Manitowoc County's last surviving Civil War veteran snuck into the Union Army at 15 and served for three years. He died in 1936 at age 89.
On April 30, 1936, the Manitowoc Herald-Times reported Charles Frederick Rieck, age 89, the last surviving Civil War veteran in Manitowoc County, died early that day.
Rieck lived with his daughter, Emma, on an 11-acre farm near Highway 141 (now Westview Road), 15 miles south of Manitowoc in the town of Centerville.
He had been confined to bed by illness for a few weeks before his health failed rapidly.
Born in Brandenburg, Prussia, on Oct. 25, 1846, Charles (Karl Friedrich) came to America with his parents, Ludwig and Ernestine (Rossow) Rieck, and brothers Louis, August and William in 1854. They settled on a farm near Spring Valley, the town of Meeme.
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Charles tried to enlist with friends, but a Union Army recruiting officer refused because of his age — he was just 15 at the time.
In 1862, learning units of the 27th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment would leave Manitowoc for Milwaukee in a few days, he climbed aboard a troop ship, sneaking into the hold, and remained there until the steamer was well under way in Lake Michigan.
Arriving in Milwaukee, he met a recruiting officer for the Ninth Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, which needed replacements for duty along the lower Mississippi River. Rieck was sent to Camp Randall at Madison, where he passed several medical tests. The 15-year-old private was assigned to the commissary department, responsible for supplying food supplies to soldiers.
The Ninth Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was commanded by Frederick Salomon, brother of Wisconsin’s wartime governor, Edward Salomon — both from Manitowoc. The regiment saw action in the western theater of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).
When the war ended in 1865, Charles Rieck, who had served nearly three years, received an honorable discharge and returned home.
Finding it difficult to settle down to farm life, he went to work in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and the lumber mills in Menominee, Michigan. Upon his return, he worked as a carpenter and cabinet-maker.
In 1871, Charles Rieck married Hermine Zill, who came with her parents from Prussia in 1854. The couple purchased a 60-acre farm in the southwest quarter of Section 20, town of Centerville, and had five children (two daughters and three sons).
In 1893, Charles was a breeder of French ponies, Durham shorthorn cattle and Chester White hogs.
From about 1899 to 1902, Charles Rieck operated a saloon, known as the German House, at St. Wendel in town of Centerville.
When a Grand Army of the Republic post was organized in Sheboygan in 1884, Charles was asked to become a member, but learning he would be the 13th member, the veteran refrained from joining.
Rieck was a well-known musician who played for parties, weddings and dances. He prized his collection of clarinets, many of which he made. Also playing the violin, he formed a family orchestra with his son, Louis, and daughter, Emma.
The county’s last surviving Civil War veteran, his wife and children are buried at Saxon Cemetery on South Union Road, a short distance south of their rural Centerville home.
More: Collapse of this Manitowoc County bridge in 1936 sparked a controversy over its replacement
Bob Fay is a historian and former executive director of the Manitowoc County Historical Society.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc County's last surviving Civil War veteran died in 1936
