Elissa Slotkin: “Oren was just 16 years old in 1864 when he enlisted in…”

“Rather, the Wilsons lived their lives in quiet but devoted and groundbreaking service to their nation and to their neighbors and forever change the face of St. Johns. Oren was just 16 years old in 1864 when he enlisted in Michigan's all black regiment, the 102nd United States Colored Infantry, Company K, out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He served until the war's end and returned to Michigan, where he met and married his bride, the two would soon settle in St. John's, where they lived for the next 60 years.” (12:06–12:18)

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