Frans Oscar Malmborg (February 29, 1820 - April 29, 1880), a veteran of the Mexican War, became famous for his ostentatious manner in training recruits for the American Civil War, primarily the 55th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment in which he served. Malmborg was born at the Rågåkra farm in Kräklingbo parish on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland in Sweden. He was the son of Captain Pehr Gustaf Malmborg (1777-1828), who had been decorated with the gold medal for bravery after the Battle of Svensksund in 1790, before he was teenager. Oscar Malmborg emigrated to the United States in 1846 and fought in the Mexican War.