Did You Know? 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry The Scandinavian Regiment

Corporal Otto F. Steen of Company K
Held captive nearly a year, including 5 months in Andersonville Prison
Photo courtesy of the Norwegian American Historical Society
Picture appearing above has been electronically enhanced by Deep Vee Productions

The following are some facts and vignettes about the 15th Wisconsin, its soldiers, and their experiences in the Federal Army during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

• Mandskaberne Norske.  Some 90% of the 15th's soldiers were born in Norway.  Many of the rest were born in Denmark and Sweden, hence the name "the Scandinavian Regiment."  The 15th was the only 'all Scandinavian' regiment in either the Federal or Confederate armies.

• Not Just Wisconsin.  Many of the 15th's soldiers were recruited from Scandinavian communities in the states surrounding Wisconsin.  Almost all the men in Company A were from Illinois, while those in Company K were mostly from Iowa and Minnesota.  Some men enlisted right after arriving from Scandinavia.

• First and Highest.  The 15th's Colonel Hans C. Heg was the first Norwegian elected to a statewide office in Wisconsin, and the highest ranked Wisconsin officer killed in combat during the Civil War.

• Snakkar du Engelsk?  Colonel Heg required his officers to be fluent in English, but many of the enlisted men spoke only their native tongue.  While orders were in English, everyday conversations were in Norwegian, which the Confederates often mistook for German.

• Which Ole?  Of the 906 soldiers who served in the 15th Wisconsin, 128 had the first name of Ole, including a number who were named Ole Olson or Ole Olsen.

• Irish Brawl.  On Christmas Eve 1861 some of the 15th's soldiers stole a keg of beer, got drunk, and fought with the Irish soldiers of the 17th Wisconsin at Camp Randall.  The fight ended after the beer was all drunk up.

• Muskets.  Records show that on January 14, 1862, the men of the 15th Wisconsin were issued Saxon Model 1857 rifled muskets, caliber .577, at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin.  These had been manufactured by the firm of P. J. Malherbe et Cie in Liege, Belgium.  As a result they were sometimes called "Belgium muskets" or "Dresden muskets" because they were purchased for American use in the city of Dresden.  Later in the war they were replaced with British Enfield .577 caliber rifled muskets.   

• Youngest Soldier.  Private Otto Steen became the 15th's youngest soldier when he enlisted at age 16.  He later became its youngest Corporal, Sergeant, and prisoner of war.  When released from prison he was described as "a bunch of skin and bones."

• Snowy Departure.  On March 1st, 1862, the 15th left Wisconsin in a rain storm that turned to snow.  Shortly thereafter their railroad train got stuck in the snow and an extra engine was sent to help pull it out.

• "For Gud og vort land" Flag.  The Society Nora of Chicago presented the 15th with a beautiful ceremonial flag on March 2, 1862.  It was carried during the war in a soldier's knapsack, but apparently never flown in battle.

• Iron Brigade-er.  Captain David McKee of Company C of the 2nd Wisconsin was appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin as the 15th's Lieutenant Colonel on March 24, 1862.  He was Scottish by birth, but was married to a Norwegian woman.  McKee was killed in action at Stone River.

• Earthquake.  On June 6, 1862, the 15th's camp at Island No. 10, Tennessee, was struck by an earthquake that lasted some 3 minutes.

• Grueling March.  Starting from Iuka, Mississippi on August 21, 1862, the 15th marched some 400 miles to Louisville, Kentucky in 37 days, the last 2 weeks on half rations with little water.

• Perryville/Chaplin Hills.  This bloody October 8, 1862, Union victory in Kentucky was the 15th's first big battle.  Despite forcing the enemy back more than a mile, none of the regiment's soldiers were killed.

• Cannon Captured.  The 15th charged a Rebel artillery battery at Knob Gap, near Nashville, Tennessee, on December 26, 1862, capturing a brass cannon and 3 prisoners.

• Stone River/Murfreesboro.  The 15th suffered 36% casualties at this frosty December 30-31, 1862, Union victory in Tennessee.  They suffered severely from the cold and a lack of rations during and after the battle.  Afterwards Colonel Heg, the 15th, and a number of its soldiers were cited for bravery.

• Escaped Slave.  After escaping from slavery, Peter D. Thomas worked as a servant to Lieutenant Charles Nelson of Company G . After the war Peter came to Wisconsin, attended school, and was eventually elected the Racine County Coroner.

• Brigadier Heg.  On July 3, 1863, Major General Rosecrans appointed Colonel Heg to command a brigade of 4 regiments, which included the 15th, thus putting Heg in line to become a Brigadier General.  Unfortunately, Heg was still a Colonel when he was mortally wounded leading his brigade at Chickamauga.

• First Across.  In the Chickamauga Campaign the 15th became the first Union regiment to advance south over the Tennessee River, crossing in pontoon boats during a daring early morning assault on August 28, 1863.

• Chickamauga.  The 15th suffered 63% casualties at this September 19-20, 1863, Union defeat in Georgia -- the war's second bloodiest battle.  Colonel Heg was mortally wounded and all of the 15th's field officers were killed, wounded, or captured.  The next morning just 75 men answered role call.

• Daring Escape.  The 15th's Lieutenant Colonel Ole C. Johnson (Skipsnes) was captured at Chickamauga.  After 8 months as a prisoner he escaped and walked 29 days to safety.  He then led the 15th for the rest of its service.

• With Sherman.  The 15th marched and fought its way through northern Georgia as part of the successful 1864 campaign by U.S. Major General William T. Sherman to capture Atlanta, Georgia.  The fall of Atlanta helped President Lincoln get reelected to the Presidency in 1864, defeating a Democrat running on a 'peace now' platform.  Lincoln's election insured the war would be continued until the fledgling Confederate States of America was destroyed, thus restoring the United States of America as a single, undivided country.

• Pickett's Mill.  At this May 27, 1864, Union defeat in Georgia (often mistakenly referred to as Dallas or New Hope Church), the 15th charged right up to the Confederate lines and shot it out face-to-face for several hours.  In doing so it suffered 50% casualties, including 29 men captured after the regiment ran out of ammunition and was counterattacked.  Most of those captured were sent to the infamous Andersonville Prison, where almost all of them died of malnutrition-related diseases.

• Bravest Man in the Regiment. Sergeant Ole K. Hanson earned this title and the rank of Brevet Captain for gallantry at Pickett's Mill where he was wounded 5 times and captured.  Most of his comrades believed he had died after his capture, but he survived his wounds, as well as a long stint in Andersonville Prison, and was released at the end of the war. 

• Andersonville. Nearly 50 of the 15th's soldiers lost their lives at the infamous Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia, and are buried in the national cemetery there.  Most died of "scorbutus" (scurvy) or "chronic diarrhea" caused by the inadequate food and unsanitary conditions there.
  
  
• Lincoln Men. In the fall of 1864 the 15th's soldiers voted 165 to 1 for the re-election of Republican President Abraham Lincoln over his Democratic challenger George B. McClellan.  Lincoln was for continuing the war until the rebellion was crushed; McClellan ran on a platform favoring a negotiated end to the war, even if it meant the permanent breakup of the US.  The 15th turned in the highest percentage of votes for Lincoln of any Wisconsin infantry regiment, cavalry troop, or artillery battery.

• Muster Out. The 15th's companies were mustered out of the Federal Army one by one at Chattanooga, Tennessee, from December, 1864, through February, 1865.  Those 15th soldiers still alive in Confederate prisons were released by April, 1865.  The 15th's recruits (those who had joined after it was initially formed) were transferred to the 24th Wisconsin and then to the 13th Wisconsin before the last of them were mustered out in the summer of 1865.

• Lincoln and His Assassins. After being mustered out, a few of the 15th's soldiers re-enlisted.  Several, including Erick N. Barsness and Johan Jenson, joined the 2nd U.S. Veteran Volunteer Infantry.  It is said President Lincoln waved to the 2nd U.S. as it marched by the White House a few days before his mortally wounding at Ford's Theatre on Good Friday, April 14, 1865.  Private Barsness is said to have served as a guard at the hanging of the 3 men and 1 woman convicted by a military tribunal of conspiring in the assassination.

• Honor Earned. In Quiner's "Military History of Wisconsin" the 15th is described as "one of the bravest and most efficient regiments" that the state sent to the war.  In official Army reports the regiment was cited for its role in the battles of Stone River and Chickamauga.  And many of its officers and enlisted men were cited for bravery in official reports and awarded Brevet rank for their individual heroism.   Perhaps most telling of all was the reputation for stubbornness and coolness under fire that the 15th earned from the Union soldiers who fought alongside it, and the Confederates who fought against it. 

• Heg Honored. In 1883 the "Hans C. Heg" Wisconsin Post No. 114 of the Grand Army of the Republic (the national Union veterans' organization) was established at Waupun in Dodge County, Wisconsin.  The men who started Post No. 114 named it in honor of Col. Heg, even though none of them had served in the 15th.  Active for 50 years, Post 114 ceased to exist when its last member passed away in 1934.  
  
  
• Histories Translated. Two major regimental histories were written about the 15th Wisconsin, both in Norwegian, and both are long out-of-print and hard to find.  As a result the 15th has been little-known outside of the Scandinavian-American community.  However, Ole Buslett's 1895 Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage ["The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers"] was translated into English in 1999.  And Waldemar Ager's 1916 "Oberst Heg og hans gutter" ["Colonel Heg and His Boys"] was published in English in 2001 by the Norwegian American Historical Society. 

For more historical facts about the 15th, read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) files by clicking HERE.

This page Copyright by Scott Cantwell Meeker of Deep Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created January 24, 1999. Last updated March 29, 2005.

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