|
Heg's Brigade Field &
Staff |
Colonel Hans C. Heg
of 15th Field & Staff commanding 3rd Brigade
Mortally wounded leading
his brigade in action September 19, 1863, and died the next day
Photo used with
permission of his Great Grandson Captain James E. Heg, US Navy (retired)
Picture
appearing above has been electronically enhanced by Deep Vee Productions
The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, September 19-20, 1863, was the second bloodiest battle of the American Civil War (1861-1865). According to official reports, Heg's Brigade (3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 20th Corps, Army of the Cumberland) took 1,218 officers and enlisted men into the fight and suffered 696 killed, wounded, or missing (mostly prisoners of war) -- a staggering 57% casualty rate.
Considerable efforts have been made to determine, to the extent that records permit, where each 15th Wisconsin soldier was, and what happened to him, at Chickamauga. This was one of a number of efforts made to provide a detailed historical background for the reenactors who portrayed the Scandinavian Regiment at the Chickamauga reenactment, which took place September 17-19, 1999, in northern Georgia near the site of the original fighting. It is hoped that this information will also prove of value to descendants of 15th soldiers.
This page contains what is believed to be a nearly complete list of all the 15th soldiers known to have been assigned to or on duty with Heg's Brigade Field & Staff at the time of the battle. By the end of 2 hellish days at Chickamauga, Colonel Heg and his Adjutant, Captain Hauff, were both dead, leaving the brigade in command of Colonel Martin of the 8th Kansas. The 3rd Brigade suffered so many casualties at Chickamauga that its was disbanded a few weeks later, the survivors being consolidated into the 1st Division's 2 other brigades.
The table below contains the names and fates of 15th soldiers who are known or believed to have been in action with Heg's Brigade Field & Staff during the battle. After the table is a list of 15th soldiers who are known or believed not to have been in action with the brigade during the battle. Clicking on a soldier's name that is underlined and in color will bring up a detailed profile of his military service. To see a list of definitions for the abbreviations and terms used below, click HERE.
Sources: Civil War Compiled Military Service Records by Office of Adjutant General of the United States (Washington, DC); Regimental Descriptive Rolls, Volume 20 by Office of Adjutant General State of Wisconsin, (Madison, Wisconsin, 1885); Return of Killed, Wounded, and Missing in Action in the 15th Regt. Wis. Vol. Inf. at Chickamauga, Ga. on the 19th & 20th of September 1863; Report of Missing From the 15th Regt. Wisconsin Vols. (Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 16, 1863); and RETURN of the 15th Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, Army of the United States, for the month of September 1863 by Adjutant Lewis G. Nelson (Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 12, 1863).
| Field Officers | Remarks |
| Colonel Hans C. Heg (F&S) Brigade Commander | Wounded "shot in the bowels" late afternoon Sept. 19th near Viniard's Farm. Died midday Sept. 20, '63, First Division Field Hospital, Crawfish Springs, Ga., "wounds." |
| Captain Henry N. Hauff
(Co. E) Acting Assistant Adjutant-General | Killed Sept. 19th near Viniard's Farm. "Left dead on the field." |
| Staff Officers | Remarks |
| Captain Albert Skofstadt
(Co. D) Inspector |
Survived battle, apparently unhurt. Escorted Colonel Heg's remains from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Wisc. for burial. Res. Mar. 2, '64. |
| 1st Lieutenant Ole R. Dahl
(Co. B) Topographical Engineer | Survived battle, apparently unhurt. Captured Mar., '64, near Morristown, Tenn. Held for 11 months. M.O. Mar. 12, '65, Madison, Wisc., term exp. |
| Enlisted Staff | Remarks |
| 1st Sergeant Thor P. Sloan (Co. E) Headquarters Clerk |
Survived battle, apparently unhurt. Wounded "in head" June 21, '64, Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. Died June 28, '64, Big Shanty, Ga., "wounds." |
| Corporal Oscar W. Gipson (Co. C) Orderly | Captured Sept. 19th near Viniard's Farm. Died a prisoner Feb. 2, '64, Richmond, Va., "disease." |
| Private Knud Johnson (Co. E) Orderly |
Survived battle. Sick starting Sept. 20, '63, at Field Hospital. M.O. with "E" Dec. 20, '64, Chattanooga, Tenn., term exp. |
The following soldiers holding brigade positions or duties are known or believed not to have been with the Brigade Field & Staff on the battlefield at Chickamauga.
Surgeon Stephen O.
Himoe (F&S) on duty as Brigade Surgeon at 1st Division Field
Hospital, Crawfish Springs, Ga. Survived battle, apparently unhurt. Resigned
Nov. 13, '63, due to disabilities.
2nd Lieutenant James Larson
(Co. C), Brigade Acting Assistant Commissary of Subsistence (AACS), was absent
with 1st Division wagon trains. Survived battle, apparently unhurt. M.O. Feb.
10, '65, Chattanooga, Tenn., term exp.
Private James B. Brown (Co.
C), on duty as Brigade Commissary Clerk, is believed to have been with
Lieutenant Larson and the 1st Division wagon trains. Survived battle,
apparently unhurt. Died Jan. 15, '64, Racine, Wisc., "disease."
Private
Jens Jenson (Co. K) absent on duty as Teamster with 3rd Brigade ambulance
wagon train since Feb. 24, '63. Survived battle, apparently unhurt. M.O. Feb.
10, '65, Chattanooga, Tenn., term exp.
Private
Andrew Mikkelsen (Co.
D) on duty with the Brigade Provost Guard. Survived battle, apparently unhurt.
M.O. Feb. 13, '65, Chattanooga, Tenn., term exp.
This page Copyright by
Scott Cantwell Meeker of Deep
Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created January 24, 1999. Last updated June 16, 2001.