# Was the U.S. Revolutionary War in living memory when the U.S. Civil War started? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657 "2009-04-28T18:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657/21 "2009-04-29T21:25:26Z")
[The last Civil War widow died in 2003.](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908934.html) Of course, there was a sixty year age gap between her and her husband, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657/22 "2009-04-29T21:28:20Z")
:smack: I should read my own links. According to the cite I posted, there’s still one war widow alive, at least at the time the article was written. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657/23 "2009-04-29T21:42:45Z")
Here is the game show I’ve Got a Secret in 1956 featuring a guy who witnessed the Lincoln assassination [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTUnAGFVgCQ) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657/24 "2009-04-29T21:51:28Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [The last Civil War widow died in 2003.](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908934.html) Of course, there was a sixty year age gap between her and her husband, but still. No, as far as I can tell it was [Maudie Celia Acklin Hopkins](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=29145146), who died about 8 months ago, on August 17, 2008. She was born in 1914, and married the 86-year-old William Cantrell on Feb. 2, 1934, when she was 19. Cantrell had served in the Virginia Infantry, so was a Confederate veteran. [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908934.html](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908934.html) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657/25 "2009-04-30T02:22:43Z")
Since the last Civil War widow died only last year and she was young when she married – as many of them were, it is likely that there are many daughters and sons of Civil War soldiers still living. I am the grandchild of a Civil War vet. And I have a grandchild that stands a reasonable chance of making it into the 22nd Century. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657/26 "2009-04-30T11:48:32Z")
A fair number of offspring of Civil War vets are still living: [List of Living Union Civil War Widows and Children](http://suvcw.org/kids/CWkids.pdf) from Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-u-s-revolutionary-war-in-living-memory-when-the-u-s-civil-war-started/494657.md?page=1)