This is an incomplete list of the last surviving veterans of American wars. The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon his death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further.
Veteran | Lifespan | Notes |
---|---|---|
French and Indian War (1754–1763) | ||
Jonathan Benjamin | 1738–1841 | Also fought in American Revolutionary War. Settled in Granville, Ohio in 1802.[1] |
The book The Last Men of the Revolution was compiled by Rev. E. B. Hillard and published by N. A. & R. A. Moore in the year 1864, the book claimed to include photos and biographies of six of the last surviving Revolutionary War veterans. None of the men interviewed in the book would become the last surviving Revolutionary War veteran but the photos published in the book are some of the few surviving photos of American Revolutionary War veterans.[2]
Veteran | Lifespan | Notes |
---|---|---|
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) | ||
Ralph Farnham [Farnum] | 1756-1860 | Massachusetts. Biography:"Biographical Sketch of Ralph Farnham" by C.W. Clarence 1860 |
Barnabas Cochran | 1758–1864 | Pennsylvania Militia. Longest living verified veteran.[3] |
Adam Link | 1761-1864 | Pennsylvania Militia. Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution |
Rev. Daniel Waldo | 1762-1864 | Connecticut Militia. Served as Chaplain of the US House of Representatives. Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution |
James Barham | 1764-1865 | Virginia State Militia. Was to have had a Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution; but was not located by author Hillard. Photograph/biography listed on Find a Grave website.[4] |
Alexander Millener | 1770?-1865 | Enlisted under stepfathers surname as "Alexander Maroney". Claimed to have been born in 1760 and to have served in Washington's life Guard {not verified} although he did serve in New York line. Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution |
William Hutchings | 1764-1866 | Massachusetts Militia. Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution |
Lemuel Cook | 1769-1866 | 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution |
Samuel Downing | 1761-1867 | Served in New Hampshire Line. Photograph/biography listed in 1864 publication The Last Men of the Revolution |
John Gray | 1764–1868 | Virginia Militia. 6 months Service period was too short to qualify for pension.[5]Granted a pension in 1867. |
William Taylor | 1757-1868 | New Jersey Militia. See story at Find a Grave memorial[6] |
Daniel Frederick Bakeman | 1759–1869 | Last veteran drawing a pension awarded by Congress; granted a pension in 1867 even though he could not prove his service.[7] |
Shays' Rebellion (1786–1787) | ||
David Whitney | 1767–1867 | Massachusetts State Militia.[8] |
Whiskey Rebellion (1791–1794) | ||
Michael Edwards | 1767?–1876 | Pennsylvania State Militia. |
War of 1812 (1812–1815) | ||
Hiram Cronk | 1800–1905 | U.S. Army.[9] |
Black Hawk War (1832) | ||
Henry L. Riggs | 1812–1911 | Illinois State Militia.[10] |
Toledo War (1835–1836) | ||
Riley Crooks Crawford | 1817–1910 | Michigan State Militia.[11][12] |
Texas Revolution (1835–1836) | ||
William P. Zuber | 1820–1913 | Texas Volunteers.[13][14] |
Bear Flag Revolt (1846) | ||
John Grider | 1826–1924 | Californian Rebel.[15][16] |
Mexican–American War (1846–1848) | ||
Owen Thomas Edgar | 1831–1929 | U.S. Navy.[17] |
Bleeding Kansas (1854–1861) | ||
Luke F. Parsons | 1833–1926 | Last survivor of the Battle of Osawatomie.[18][19] |
George Roe | 1834–1927 | Last of John Brown's forces at the Battle of Black Jack[20] |
John Brown | 1844-1940 | Last of Quantrill's Raiders at the Lawrence Massacre. Also served in the John S. Marmaduke Cavalry Division |
American Civil War (1861–1865) | ||
James Albert Hard | 1843–1953 | Last verified combat veteran. Fought for the Union.[21] |
Albert Henry Woolson | 1850–1956 | Last Union veteran.[22] |
Pleasant Riggs Crump | 1847–1951 | Last verified Confederate veteran. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
Thomas Edwin Ross | 1850–1952 | Insufficient evidence. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
Richard William Cumpston | 1841?–1952 | No evidence. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
William Murphy Loudermilk[23] | 1847?–1952 | Insufficient evidence. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
William Joshua Uncle Josh Bush[24] | 1846?–1952 | Insufficient evidence. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
William Daniel Uncle Eli Townsend[24] | 1846–1953 | Insufficient evidence. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
William Albert Kinney | 1846?–1953 | Insufficient evidence. See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
William Allen Uncle Bill Lundy[24] | 1859–1957 | Debunked.[25] See Last surviving Confederate veterans. |
American Indian Wars (1622–1924} | ||
Noah Johnson | 1698–1798 | New England colonists. Last survivor of Lovewell's War[26][27] |
Samuel Murphy | 1758–1851 | Virginia colonists. Last participant of Lord Dunmore's War[28] |
John Winchell Cullen | 1838–1939 | U.S. Army. Last survivor of the Yakima War.[29][30] |
Dewey Beard | 1857–1955 | Native American from Lakota tribe. Last survivor of Battle of the Little Big Horn.[31] He also fought at Wounded Knee.[32] |
John Daw | 1870–1965 | U.S. Army. Last surviving Indian Scout.[33][34] |
Frederick Fraske | 1872–1973 | U.S. Army.[35] |
Boxer Rebellion (1897–1901) | ||
Nathan E. Cook | 1885–1992 | U.S. Navy.[36] |
Spanish–American War (1898) | ||
Jones Morgan | 1882–1993 | U.S. Army. |
Philippine–American War (1899–1902) | ||
Nathan E. Cook | 1885–1992 | U.S. Navy.[36] |
Border War (1910–1919) | ||
Samuel Goldberg | 1900–2006 | U.S. Army.[37] |
World War I (1914–1918) | ||
Frank Woodruff Buckles | 1901–2011 | U.S. Army.[38] |
Pancho Villa Expedition (1916–1917) | ||
Mark Matthews | 1894?–2005 | U.S. Army.[39] |
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War | ||
American and other Allied forces were involved in the Polar Bear Expedition which began during World War I and continued into the Russian Civil War | ||
Harold Gunnes | 1899–2003 | Served in a naval brigade attached to the 339th Infantry Regiment as part of American Expeditionary Force North Russia.[40] |
Warren V. Hileman | 1901–2005 | Served in the 27th Infantry Regiment as part of the American Expeditionary Force Siberia.[41] |
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) | ||
Delmer Berg | 1915–2016[42] | Volunteered in 1938. Served in anti-aircraft in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Lived in Columbia, California.[43] |
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Lists of life expectancy |
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