Born circa 1837
Berge O. Lee was enlisted in Company H of the 15th Wisconsin by Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Ole C. Johnson on October 22, 1861, for a 3 year term of service. The men of Company H called themselves Heg's Rifles after the 15th's first commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg. It was also know as the Voss Company because a large number of its members hailed from the Voss region of Norway. On January 16, 1862, Berge was appointed to the rank of Corporal in Company H. Corporal Lee was mustered into Federal service at that rank on February 13, 1862, at Camp Randall, near the City of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. At the time he was recorded as being 25 years old, not married, and a resident of the Town of Deerfield in Dane County, Wisconsin.
After only a few weeks at Camp Randall learning to be a soldier, Corporal Lee left there in early March, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. From then until February, 1865, 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 though Tennessee and the States of Mississippi and Alabama. I n 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 Lee would also have been present at the October 8, 1862, Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, which is also called the Battle of Chaplin Hills. While this was the first big battle the 15th was in, it emerged without any fatalities. In late December 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, at the end of December, 1862. It is there that the 15th first suffered serious battle casualties, and was cited for bravery. One of those cited was Corporal Lee. The following is from Buslett's 1895 history of the 15th Wisconsin.
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"After the battle General Rosecrans issued an order to the various regiments' commanders to submit to headquarters a list of one sergeant, two corporals and four or five privates in each company (altogether no more than six from each company), who had shown the greatest courage and ability during the battle. These would be entered on the Roll of Honor. |
At the recommendation of Colonel Heg, Corporal Lee was entered into the Roll of Honor for the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 20th Army Corps.
The 15th 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 General Rosecrans' Tullahoma campaign. On July 3, 1863, it camped at Winchester, Tennessee. On August 17, 1863, the 15th left there to participate in General Rosecran's Chickamauga campaign. Corporal Lee 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 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.
Corporal Lee 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 Confederate siege was finally broken by the Union Army's victorious charge up Mission Ridge on November 25, 1863, which Corporal Lee and 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. Corporal Lee served with the 15th all through the campaign, which was marked by almost daily marching and/or combat for 4 months straight. The 15th was involved in the fighting at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, in early May, 1864, at the bloody Battle of Resaca, Georgia, on May 14-15, 1864, and at the disastrous Battle of Pickett's Mill (often called Dallas or New Hope Church), Georgia, on May 27, 1864, where the 15th suffered fearful casualties. The 15th and Corporal Lee also took part in the fighting at Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, on June 23, 1864, before Atlanta on July 22, 1864, at Jonesboro, Georgia, on September 1, 1864, and at Lovejoy Station, Georgia, on September 4, 1864.
After a rest following the capture of Atlanta in early September, 1864, the 15th was briefly assigned to Provost (police) duty in Chattanooga at the start of October, 1864. This was followed by several months duty guarding a railroad bridge at Whitesides, Tennessee, which some of the 15th's soldiers felt was the easiest duty of their war service.
Corporal Lee was mustered out of Federal service along with most of the other surviving members of Company H on February 13, 1865, at Chattanooga, Tennessee, upon the end of his 3 year term of service.
Sources: Civil War Compiled Military Service Records by Office of Adjutant General of the United States (Washington, DC); Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillage [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers] by Ole A. Buslett (Decorah, Iowa, 1895); and Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Volume I Office of the Adjutant General State of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin, 1886).
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