A veteran at 17

When you think about the occupations our extended family of ancestors had, farmer comes up most often.  There were a few railroad men, 3 or 4 merchants, assorted blacksmiths, shoemakers and teachers, but only one sided with the law ☺ and became a deputy sheriff.  (Our folks weren't scofflaws, exactly, but they definitely questioned authority).
I've wondered about JP Sand because of that--how was it that great-grandpa's oldest brother became a civil servant, a job that...well, required a little broader world view, not to mention harboring the idea that you might need to shoot someone.  How did JP come by that?
I think Larry found the answer yesterday.  Look at this:

It was originally one line, straight across a ledger book recording recruits being mustered out of the 11th Volunteer Regiment from America's Civil War.

Couldn't this have been some other John Sand?  Yes, but JP was born in May, 1848, and would have been 16 in  August of 1864.  Looking for more info on the 11th Regiment, Larry found a book at archive.org called Minnesota in the civil and Indian wars 1861-1865.  It was Lincoln's last call for troops--the war was winding down and most of the eligible men had already been recruited.  This was an assembly of very young men and second-thoughters, I guess.


The narrative is actually interesting, and only 4 pages.  You owe it to JP to read them, even tho I couldn't find him in the roster pages that follow.  He wasn't the youngest recruit (one was 15) and he wasn't the only 16 year old.  They were back home within a year and were considered just as heroic as men who'd seen terrible battles.

This page is from the 1895 Minnesota census.  Most of that census was destroyed in a fire, but the military schedules were evidently kept separately.  There's John P Sand, #38 on the list and annotated in the bottom section, too, with a hearing loss as a result of his service.

Maybe JP missed the thrill of the chase, or he might have felt guilty over the adulation.  I suppose a vet seemed just a bit menacing...

On the other hand, maybe he just needed a job. ☺

From Larry, added later-- 
The line from the screen cap up there--"Retained under gen. order 101-One Springfield Rifle Musket Acct $6.00"? Here's more info:

Two General Orders issued at the close of hostilities – Number 101 dated May 30, 1865 and Number 114 dated June 15, 1865 stated that all Federal soldiers who wished to retain the arms and accoutrements could do so by having the value deducted from their pay. 

More musket info

The order read as follows:Retention of Arms [General Order 101] War Department, Adjutant Generals Department Washington, DC May 30, 1865 “Upon an honorable muster out and discharge from the service of the United States, all volunteer soldiers desiring to do so are hereby authorized to retain their arms and accoutrements on paying therefore for their value to the Ordnance Department.” E.D. Thompson, Asst Adjutant General.
The prices determined by the Ordnance Department were $6 for muskets of any type, with accoutrements, $8 for most types of carbines and revolvers, and $3 for sabers and swords. The estimated one million Federals mustered out of service were allowed to retain, without charge, their canteens, haversacks, and knapsacks.

Larry found these records of disability claims after the war.  Look--in Company G, there was a John Ferschweiler, too.  A neighbor from LeSauk township, he would have been the brother of J. P. Sand's future bride Magdalena.

THANKS, L ☺!