Simon Douglas (c. 1843 – 8 March 1950) was a former slave who lived to become the last

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

soldier in the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Douglas was born around 1843, as a slave on a plantation in

Fairfield County, South Carolina Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,948. Its county seat is Winnsboro. Fairfield County is part of the Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area. History 18 ...

. In 1862, during the American Civil War, he went to the front lines as a body servant for his masters' son in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

. Douglas became free by 1864 and moved north as a blacksmith and bummer (a nickname for

foragers A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially wi ...

) of Maj. Gen.

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

of the Union Army. In 1866, Douglas settled in what was to become

Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey Fairview is a borough located in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. According to the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,025, an increase of 1,190 (+8.6%) from the 2010 census count of 13,835, which in tur ...

. He married a local resident, with whom he had a son and daughter. He ran his own blacksmithing business into his 90s. He lived there until he died on March 8, 1950. He is interred in Hackensack Cemetery (#4738, Sec 16, Row 12).

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* 1840s births 1950 deaths People from Fairfield County, South Carolina People from Fairview, New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Civil War People of South Carolina in the American Civil War 19th-century American slaves African-American centenarians American men centenarians Burials at Hackensack Cemetery African-American history of New Jersey People enslaved in South Carolina {{US-army-bio-stub