The 37th Iowa Volunteer Infantry was deliberately, composed of old men. It was nicknamed the Graybeard Regiment. In 1862, the War Department authorized the formation of the 37th to show that men who were past the draft age were willing and able to go to war. I would call this luck by design.
The Unit of 914 men assembled in December at Camp Strong near Muscatine, Iowa. The oldest man was 80-year-old Pvt. Curtis King. Six men were in their 70s, including 72-year-old drummer, Nicholas Ramey. Another 136 men were in their 60s. Most of the members of the regiment were over the age of 45. There were also 86 underage soldiers. Their Colonel George W. Kincaid, who would gain a poor reputation among his men and others.
Required to hike in the mud and sleep in the rain like other soldiers, the Graybeards were spared none of the rigors of army life. They were, however, exempted from combat duty, serving instead as guards of military prisons (Gratiot Street prison, Rock Island, Alton, Camp Chase among others), railroads, and arsenals in Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Only three men were killed in action, but 145 died of disease and 364 were discharged because of physical disabilities.