Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War Ceremony

The Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War (SUVCW) Camp #56, Department of Wisconsin will be honoring Benjamin Olaf Bong and his service during the American Civil War. Private Bong was the last Union Solider to be buried in Isanti County.
Benjamin Bong was born in Sundsjo, Jamtland, Sweden on August 2, 1838. Just after his marriage to Julia Norelius on December 6, 1863, they homesteaded a 160-acre parcel between Skogman and Fanny Lake. Shortly after that chapter in his life, Benjamin enlisted in the Union Army on August 13, 1864. Joining the ranks with the “All Scandinavian” Company D of the 3rd Minnesota Regiment, Private Bong saw occupational duty in Little Rock Arkansas until the war’s end.
Returning home, Benjamin would meet his first child. Staying at the Cambridge farm, Benjamin and Julia would raise 10 more children. After Julia’s passing on October 25th, 1925, Benjamin moved to the Old Soldiers Home in Minneapolis where he resided until his death on December 6, 1936. Benjamin and Julia Bong are both buried at Cambridge Union Cemetery.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War are covering all 87 counties in Minnesota to honor and remember the last Union Soldier buried in each county.