Last Surviving Veterans of the Civil War and Revolutionary War
How did I not know this? The passing away of the last living veterans of major wars is always a news event. Claude Choules, the last surviving combat veteran of World War I, died on May 5 of this year, and the last living Civil War widow, Alberta Martin, passed away just seven years ago on May 7, 2004. The last surviving veteran of the United States Civil War, Albert Woolson, died in 1956.
There are many more people I could cover here, but there is one man who I found almost unbelievable. Daniel F. Bakeman, the last known living veteran of the Revolutionary War died  in 1869 at the age of 109. Not only was his longevity incredible, but even more so is the fact that Bakeman is the only known man to have survived 90 years of marriage, 91 years and 12 days to be exact. It certainly helps to have been married at the age of 12. I guess you can safely say that Mr. Bakeman was the only person to have survived both battles of war and marriage for 90 years …
There’s always something fascinating about seeing people living and breathing who come from historic eras of so long ago. Here is a video of Albert Woolson before he died.
Update January 26, 2012:Â Continuing on this thread, kottke.org posted a blog entry today about the grandsons of President John Tyler still alive and kicking in their 80s. Tyler, who served as President from 1841-1845 (born in 1790) had a son late in life at the age of 63 who himself bore offspring at the ages of 71 and 73.
