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Joseph Mathiesen (Mathisen)Captain of Company B
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Photo shows him wearing Captain insignia on his shoulders
Probably taken
circa November/December 1862, at Nashville, Tennessee
Image is from the book Danske
I Kamp i og for Amerika by P. S. Vig
Picture shown above has been enhanced
electronically by Deep Vee Productions
To view a copy of the original, un-retouched image, click
HERE
Born
January 7, 1840, City of Copenhagen, Kingdom of Denmark
Parents were Anders Matthiesen (1___-18__) and
Sofie ____________ (1___-18__)
Immigrated to
America, 1859
Married February 5, 1865, to Judith Sophie Johnson (1845-1924)
Married
at Spring Prairie Lutheran Church, Town of DeForest, Dane County, State of Wisconsin
Died March 1, 1925,
Town of Evansville, Douglas County, State of Minnesota
Buried Forrest Hill
Cemetery, City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin
The American Civil War began just 2 years after Joseph Mathiesen arrived in the United States from his native Denmark. On April 14, 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 troops to help put down the then-new Confederate armed rebellion. Three days later Joseph volunteered for Company E of the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He served at the rank of "Private" under the name "Joseph Matheson."
The 1st Wisconsin was mustered into the army for only a 3 month term of service because at that time the Federal government believed it could quickly suppress the rebels. In early June the 1st Wisconsin was sent to help protect Washington, D.C. On July 2, 1861, it took part in the Battle of Falling Waters near the Town of Martinsburg in the State of Virginia (now on the State of West Virginia). And by August the it was back in Wisconsin where on August 17th its soldiers, including Private Matheson, were mustered out.
About a month after completing his term of service Joseph learned of efforts to raise a regiment of Scandinavian-born men to serve in the war. He tendered his services and that fall he was recommended by Colonel Hans C. Heg, commander of that regiment, the 15th Wisconsin, to be an officer in his unit. On November 13, 1861, Wisconsin Governor Randall commissioned Joseph Mathiesen as 1st Lieutenant of the 15th's Company B for a 3 year term of service, with his rank to take effect from November 12, 1861.
The men of Company B called themselves the Wergeland Guards in honor of the famous Norwegian poet and writer, Henrik Wergeland. At the time Company B was commanded by Captain Ole C. Johnson, with 1st Lieutenant Mathiesen as second-in-command, and 2nd Lieutenant George Wilson as third-in-command.
Lieutenant Mathiesen was mustered into Federal service on November 16, 1861, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. At the time he was recorded as being a 22 year old unmarried resident of Madison.
After 3 and a half months at Camp Randall learning to be an officer and getting his men trained as soldiers, Lieutenant Mathiesen left there on March 2, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. He then participated in the successful siege of Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River in the State of Tennessee, during late March and early April, 1862. He also led his men during the successful surprise raid on Confederate Cavalry forces at Union City, Tennessee, in late March, 1862. After the fall of Island No. 10 on April 8, 1862, he helped oversee the capture of Confederate prisoners and the re-building of fortifications on the island.
On June 11, 1862, Lieutenant Mathiesen departed Island No. 10 with his company to take part with the 15th in a summer campaign through Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama. Starting in late August and ending in late September, 1862, he participated in the Army's grueling 400 mile force-march from the Town of Iuka, Mississippi, up to the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky. The last 2 weeks of this retreat, which was led by U.S. Major General Don Carlos Buell, were made on half rations and with little drinking water.
Lieutenant Mathiesen would have been present at the October 8, 1862, fighting at the Town of Perryville, Boyle County, Kentucky (also called the Battle of Chaplin Hills). While this was the 15th's first big battle, it emerged without any fatalities.
At the recommendation of Colonel Heg, Lieutenant Mathiesen was commissioned as Captain of Company B by the Governor of Wisconsin on December 18, 1862, to rank from November 1, 1862. He filled the vacancy created when Captain Johnson was promoted to the rank of Major (third-in-command of the regiment).
On December 26, 1862, Captain Mathiesen led his company in the 15th's desperate charge upon a Confederate artillery battery at Knob Gap, Tennessee, just south of the City of Nashville, Tennessee. There the 15th captured a brass cannon. Captain Mathiesen then led his men during the long, cold, wet, and bloody Battle of Stone River, Tennessee (also called the Battle of Murfreesboro), which took place from December 30, 1862, into early January, 1863. It is there that the 15th first suffered serious battle casualties, and was cited for bravery. Company B suffered 2 men killed and 4 men wounded in the battle.
The 15th then camped in the Murfreesboro 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 the Tullahoma campaign led by U.S. Major General William S. Rosecrans. On July 3, 1863, the 15th 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 what later became known as the Chickamauga campaign. Captain Mathiesen was present at the daring early morning crossing of the Tennessee River on August 28th, which the 15th led. He also led Company B during the September 19-20, 1863, fighting at Chickamauga, Georgia -- the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Captain Mathiesen survived the vicious fighting around Viniard's Farm on the first afternoon. He also survived the near capture of the regiment near Brotherton Field around midday on the 20th during what became known as Longstreet's Breakthrough. Some 63% of the 15th's soldiers who were at Chickamauga were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. Of the 28-30 soldiers who were with Company B at the battle, 5 were wounded and 10 taken prisoner.
Captain Mathiesen then led his company's 15 survivors during the Confederate siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee, that began right after the battle. The siege resulted in severe shortages of food, firewood, and medicine which, together with cold, wet weather, caused much suffering, sickness, and death. The Confederate siege was finally broken by the Union Army's victorious charge up nearby Mission Ridge on November 25, 1863. Captain Mathiesen led Company B as the 15th stormed up the ridge.
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 entire 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 the famous campaign by U.S. Major General William T. Sherman to capture the City of Atlanta, Georgia. Captain Mathiesen commanded Company B for the entire 4 month campaign, which was marked by almost daily marching and/or combat. The 15th took part in the fighting at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, in early May, at the bloody Battle of Resaca, Georgia, on May 14-15, and at the disastrous Battle of Pickett's Mill (often called Dallas or New Hope Church) on May 27, 1864. There the 15th suffered 50% casualties. At Pickett's Mill Company B lost 4 men killed or mortally wounded and 4 men wounded who survived.
The Atlanta campaign also saw the 15th involved in fighting at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, on June 23, 1864, at Atlanta on July 22, at Jonesboro, Georgia, on September 1, and at Lovejoy Station, Georgia, on September 4, 1864.
After a short rest following the capture of Atlanta in early September, 1864, the 15th was briefly assigned to Provost (police) duty in Chattanooga at the beginning of October. This was followed by a month spent guarding a railroad bridge at Whitesides, Tennessee, near Chattanooga. Some of the 15th's soldiers felt that this was the easiest duty of their entire war service. During this time Captain Mathiesen was briefly absent from his company to oversee the retrieval of the regiment's baggage from Atlanta.
Captain Mathiesen was mustered out of Federal service with most of the rest of the survivors of Company B at the expiration of their 3 year terms of service on December 1, 1864, at the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee. However, their return to Wisconsin was delayed until the end of the month. This was due to the final offensive of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee, which cut the railroad line from Chattanooga to Nashville that they needed to take to reach Wisconsin. Captain Mathiesen and his men were finally able to return home at the end of the month after the Confederates were defeated at Nashville and driven from the state.
Captain Mathiesen is said to have survived his war service without being sick, wounded or captured.
After his war service Joseph returned to Madison, Wisconsin, where he got married, became a successful businessman, and started a family. He and his wife had 3 children: George, born January 30, 1875; Betty, born ____, 187_; and Philip, born May 20, 1880. In 1882 he moved his family to the Village of Evansville, Evansville Township, Douglas County, Minnesota. There he is said to have worked for the firm of Raiber & Company, and later as a Cashier at the Bank of Evansville.
Joseph Mathiesen attended the last known reunion of the 15thWisconsin, which took place on September 12-13, 1917, at Madison, Wisconsin. There he was photographed with his comrades under the memorial arch at Camp Randall.
Sources: Genealogical data from Dee Anna Grimsrud, MLIS, CGRS; File 95-2113 compiled for H. Joseph Ferguson by the Vesterheim Genealogical Center (Madison, Wisconsin); Wisconsin State Journal newspaper (Madison, Wisconsin, January 2, 1924); Capital Times newspaper (Madison, Wisconsin, February 28, 1925); Danske I Kamp i og for Amerika by P. S. Vig (Omaha, Nebraska, 1917) with Mathiesen biographical information translated by Anders Rasmussen; Oberst Heg og Hans Gutter [Colonel Heg and His Boys] by Waldemar Ager (Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1916); and, Regimental Descriptive Rolls, Volume 20 Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1885); and, Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Volume 1 Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1886).
This page Copyright by Scott Cantwell Meeker
of Deep
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All Rights Reserved. Created January 24, 1999. Last updated December
21, 2003.