GEORGE DERIAS

Old Newport Protestant Cemetery
Johnson County, Iowa

Civil War Veteran
Co D 37th Iowa Infantry
Birth year 1810 based on enlistment record.
From Civil War military records:
Derias, George.
Age 52.
Residence Iowa City,Iowa
Nativity Germany.
Enlisted Sept. 22, 1862 into Co D 37th Iowa Infantry.
Mustered Oct. 31, 1862 Camp Kincaid, Muscatine,Iowa.
Mustered out May, 1865, Davenport, Iowa.

The 37th Iowa Infantry has a unique place in history. It was the only regiment of its kind ever recruited in the United States. Mustered at Camp Kincaid near Muscatine,Iowa It was made up of men over the enlistment age which at that time was 45. Its nickname was The Greybeard Regiment. Its purpose was to guard prisons and arsenals in order to free young men for active combat duty. Even though it was not supposed to be under combat conditions, the regiment saw active service guarding supply trains going through hostile states in the deep South in 1864 and 1865