Albert Woolson, last surviving Civil War veteran ever, enlisting at 14 and dying at 106 in 1956

 As atrocious as war is, it’s amazing to think that someone who served in the Civil War could be alive into the middle of the 20th century. Doesn’t time just blow your mind? As a teen Woolson enlisted as a drummer boy in Company C, 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment on October 10, 1864. He was discharged nearly a year later and spent the rest of his life in Minnesota.

Imagine his wonder at the way life changed from the 19th century to the 20th century. Woolson saw the advent of automobiles, electricity, motion pictures, and even television. When he passed away in 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

The American people have lost the last personal link with the Union Army... His passing brings sorrow to the hearts of all of us who cherished the memory of the brave men on both sides of the War Between the States.