Swedish born Andrew Quist arrived in America on July 4, 1857. He resided in Illinois before moving to Minnesota, arriving in Stillwater in October, 1860. Born on June 14, 1841, he was 19 at the time he was mustered into the First Minnesota Infantry on April 29, 1861. He stood 5' 9" tall. He had a light complexion, blue eyes and light colored hair. He was placed in Company B, which was composed mostly of men like himself, who were from the Stillwater area. Quist was shot in his left thigh at the battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862. On Sept. 24th he was admitted to the U. S. Army General Hospital No. 1 at Frederick, MD. On Sept. 30th he was transferred to the Summit House Army Hospital in West Philadelphia, arriving there on Oct. 1st. He was returned to duty on Feb. 3, 1863. The book 'Minnesota in the Civil & Indian Wars' incorrectly records that Andrew was killed on July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg. He was in fact wounded, during their famous charge on July 2nd, but he did survive. He was shot twice during the charge, once in the thigh of his left leg and once in his left hand, mutilating his little finger. He was one of the first to be removed from the battlefield. On July 5, 1863, he was admitted to the Saterlee U. S. Army Hospital in West Philadelphia. At the same hospital were comrades James Walsh, Marion Abbott, Tom Galvin and Sam Tenney. Andrew was returned to duty on Dec. 7, 1863. On Jan. 15, 1864, he was examined by a medical board at the Rendezvous of Distribution near Alexandria, VA. He was found unfit to return to active duty. On Jan. 22, 1864, he was transferred to Company C of the 24th Regt. Veteran Volunteers. He was serving at a hospital in Washington DC, when the regiment was mustered out of service on May 5, 1864. Andrew was discharged at Washington D. C. on May 23, 1864. In 1864, at the end of his service with the First Minnesota, Andrew returned to St Peter. He was married on July 23, 1864, to Maria (Mary) Johnson at the Scandian Grove Swedish Evangelical Church in Nicollet County. They settled on a homestead near Lake Lillian in Kandiyohi County. Over the years they had 11 children ranging from George, born in January 1866, to Lillian, born on June 13, 1881. Sadly, one of their sons burned to death in 1874. On March 7, 1865, shortly after the birth of their first child, Andrew enlisted at St. Paul for one year and was placed in Company A of the 9th U. S. Veteran Volunteers, also known as the Veteran Reserve Corps or VRC. Many of the men continued their service but not actively on the front lines. They joined or were transfered to the Veteran Reserve Corps, which was generally made up of men who had been wounded or had a disability, which warranted that they not serve on the front lines. Some of the men from the First who served Company A of the 9th U. S. Veteran Reserve Corps were: Minor Atherton, William W Brown, James Cleary, Edward B Price and Andrew Quist. Andrew served until discharged on March 6, 1866, at the expiration of his one year term of enlistment. In the election of 1877, Andrew was elected by a two vote margin for a two year term as sheriff of Kandiyohi County on the Republican ticket. At the end of his term, they moved to Granite Falls, where he ran a saloon. In 1881, he moved to Grand Forks. There he worked for James J Hill's railroad as an "assistant track layer" as Quist called it. His crew laid tracks from Grand Forks to Grafton. Then they laid tracks from Grafton to Laremore. Back to Grafton, the next work was laying tracks from there to a junction in Canada. Their last work was to lay track from Laremore to Devils Lake. Other than the Canadian work, all these locations were in the Dakota Territory, now called North Dakota. In 1883, the family moved to Grafton. Andrew quit the railroad business, bought a team and did some draying (freight hauling), until one of his horses died. He then ran a saloon for a while. When prohibition entered the area he was forced to "quitt the hull think." He made a living as a farmer from about 1893 to 1908. He was deeply involved in the Grand Army of the Republic, while Mary was deeply involved in the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic. Andrew's wife died on July 27, 1906. Andrew entered the Soldiers Home in Minneapolis on July 24, 1912. At the time he had been a resident of Grafton, receiving a pension of $30 a month. He died at the Home on July 27, 1914, at the age of 73. At the time of his death his son, Andrew, was working in Fargo as a deputy marshal and his other son, G. S., was working in St Paul, as a printer. Andrew's body was shipped to Grafton for burial. Sources: The St Paul Pioneer, Aug. 4, 1863. The St Paul Pioneer Press, Sept. 6, 1909. Comrades of Company B, Stillwater Old Settlers Assn files, MHS, St Paul, MN. Roster of the First Minnesota Infantry, 1910. Minnesota Soldier's Home file, Andrew Quist. Obituary, Minneapolis Journal, July 28, 1914. Military Medical Record, Andrew P. Quist, National Archives, Wash. D. C. Military Pension Record, Andrew P. Quist, National Archives, Wash. D. C. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
