Mose Triplett was born in North Carolina in 1846. When he was about 16, Triplett joined the Confederate Army, about a year after the U.S. Civil War broke out. A year later, Triplett deserted and signed up with the Union side. After the war, and the death of his first wife in the early 1920s, Triplett married Elida Hall in 1924. At that time, Triplett was 78, about 50 years older than his new bride. Only two of the couple's children survived beyond infancy, one of whom was Irene, who was born when Mose Triplett was 83. Now in her late 80s, Irene is living in a nursing home and receiving the last Civil War pension paid by federal government. Irene Triplett receives $73.13 USD each month from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Taking care of veterans and their families:
- Mose Triplett died in 1938, a few days after returning home from commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
- The last surviving Civil War veteran passed away in 1956 at the age of 109, the Department of Veterans Affairs says.
- Maudie Hopkins, the last publicly-known widow of a Civil War veteran, died in 2008 at the age of 93.