Searching for Sergeant Noble: The Life and Times of Albert Noble, from Custer's Wolverines to Andersonville
Albert Noble served as a sergeant in Co. L, 5th Michigan Cavalry from 1862-1865. His regiment was brigaded under Maj. General George A. Custer— part of Custer’s Wolverines, which saw action at virtually every major engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, including Gettysburg, Brandy Station, the Wilderness, Yellow Tavern, Cold Harbor and many more. On June 11, 1864, Noble was captured by Confederate forces at Trevilian Station — the largest all-cavalry engagement of the entire war. As a prisoner of war, Noble briefly passed through Pemberton and Libby prisons in Richmond before being sent by railroad to the infamous prison camp Andersonville, near Macon Georgia. During his time at Andersonville, Sgt. Noble kept a diary detailing the horrific conditions endured by Union prisoners. Noble himself suffered from scurvy and dysentery and watched as many of hiscomrades died of starvation and disease. Andersonville prison eventually claimed the lives of 12,000 soldiers — over a third of all inmates there. (Conditions in all Civil War-era prisons, North and South, were terrible and a total of 56,000 Federal and Confederate soldiers died in such prisons during the war.)

Near death, Noble was sent to Camp Lawton, another Confederate prison, before finally being released. It took him many months to convalesce, but he survived and was honorably discharged in the Spring of 1865, just as the war was ending. Noble returned to his home state of Michigan, married, and had two children. In the autumn of 1908, he settled in Riverside, California. He died in 1912 at the age of 81. Today, Albert Noble’s diary is on display at The Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, CA. It was our speaker's privilege and honor to have transcribed his diary for the museum for the first time ever.

Mr. Brian Cieslak
Brian Cieslak is a 27-year veteran of the fire service, and soon-to-be-retired Fire Captain for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He is also the President, and Program Chair, for the Inland Empire Civil War Round Table. In addition, Brian serves as a volunteer docent for the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, CA. He holds a master's degree in English, a minor in history, and taught freshman composition at California State University, Northridge.