|
|
History FAQ - Part 315th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
|
Peter Thomas, an ex-slave who was hired as a servant to an officer in Company G
Elected
Coroner of Racine County, Wisconsin, in 1887, the first Black elected to public office in
that county
Image WHi (X3) 21061, State
Historical Society of Wisconsin
Picture shown above has been electronically enhanced by
Deep Vee Productions
This frequently asked questions (FAQ) file provides answers to the commonly
asked questions below. If you believe that one of the answers below is
incorrect, incomplete, or misleading, then please email
Scott Meeker at s.c.meeker@15thwisconsin.net
12. -- Who were some of the Danes in the 15th
Wisconsin?
A. -- The 15th's first Major (the person who was third-in-command
of the regiment) was a 38
year old Dane named Carl M. Reese (Riise) who had served in the Danish Army and
was working as a newspaper reporter in Madison, Wisconsin when the war broke
out. One of the officers who served as the 15th's Adjutant was Lieutenant
Hans
Borchsenius, born at Næstved in 1832.
Company B was commanded for most of the
war by Captain Joseph
Mathiesen, who was born in Copenhagen in 1840 and went through the war
without a scratch. 2nd Lieutenant Niels Johnson of
Company C was born in
Bylderup, Slesvig, Denmark in 1832. 2nd Lieutenant Martin Russell
(Morten Rasmussen Skafte) of
Company I
was born at Stillinge, Halsted Sogn, Lolland. Danes who served in the 15th as
enlisted men included Private
Jens Anderson (Andersen) born at Kundby Sogn in 1839, Sergeant
Lars Hannibal (Hannibalsen) born 1822 at Fuglse, Lolland, and Private
Soren Pederson (Peterson) born near Lestrup, Zeeland, in 1834. Perhaps the most famous Dane in the 15th was its first
spiritual leader, Chaplain Claus Lauritz Clausen, born
at Ærö, Fyen stift in 1820. He was an outspoken opponent of slavery who spent part of his youth in Norway
before coming to America and founding several Norwegian Lutheran churches
in Wisconsin and Iowa.
13. -- Who were some of the Swedes in the 15th
Wisconsin?
A. -- The highest ranked Swedish born officer in the 15th
was Captain Carl Gustafson
who commanded
Company F. Gustafson, who was considered to be the best swordsman
in the regiment, was born at Ulrichshamm, Alvsborgs lan in 1823. He had served
in the Swedish Army and as a volunteer with the US Army during the Mexican War. He was wounded leading his company at Stone('s) River, Tennessee, and captured
at Chickamauga, Georgia, later escaping and returning to the 15th safely. 2nd
Lieutenant Johan P. Stromer, who was said to have been the victim of numerous
pranks at the hands of the Norwegians, served for a time in
Company K.
14. -- Who were some of the other immigrants in
the 15th Wisconsin? A. -- The highest ranked non-Scandinavian was David
McKee who served as the 15th's second Lieutenant Colonel (the number two job in
the regiment). McKee was from Scotland, but married to a Norwegian. He served
as the Captain of Company C in the 2nd Wisconsin before being appointed to the 15th by the
Governor (a double jump in rank). McKee was killed in action at Stone('s) River
(Murfreesboro), Tennessee, December 31, 1862. George Wilson, who
began as a 2nd Lieutenant and later became the 15th's Major (third in command),
was born in 1836 at Hamburg, Germany, of English parents and lived for 9 years
in Norway before coming to America in 1858. He was a 24 year old accountant in
Madison, Wisconsin, when he joined the 15th. Wilson was severely wounded at
Chickamauga, Georgia, but recovered enough to command the regiment for 8 months
while Lieutenant Colonel Johnson was a prisoner. The 15th's second Surgeon,
A. F. St. Sure Lindsfeldt, was a Laplander
and a French Army veteran
of the Crimean War.
15. -- Who were some of the native born
Americans in the 15th Wisconsin?
A. -- Kiler K. Jones served as the
15th's first Lieutenant Colonel (the person who was second-in-command of the regiment). Jones was
from Chicago and married to a Norwegian. Unfortunately, Jones became intensely
disliked by many of the 15th's officers and men and was forced out of the Army
after only a few months.
Company G was led by Captain
John A. Gordon, who had been
born at Orono in the State of Maine.
Company I was led for a time by Captain William Montgomery.
Both men were living in Beloit, Wisconsin,
when the 15th was formed.
16. -- Who were some of the African-Americans
who serve with the 15th Wisconsin?
A. --
Robert "Bob"
Cheatham was one of several African-Americans who enlisted in the 15th. He
joined at Winchester, Tennessee, in August 1863, serving in Company K as an African Undercook.
At enlistment he was 21 years old, had brown eyes, curly hair, a
dark complexion, stood 5 feet 10 inches, and listed his occupation as servant. Since his name is the same as that of a prominent Confederate General, there is
a good chance that this was not his original name. Several African Americans
were associated with, but not enlisted members of, the 15th Wisconsin. Perhaps
the best known was
Peter D. Thomas, an escaped slave who worked as a servant for
1st Lieutenant Charles Nelson of Company G. Thomas subsequently enlisted in the
18th US Colored Infantry. After the war he made his way to Beloit, Wisconsin,
where he attended school. Later Thomas settled in Racine, Wisconsin, where he
became the elected County Coroner.
17. -- Who
were some of the men from Illinois in the 15th Wisconsin?
A. -- Most of the 15th's soldiers who were living in Illinois at the time
they enlisted served in
Company A which was recruited from the Scandinavian
communities in the City of Chicago and in Boone County in northern Illinois. Most of the officers of Company A were from Chicago, including Captain
Andrew Torkildson, 1st Lieutenants Emanuel Engelstad and
Henry Siegel (Henrik
Ziegler), and 2nd Lieutenant Oliver
Thompson (Ole Thorbjørnsen). The 15th's Hospital Steward,
Anthon O. Oyen, who was
captured at Chickamauga and survived a stay in the infamous Andersonville
Prison, was also from Chicago, as was one of the regiment's Commissary
Sergeants, John Gysler. Some of the soldiers in
Company A were from Boone
County, including: Private Ole Anderson who was taken prisoner at Stone('s)
River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee, and Private Henry Ellingsen who was mortally
wounded there; Sergeant Ole
K. Hanson who received the rank of Brevet Captain for gallantry at Pickett's
Mill, Georgia, May 27, 1864, where he was wounded 5 times and taken prisoner,
but survived Andersonville Prison and the war; Privates Thomas
Sampson and Samuel
Sampson who enlisted the same day and died of disease within a week of each
other at Island No. 10, Tennessee; and Private Oliver Stall (Stoll) who survived
his 3 year service to muster out in December 1864 with the rest of Company A.
18. -- Who were some of the men from Iowa in
the 15th Wisconsin?
A. -- Most of the 15th's soldiers who were living in the state of Iowa at
the time they enlisted served in either
Company H or
Company K (with more in the
latter). Those in Company H were from Clermont, Decorah, and Elgin, Iowa. They included, but were not limited to: Private Gulbrand Christianson of
Clermont who was mortally wounded at Atlanta, Georgia, in August 1864; Private
Frants Christopherson of Clermont who was died of disease April 1862 at Island
No. 10, Tennessee; Privates Christian Ellingson of Decorah and
Ole Iverson of
Elgin who were transferred to the Veterans Reserve Corps (V.R.C.) due to
disabilities; Private Ole S. Houghness of Clermont who was captured at Picketts
Mill, Georgia, and died in the infamous Andersonville Prison in January 1865;
and Private Aslak Sivertson of Decorah who survived the war to muster out with
Company H
in February 1865. Those in Company K were from Emmett, Mitchell, North,
Winneshiek, and Worth Counties, Iowa. They included, but were not limited to:
2nd Lieutenant John E. Irgens of St. Ansgar who resigned September 1862; Private
Iver G. Dahl of Worth County who was captured at Chickamauga, Georgia, and died
March 1864 in prison at Richmond, Virginia; Private Sivert Pederson
from Winneshiek County who was promoted to Brevet Captain for gallantry at the
Battle of Stone('s) River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee, on December 31, 1862; and Private Otto F. Steen
of Winneshiek County, the youngest soldier in the 15th, who was captured at
Pickett's Mill, Georgia, and survived Andersonville.
19. -- Who were some of the men from Minnesota
in the 15th Wisconsin?
A. -- The largest number of the men who were living in Minnesota at the
time they joined the 15th served in
Company K. A few also served in
Company E
and in
Company I. Some of the Minnesota men in Company K included: Captain Mons Grinager
of Freeborn County who was wounded at Stone('s) River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee,
but survived to muster out with Company K in December 1864; Private Helge
Erickson of Fillmore County who died of disease at Jackson, Tennessee, September
26, 1862; Sergeant Jens
Jacobson (Jakobson) from Freeborn County who was captured at Chickamauga,
Georgia, and died of disease as a prisoner of war at Richmond, Virginia, on
February 16, 1864; and Private
Johannes Martinson of Mower County who was killed
at Stone('s) River, on December 30, 1862. Some of the Minnesota men in Company E
included: Private Ole Erickson of Arendahl who died of disease at Nashville,
Tennessee, on Valentine's Day 1864; Private Syvert K. Foss of St. Peters who was
discharged from the Army for physical disabilities on July 15, 1863; and Private
August Moller from Rushford who survived to muster out with Company E in
December 1864. Some of the Minnesota men in Company I were: Private Iver
Olson of Albert Lea who was wounded at Bald Knob, Tennessee, dying of his wounds
at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in September 1864; and Private Ole H. Ruste of
Mitchell County who, when Company E mustered out in February 1865,
transferred to the 24th Wisconsin to complete his 3 year term of service.
This page Copyright by
Scott Cantwell Meeker of Deep
Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created January 24, 1999. Last updated December
18, 2003.