The source for this information is a book, "Ole Goes to War: Men from Norway Who Fought in America's Civil War." The lists are alphabetical, so this soldier's 43-year-old father Andrew appears ahead of the son, although he enlisted a half year later.

Andrew Anderson served with the 10th Minnesota Infantry. He was "Enrolled Aug. 18, 1862 ... Mustered Oct. 13... Discharged from the service May 20, 1865 [while] absent from his unit... Apparently, he was in a hospital. He died Nov. 5, 1866, weakened, it is said, by the “Severe life and many hardships endured in the army." Andrew is buried in Freeborn County.

Both father and son were born in Buskerud, Norway. They immigrated with family in 1853 and, as many did, spent time in Wisconsin with fellow countrymen.

By 1857, they had arrived in this area that 20 years later would become the communities of New Richland, Hartland and Manchester.

It is difficult to believe that while living nine years in America they "Could not speak English," as a 1961 Waseca Journal feature put it. But it is likely that they spoke "broken" English, as did so many immigrants from everywhere.

As a New Richland area family, these Andersons have an independently compiled genealogy traced by a North Carolina researcher. Printed for them in 1992, it lists a first generation "Anders Hansen born about 1789 at Kopperud, Norway." This material goes back about as far as the Norwegian church records let us. These records are very inconclusive prior to about 1740-50.

The old soldier, Andrew Anderson, was born in 1820, first son of Anders Hansen (son of Hans; the patronymic naming procedure).

The young soldier, Ole Anderson, was born in 1846, first son of Andrew. Ole's next brother was Hans, born in 1851, also in Norway and known as H.A. Anderson in New Richland's early history. The family immigrated when he was two years old. Hans died in 1909.

Hans and his wife Anna K. Opgard had eight children. Their first was John Albert in 1875, and later Oscar Bernhard (O.B.) in 1882 and Helmer (Spike) in 1886.

The fifth and last of Andrew and his wife Jorgine Olsdatter's children was Bernhart Nicoli (B.N.) Anderson (1861-1938) who "Was State Senator from Freeborn County for 14 years [and] county treasurer for six terms."

Alfred B. (Alf) Anderson of Hartland was the fifth of 12 born to B.N. and his wife Ingeborg Stensrud. He was interviewed for a Waseca Journal article of March 1, 1961. Alf, born in 1894, said Freeborn County planned a centennial observance of the war, listing "All who served, [using] maps of territory" to show "Four years ... progress of the war." The Journal reported that "Waseca County already has such a list compiled by the Memorial Day association."

Generally known is that "Minnesota was the first State in the Union to offer 1,000 men to President Lincoln.” That was done April 14, 1861. This was two days after "Hostilities began on April 12 when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state to recapture federal property, which led to declarations of secession by four more slave states."

The author of "Ole Goes To War" (2003) is Jerry Rosholt. He was a copywriter during the 1950s for Cedric Adams, who many remember as WCCO Radio's leading newscaster. According to his biography, Rosholt then worked more than 25 years, from the mid-1960s through the '80s, for NBC News, serving in the United States and overseas.

Research and writing took Rosholt six years. The book was part of an exhibit shown at Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa. The "ongoing project" currently has more than 10,000 entries in the database at www.vesterheim.org. Of those thousands, Andrew Anderson and son Ole are two of just 68 examples listed in the book.

An October 2011 visit to the United States by Norway's King and Queen included Vesterheim for its 130th anniversary and Luther College for its 150th. St. Olaf College is next on the royal itinerary, and then Augsburg College in Minneapolis. King Harald V rededicated the restored Enger Tower in Duluth, first dedicated by his father Olav V in 1939. Royalty returned to the Twin Cities and opened "Cold Recall," the exhibit commemorating Roald Amundsen's explorations of the South Pole.

Before returning to Norway, King Harald and Queen Sonja attended the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s 100th anniversary in New York City.