Untitled From the Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901- page 606-607

PETER LESER, of Fennimore, Grant county, is one of the early settlers of this region, and a veteran soldier, who fought bravely to uphold the Union, when it had need of just such men as he.

Peter LESER is a native of Saxony, Germany, where he was born Feb. 18, 1835, a son of William LESER. In 1843, William LESER, his wife and five children, came to the United States, and settled in Albany, N.Y., where the mother died shortly after. William LESER died at the home of his son, Peter LESER, in Grant county, in March, 1887. Of the three sons and two daughters who came with the parents to America, four are living, in 1901: Adolph, a resident of Upper Sandusky, Ohio; Rachel, a resident of Albany, N.Y.; Peter; Regine, also in Albany. The other son, Albert, went to California, in 1860, and as he has not been heard from for a good many years, his relatives are convinced that he is no longer living.

In 1855 Peter LESER came to Grant county, where he engaged in farming. On May 10, 1860, in company with Mike CONKEL, and others. Mr. LESER started for Denver "across the Plains" - a most dangerous journey at that time, owing to the state of war existing between the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, and the wild animals that then infested the unsettled country. The Indians were so afraid of one another that both tribes had forsaken the respective hunting grounds. Antelope and buffalo were frequently seen, and Mr. LESER was fortunate in killing several of the latter. He met Beckwith, the Crow Indian and old mountaineer, who raised the noted Kit Carson, and who, though over seventy years of age, was very influential with the Indians. Mr. LESER arrived in Denver about July 4, and then went about 120 miles back into the mountains. Three of the party engaged in digging a trench to drain a branch of the Platte river, for the purpose of finding gold in the old river bed. They found an abundance in the quartz, but as there were no crushers that was valueless to them. They were within the snow line, and water froze every night during July and August, but the days were quite warm. They left that region the latter part of August, at which time there was a four-inch snow on the ground. In Denver Mr. LESER hired out at $1.25 per day to make hay, and in September, in company with Bert MARSHAL, started home, with a pair of cows and a span of mules. They forded the Platte near Fort Kearney, and arrived home on election day - the day Abraham Lincoln was elected. Neither voted, as they had "paired off".

When the war broke out Mr. LESER decided to defend the Union at any cost, and enrolled Aug. 11, 1862, in Company C, 25th Wis. V.I. and was honorably discharged June 7, 1865, after serving two years, nine months and twenty-six days. The company was organized at Lancaster under Capt. FARQUAHARSON; the regiment rendezvoused at Camp Solomon, La Crosse, and was mustered into the United States service Sept. 14, 1862. On Oct. 19, 1862, the regiment left for St. Paul, to assist in quelling the noted Indian uprising of that year, after which the regiment was divided, part being sent to New Ulm and the remainder to Sauk Center. The insurrection was about subdued when they arrived, and in the latter part of November the regiment returned to La Crosse, and thence to Camp Randall. On Feb. 17, 1863, the regiment left for the South, reporting first at Cairo, and proceeded to Columbus, Ky. Here it was attached to Gen. Hulbert's command, and engaged in picket duty. In May, 1863, the 25th Wisconsin moved down the Mississippi to Young's Point, and thence to Satartia, on the Yazoo river. Their next stopping place was Snyder's Bluff, where they formed part of the force assailing Vicksburg. During this time the ranks were thinned by sickness as well as by the enemies' bullets. On July 26th the regiment left Snyer's Bluff, moved up the Mississippi to Helena where it was detached from the brigade and assigned to provost guard duty. The rapid marching, climate and excessive heat told upon the men and at one time scarcely any of them were fit for duty, but the regiment remained at Helena until Feb. 1864, when it moved down to Vicksburg, and joined Gen. Sherman's Meridian expedition, in which it did good service. From this time on, until May, 1864, the regiment did good service in Tennessee and Alabama, and at that date proceeded to Chattanooga to join the forces under Gen. Sherman, where, as part of the 16th Army Corps, they formed a part of the Army of the Tennessee, under Gen. McPherson. They took part in both advances on Resaca, and on the 14th joined the 17th Corps for an attack on the enemy's works on the left, and on that day distinguished themselves by charging across an open plain to relieve the 30th Iowa, which had run out of ammunition, and holding the crest of the hill in the face of three charges, in which the enemy sustained heavy losses. All the way to Atlanta the regiment took part in the various engagements, participating in the siege of that city, and also in the pursuit of Hood after the evacuation. Afterwards it returned to Atlanta and began to prepare the march to the sea. All through Georgia to Savannah, the gallant 25th Wisconsin bore its part bravely; thence it moved to Beaufort, encamping there in January, 1865. The next move was through the Carolinas to Washington, where the brave soldiers of this noted regiment took part in the Grand Review, and returned to their homes, private citizens once more. Peter LESER was with his regiment during the whole term of its service, except a short period after the surrender of Vicksburg, when, being taken sick, he was sent to a hospital at Memphis, and remained about six weeks, rejoining his regiment at Helena, Ark., in time to participate in the Meridian raid; and after the siege of Atlanta, when he procured a furlough and returned home. At the expiration of this time, upon its return from the pursuit of Hood to Atlanta, Peter LESER rejoined his regiment. Here Mr. LESER was taken very sick, and had to be cared for by the surgeon as though in a hospital. Finally he was sent, in an ambulance, to Nashville, where with other convalescents he assisted in the defense in that place under Gen. Thomas, when it was attacked by Hood, and in the pursuit, after the battle. During the engagement Mr. LESER was so situated that he had a fine view of the conflict, and remembers it was a grand and thrilling sight. The regiment was then on its way to the coast, and Mr. LESER, with others joined the command, traveling via Baltimore and Newbern, N.C. At Goldsboro Mr. LESER met his regiment, and took part in all the succeeding engagements in which it was a participant, including the Grand Review.

After his return from the army Mr. LESER resumed farming in the town of Liberty. In March 1888, Mr. LESER with his family moved to Palo Alto Co., Iowa, where he resided five years, engaged in farming. In March 1893, he returned to Fennimore, where he has since resided. Having acquired a competence, Mr. LESER retired, feeling he had worked hard long enough.

Peter LESER was married, in 1859, to Miss Sarah SHORT, a native of Missouri, who died May 1, 1884. Later Mr. LESER married Mrs. Hulda A. DOOLITTLE, whose first husband was also a soldier in the war of the Rebellion. Four children were born of the first marriage; Carrie, Mary, Rena (who died in February, 1887), and Adolph. Fennimore has no better citizen that Mr. LESER, and he is prominent in the G.A.R., being a charter member of Sam Monteith Post, No. 173. In political opinions he is a Republican, and takes an interest in the various campaigns. Genial, kind-hearted, beloved at home, and with many friends throughout the county, Mr. LESER is now enjoying the results of his years of labor, and taking comfort in his surroundings.



This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck