Hans Mattson

author

Hans Mattson

1832–1893

A Swedish immigrant who became a Union Army colonel, a Minnesota public figure, and a memoirist, he wrote from firsthand experience about migration and life on the American frontier. His story connects Civil War service, state-building, and the hopes that drew so many Scandinavians to the United States.

1 Audiobook

Reminiscences: The Story of an Emigrant

Reminiscences: The Story of an Emigrant

by Hans Mattson

About the author

Born in Sweden in 1832, Hans Mattson emigrated to the United States and became closely associated with early Minnesota history. He is remembered as a soldier, public official, and writer whose life traced the path of many nineteenth-century immigrants who helped shape the Upper Midwest.

During the American Civil War, he served in the Union Army and rose to the rank of colonel. After the war, he remained a prominent figure in Minnesota public life, and his career reflected the strong Scandinavian presence in the region during that era.

Mattson is also known for his memoir, Reminiscences: The Story of an Emigrant, published in 1891. The book looks back on emigration, settlement, and public life in a direct, personal way, making it valuable both as a historical source and as a vivid immigrant narrative. He died in 1893.