Little is known about the life of Oliver W. Sturdevant outside of his military career. He joined the
Normal School Company along with his brother John. John became ill before Fredericksburg and
was in hospitals until his discharge on April 1, 1863. Oliver was appointed corporal while the
company was still in Albany, and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,
and Gettysburg. On October 1, 1863, he was called before the examining board in Washington
D.C. and was appointed captain in the 10th U. S. C. T. on November 3, 1863. He served on the
Provost Guard at City Point from June 1864 to March 1865, and was sent to the front at Chapin's
Farm. He was with the regiment when it entered Richmond the day after Lee evacuated the city.
In June 1865, the regiment went with the 25th Corps to Texas. Sturdevant resigned at Galveston,
Texas on April 6, 1866. He spent his later life at Oneida, N. Y. (1)
