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, 1894, Decorah, IA, p. 464 (photo); Nordmaendene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p. 256; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Pub. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p. 270 ( photo), p. 303; List of Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, living in Iowa, William L Alexander, 1886, Des Moines, IA, p. 705; Oppland fylke, Land, Ministerialbok nr. 8 (1830-1846), Fødte og døpte 1840, page 77; Bind IV, Boka om Land, pages 184-6, Arvid Sandaker, Lands Museum, Norway, 1973; 1880 Census, Roll: 344, Family History Film: 1254344, Page: 7D, Enumeration District: 129, Image: 0669; 1885 Iowa Census, p.109.