Nels J. Eide
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| Name at Enlist | Nels J. Eide |
| Birth Name | |
| Other Names | Nils Jakobson Eide |
| Lived | 6 March 1833 – 24 May 1877 |
| Birth Place | Voss, Hordaland |
| Birth Country | Norway |
| Resident of Muster-In | New Glarus, Green County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | H |
| Rank at Enlistment | Private |
| Muster Date | 13 Feb 1862 |
| Death Location | Pleasant, Winneshiek County, IA |
| Burial Location | Big Canoe Church Cemetery, Pleasant, Winneshiek County, IA |
| Mother | Christie Johannesdatter |
| Father | Niels Nielsen Eide |
| Immigration | late 1850s |
| Spouse | Ingeborg (Isabel) Eillingsen |
| Spouse Lived | 1841- |
| Married On | 20 Jul 1866 |
| Marriage Location | Winneshiek County, IA |
Nels J. Eide was born at Voss, Hordaland, Norway on March 6, 1833 to Niels Nielsen Eide and Christie Johannesdatter. He came to America in the late 1850s. He joined the WI 15th Infantry, Company H. The men of his company called themselves “Heg’s Rifles” in honor of the 15th commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg. They were also known as the “Voss Company” because of a large number of them who were from the Voss region of Norway.
The army listed Eide as living in New Glarus, Green County, WI, age 24, and unmarried. He enlisted for three years on February 10, 1862 at Madison, WI, and mustered there on February 13, 1862 as a Private (Menig). He was promoted to Corporal (Korporal) on July 1, 1862. He was seriously wounded at Stones River, TN, and sent to a hospital in Nashville, TN on December 31, 1862. He was wounded at Chickamauga, GA on September 19, 1863, sent to hospital, and then sent north. He was assigned to Veteran Reserve Corps on March 25, 1864.
After the war, Eide married on July 20, 1866 to Ingeborg (Isabel) Eillingsen in Winneshiek County, IA. Ingeborg was born about 1841 in Norway. They had several children, including Martha M. (1868) and Edward (1870). He taught school at Big Canoe, Winneshiek County, IA. He died relatively young and was buried at Big Canoe Church Cemetery, near Decorah, Winneshiek County on May 24, 1877. Ingeborg filed a pension under his name on July 3, 1888 in MN.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-10; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.112; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, Decorah, IA, 1894, p.557; Nordmændene i Amerika, Martin Ulvestad, 1907, History Book Co., Minneapolis, MN, p.262; Decorah, IA Genealogical Association; Oberst Heg og hans gutter, Waldemar Ager, 1916, Fremad Publ. Co., Eau Claire, WI, p.309; The Military History of Wisconsin in the War for the Union, Edwin B. Quiner, 1866, Clarke & Co., Chicago, p.621, 625; Winneshiek County Marriage Records; Lars Gjertveit, Bodo, Norway; Blaine Hedberg, NAGC&NL; 1870 Census, Roll: M593_426, Page: 282B, Image: 568, Family History Library Film: 545924; Iowa Cemetery Records, 1662-1999, p.42; findagrave.com; Civil War Pension Index, Roll #T288_139; Iowa Select Marriages, 1809-1992, FHL Film #1026659, Ref ID Vol. A p.91.