About this record
William DeSteese of Lamartine in Fond du Lac County enlisted in the Union Army in the spring of 1864, one month shy of his 14th birthday. After basic training he was shipped south and fought in the battles of Cold Harbor, Richmond, and Petersburg. In this short article he recalls being stationed in Washington, D.C., where he had several conversations with President Abraham Lincoln and later helped to guard the president's assassins.Citation
"Youngest vet of Civil War tells of meeting "Old Abe" at capital during sixties." Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, Feb. 12, 1923.