Born June 19, 1835, Doxrød Farm, Gjerpen, Telemark, Kingdom of Norway
Father
was Halvor Engebregtsen Doxrød (1795-1882) aka Harvey Britton
Mother was Anne Marie Eriksdatter (1805-1883)
aka Maria Britton
Immigrated to
America with his parents and siblings in 1843 on the sailing ship Argo
Died October 11, 1864,
Andersonville Prison, Macon County, State of Georgia
Buried Grave 10685 or 10686, National
Cemetery, Andersonville, Georgia
Halvor Halvorson Doxrød was enlisted under the name Harvey Britton by Captain Frederick R. Berg in Company C of the 15th Wisconsin. He joined up for a 3 year term of service on November 11, 1861, at the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, State of Wisconsin. The men of Company C called themselves the "Norway Bear Hunters." Harvey Britton was mustered into Federal service at the rank of Corporal on December 2, 1861, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. At the time he was 24 years old and not married. His residence was listed as Town of Norway, Racine County, Wisconsin, where he lived near the Village of North Cape.
On January 14, 1862, the men of the 15th were issued Belgian rifled muskets. After some 3 months at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Corporal Britton left there in early March, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. From then until May, 1864, he was listed as "present" with the 15th. As such he would have participated in the successful siege of Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River in the State of Tennessee, and the surprise raid on Union City, Tennessee, in March and April, 1862. That Summer he would have been with the 15th on campaign through Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama. In August and September he would have participated in the grueling 400 mile retreat with General Buell up to the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, with the last 2 weeks being on half rations and short of water.
Corporal Britton would also have been present at the October 8, 1862, fighting at the Town of Perryville, Boyle County, Kentucky, which is also called the Battle of Chaplin Hills. While this was the 15th's first big battle, it emerged without any fatalities. On December 26, 1862, he would have participated in the 15th's desperate charge upon a Confederate artillery battery at Knob Gap, Tennessee, just south of the City of Nashville. There the 15th captured a brass cannon. He would have also fought at the long, cold, wet, and bloody Battle of Stone River, Tennessee, also called the Battle of Murfreesboro, on December 30-31, 1862. It is there that the 15th first suffered serious battle casualties, and was cited for bravery.
On January 1, 1863, Corporal Britton was transferred from Company C to Company B and promoted from Corporal to 1st Sergeant. This was the top Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) position in a Civil War company. The 1st Sergeant ran the company for the officers. At that time Company B was commanded by Captain Joseph Mathiesen who was the only officer with it for most of the rest of the company's service. The men of Company B called themselves the "Wergeland Guards" in honor of Henrik Wergeland, the famous Norwegian writer and poet.
The 15th camped in the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, area for the next 6 months, except for 2 weeks in February when it was sent to the Town of Franklin, Tennessee. Starting June 23, 1863, the regiment took part in General Rosecrans' Tullahoma campaign. On July 3, 1863, it went into camp at the Town of Winchester, Franklin County, Tennessee, for 6 weeks.
On August 17, 1863, the 15th left Winchester to participate in General Rosecran's Chickamauga campaign. 1st Sergeant Britton is believed to have been present at the daring early morning crossing of the Tennessee River on August 28th, which the 15th led. He was also present at the September 19-20, 1863, fighting at Chickamauga, Georgia -- the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War. He survived the vicious fighting around Viniard's Farm on the first afternoon, as well as the near capture of the regiment around midday on the 20th during Longstreet's Breakthrough. Some 63% of the 15th's soldiers who were at Chickamauga were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.
1st Sergeant Britton would have then served with the regiment during the Confederate siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee, which began right after the battle. The siege resulted in severe shortages of food and firewood which, together with cold, wet weather, caused much suffering, sickness, and death. The siege was finally broken by the Union Army's victorious charge up Mission Ridge on November 25, 1863, which the 15th took part in.
Starting right after Mission Ridge the 15th was engaged in almost non-stop marching and counter-marching all over Eastern Tennessee throughout the winter of 1863/1864. By many original accounts, this was the worst period of the regiment's 3 year term of service. Poor rations, inadequate clothing and shelter, and unseasonably cold weather made these months nearly unbearable.
Starting in May, 1864, the 15th participated in General Sherman's famous campaign to capture the City of Atlanta, Georgia. This campaign was marked by almost daily marching and/or combat for 4 months straight. For the 15th and 1st Sergeant Britton it included fighting at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, in early May, and at the bloody Battle of Resaca, Georgia, on May 14-15, 1864.
On May 27, 1864, the 15th took part in the disastrous Battle of Pickett's Mill (often called Dallas or New Hope Church), Georgia. There the regiment's soldiers charged right up to the Confederate battle line under murderous fire. With too few troops to break the line, and without orders to pull back, the men of the 15th took cover and for several hours exchanged musket fire at short range until they ran out of ammunition. That evening the Confederates launched a rare counterattack. In the darkness and confusion some 25 of the 15th's surviving soldiers were taken prisoner. One of those captured was 1st Sergeant Britton.
These men were then transported to the infamous Andersonville prison camp in Georgia. There 1st Sergeant Britton kept a daily journal detailing the cruel and inhuman treatment suffered by the Union prisoners. On October 4, 1864, he was admitted to the prison hospital at nearby Camp Sumpter, where he died a week later. The Army's Final Statement for 1st Sergeant Britton lists his cause of death as "Scorbutus" (now known as scurvy, which is caused by the lack of common vitamins contained in vegetables) and notes that at the time of his death he was 27 years old, had "blue eyes, brown hair," and a "dark complexion," stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and was by occupation a Farmer.
A prison comrade saved Britton's journal, noted the details of his death and burial, and later sent the journal to his parents. After reading it, his sister Mary wrote a poem "In Memory of My Dear Brother, Harvey Britton" that concludes as follows.
|
"Oh, that war and the cruel
prison-- |
Sources: Genealogical data from his Grand Niece Agnes Holt; Genealogical data from Jan Christensen, Skien Genealogical page, submitted by Mike Enerson; Poem courtesy of Eugene Olswold; Portrait and Biographical Album of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin (Chicago, Illinois, 1892) submitted by Cynthia Gillen; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] by Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1895); Oberst Heg og Hans Gutter [Colonel Heg and His Men] by Waldemar Ager (Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1916); Civil War Compiled Military Service Records by Office of Adjutant General of the United States (Washington, DC); and, Regimental Descriptive Rolls, Volume 20 by the Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1885).
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updated April 13, 2001.