Someone Has to Know

The Story Behind the Peter Hassel Memorial Block

By Sheryl Olson, Stevensville, Montana
September 2022

Peter Hassel was a 41-year-old farmer from the Cambridge area when he was drafted in 1864 to serve in the Union’s Third Minnesota Infantry Regiment during the waning days of the Civil War. When he left Cambridge in May to report to Fort Snelling, he left behind a wife who didn’t speak English and three small children on a homestead in Oxford Township. Peter and his family had emigrated to America from Hassela, Sweden, in 1853 and had followed other Swedish neighbors to the Center City area.

Peter’s regiment was sent to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to guard a supply route to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. However, within weeks of leaving Fort Snelling, Peter and 118 of his regiment died of “swamp fever” (today’s malaria) after his unit camped on the edge of a swamp infested with malaria-bearing mosquitoes. They were hurriedly buried in a mass grave.

Six months later the war ended.

Eventually the remains of the soldiers at Pine Bluff were moved to the new National Cemetery in Little Rock where they were reburied. Many of the graves were marked as Unknown Soldiers.

Peter’s name is not on a tombstone in the Little Rock National Cemetery.

In 1913 a commission set up by the Minnesota Legislature issued a report memorializing the Minnesota soldiers lost in Arkansas during the Civil War and authorizing the placement of a monument in their honor.

Peter’s name is not listed in the report.

In 1916 the State of Minnesota dedicated a massive bronze and granite statue in the Little Rock Cemetery to honor the fallen Minnesotans. The monument lists the names of most, but not all, of the Minnesota soldiers.

Peter’s name is not engraved on the monument.

In 2013 I made a trip to Pine Bluff and Little Rock to find the final resting place of Peter Hassel, the first husband of my great-great grandmother Margaret Hassel Lindback. I found extensive military records of his service at the National Archives, including the date, place, and cause of his death, and was searching for some physical recognition of his life and service.

I had been researching Margaret’s life for nearly ten years and was soon to begin writing a book about her entire life. But the more I learned about Peter’s life and death, the harder it became to accept there was no visible record of his service to his adopted country. No tombstone in Minnesota or Arkansas, and his name was missing from the monument in Little Rock. I also checked with the state and local historical societies and found no record of Peter’s service aside from what I discovered at the National Archives.

Peter’s name and service to his country had been erased.

I spent several days in the Cambridge area in 2017 scouring historic records at the courthouse, area churches, historical museums, and cemeteries in my quest to understand more of Peter and Margaret’s lives. Along the way, I read an article about Clark and Annette Swanson’s interest in establishing a Veterans Memorial Park. Thankfully I was able to connect with them and quickly made plans to purchase a memorial block for Peter Hassel. I delayed publishing my book until a photo of Peter’s memorial block could be included.

Finally there is proof in the Cambridge Veterans Memorial Park that Peter existed and died for his country. I can rest in peace. And perhaps Peter may rest easier too.