Private Frederick August Rost, Company F

        Frederick August Rost was born February 03, 1831, in Erhsthal, Saxony.  He immigrated to the United States in 1854 with his wife, the former Wilhelmina Arnhold, daughter of Wilhelm and Christine Arnhold, and their one-year-old son Frederick.  Prior to the War, Frederick was a farmer in Newton, Manitowoc County, and his family had increased with the addition of three children, August (or Augusta) born August 15, 1857, Wilhelmina born May 29, 1859 and Johann born January 23, 1862.  Frederick enlisted as August Rost on August 21, 1862 and entered service in the regiment as a member of Captain Baetz’s Company which became company F.

        He was present at each muster call until muster out on June 13, 1865 and picked up extra duty as company cook starting in March/April 1863 with periodic breaks until muster out.  While serving during the campaign in Georgia and North and South Carolina during the fall, winter and spring of 1864-5, August was stricken with “disease of the lungs,” which was attributed to, “the exposures and fatigues of the campaign, wading through swamps, etc.”  August was suffering from the aforementioned disease at the time of his discharge having never been admitted to the hospital during service.
After the war, Frederick continued farming in Newton until his declining health resulted in admittance to the Northwestern Branch of the National Asylum, D.S.V. in Milwaukee.  He was a resident of the Asylum by July 1871.  August’s health steadily declined until his death at the age of 59 on June 16, 1890.  Cause of death was disease of the liver with complications resulting from phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis).  He is buried in Union Cemetery, Milwaukee.
Information by Doug Lister