The legacy of the American Civil War has lived in my family for six generations.  My mother’s great grandfather Nicholas Wise landed at Ellis Island in 1851 at the age of 24.   Born in Luxembourg, by 1863 he had settled in upstate New York where he farmed land near Oswego.  On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 147th New York Regiment, which had been raised around Oswego, suffered 80% casualties.  Nicholas Wise, then 36 years old, was one of those drafted to refill the ranks.  Among the tallest soldiers in the regiment, (he stood 6’7”), Nicholas Wise carried the flag into battle.  He survived the war but was wounded at the Wilderness.  Returning to upstate New York in 1865, he raised 13 children, including a son who moved to Wisconsin and named his son for him (Scipio Nicholas Wise).  My father’s family graveyard in southern Iowa is filled with Grand Army of the Republic veterans, including Lot Redlingshafer.  Lot’s father had emigrated from Bavaria and arrived in Iowa before statehood.  Lot, who answered Lincoln’s call for volunteers at the age of 17, fought at Shiloh, marched to Atlanta with Sherman, and became a teacher after the war.  His niece Lucy followed in his footsteps and they started a long line of public school teachers. 

– Nicholas Wise Norman

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more