Rolla Keller, a native of Manchester, Illinois, enlisted on June 1, 1861 in Milton, Illinois, and was mustered in at Rolla, Missouri, as a private in Company K, 7th Missouri Infantry.

The 7th participated in General John C. Fremont’s campaign to capture Springfield, Missouri, in the fall of 1861, and then moved to Tennessee. After taking part in the siege of Vicksburg, the regiment joined Major General William T. Sherman’s Meridian, Mississippi campaign in February 1864.

Keller was killed in action during a skirmish near Clinton, Mississippi, on February 5, 1864.

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Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31301