Longest surviving U.S. veteran of the Mexican–American War
Owen Thomas Edgar (June 17, 1831 – September 3, 1929) was, according to data from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the longest surviving U.S. veteran of the Mexican–American War.[1][2][3]
Biography
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the United States Navy as a 2nd-class apprentice on February 10, 1846, and was discharged as an Apprentice First Class on August 8, 1849. Edgar saw service on the frigates Potomac, Allegheny, Pennsylvania and Experience.[4]
After the war, he worked at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for twenty-one years, then worked at a bank for another thirty-one years. He spent his final ten years living at the John Dickson Home in Washington, D.C.[5]
He became the last surviving American veteran of the Mexican-American War on June 17, 1929 when fellow war veteran William Buckner died at the age of 101 in Paris, Missouri.[6][7]
Death and interment
Edgar died September 3, 1929, at the age of 98 after suffering a fall from a chair that fractured his leg, and was buried in Washington's Congressional Cemetery.[8]
United States of America
United States Navy