15th Wisconsin, Memories of Stone River, Tennessee

"The boys -- including myself -- have had a jolly Christmas Eve. It does not seem to make much difference, even if there is a prospect of fighting soon. The men are in good spirits..."

--Colonel Hans C. Heg of Field & Staff
December 24, 1862, letter from near Nashville, Tennessee

"We left our camp near Nashville on the second day of Christmas to drive the Rebels from Murfreesboro. We marched a long distance through rain and mud that reached almost to our knees. In the evening we met in combat and had a sharp set-to. We took a cannon and 5 Rebel prisoner."

--Private Lars O. Dokken of Company H
January 10, 1863, letter to his parents
about the fight at Knob Gap, Tennessee

"The infantry, of which our Brigade was in the front, was ordered to advance, which we did, under a storm of fire from their cannon. Our regiment and the 21st Illinois were, however, somewhat in the shelter of a wooded ridge until we came near their battery and then we charged on the double quick and we took one cannon from them...We and the 21st Illinois had none either killed or wounded."

--Corporal Rollin Olson of Company E
December 28, 1862, letter
anbout the fight at Knob Gap, Tennessee

"During the period December 26, 1862, to January 4, 1863, we were under fire lying with rifle in hand and often eating simple rations. Storms and bad weather prevailed the entire time. We participated in the Battle of Knob Gap by Notensville and later at Murfreesboro [Stone River]. We were lucky at Knob Gap, for we did not have any casualties, but Murfreesboro was a different story. There the enemy stormed toward us by the thousands and showered us with bullets like we were in a hailstorm. It was a miracle of God that we all were not shot down or taken prisoner."

--Sergeant Thor P. Sloan of Company E
letter dated January 12, 1863

"We have fought a terrible Battle, and lost a great many men. My noble Regiment is badly cut up...There is no use denying the fact that we were badly whipped the first day -- for the same reason as usual -- an infernal fool of a General allowing himself to be surprised...The Rebels had it all their own way till about 12 o'clock when old Rosy [General Rosecrans] met them himself -- and routed then terribly. There has been two or three severe Battles since Wednesday in which the rebels have been badly whipped. We have not got Murfreesborro yet, but they will be beaten out of there before many days. Thousands have been killed and wounded on both sides."

--Colonel Hans C. Heg of Field & Staff
January 4, 1863, letter from the Stone River battlefield

"I was left behind on the battlefield. The Rebels came around me on all sides. One cursed, and said, "Here lies a damn Yankee." I lay still, but first they stole my blanket, my canteen, and a red-leather wallet that held all my letters from you. They also took a little case that contained needles and thread and other little things. They also stole my Double Explanation and that I miss the most. I thought surely I would be taken prisoner, but two days later our troops drove the enemy back many miles and our men returned, which made me very happy. How many men our regiment lost I do not know. There were many killed and wounded. Our Lieutenant Colonel [David McKee] was killed. As for my wounds, they are painful but bearable, and I hope that, with God's help, they will heal soon."

--Private Lars O. Dokken of Company H
January 10, 1863, letter to his parents
about being shot in the thighs on December 31, 1862, at Stone River

"Poor [Lieutenant Colonel] McKee, I believe he expected to be killed. He was very gloomy the day before, and in the morning before the fight began, he asked his hostler to take his horse -- and wanted him to take his watch, and also gave Dr. Himoe most of his money. I did not see him fall, but he was not more than two or three Hundred feet from me. The smoke, and noise was so heavy, that little could be seen or heard...When we found him he was stripped of all his clothing except his drawers and shirt."

--Colonel Hans C. Heg of Field & Staff
January 6, 1863, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
about the Battle of Stone River

"On 31 December 1862 we were attacked before daybreak, and the right flank withdrew. I was wounded in the right hip when the regiment and the 25th Illinois and 101st Ohio fell back over a large cotton field, and I was left behind between our lines and the Rebels', exposed to bullets and shells from both sides; I was expecting a bullet with tidings of death, 'double quick,' to end both my suffering and my life. I couldn't see any escape from the fire, since the loss of blood had made it impossible for me to move. After awhile I recovered enough so that I could stand up, and I hopped between the lines on one leg towards our line. As soon as some of them saw me, they came to my aid. I fainted and was put into an ambulance with other wounded men, driven back about a mile, and laid on the ground. Soon the order came that the wounded had to be removed from there since our right side had been flanked and was falling back. I heard the order and hopped on one leg towards a wagon, but when I got close I fainted again. This was around 10 o'clock in the morning, and from now until after dark I lay as if I were dead. I was then moved three or four miles and put in a hay barn. I came to again when a man stepped on my chest as he walked over me in the dark. I felt then that my right leg and side had been frozen solid with the blood in my clothes and the rain; it had rained and snowed the whole night and I was lying next to the door, so it poured in on me. One man from the 25th Illinois, who knew me, heard my groans and came and rolled me in a wool blanket, dragged me into a corner, and left me there with my pain. I cannot describe that night. In the meantime I gradually thawed out, and when daylight came we wounded were taken to a building called White House Hospital on the Nashville and Murfreesboro Pike. On the third day we got some hard-tack, which tasted good after the three-day fast without anything to eat and drink; but my digestive organs were so weak that for several days I couldn't keep any of my food down. I must stop here. God knows if I will survive; I am not living, but existing. Farewell!"

--Sergeant Nils J. Gilbert of Company F
January 23, 1863, letter
about his wounding in the Battle of Stone River

"We were in this area approximately 5 nights without fire and very little sleep. We did not have tents and it rained most of the time. Because of the mass of troops moving in all directions, the dirt becomes trod very much and there was mud almost over the entire battle field which covered 6 or 8 square miles."

--Corporal Rollin Olson of Company E
January 12, 1863, letter to his wife
about the Battle of Stone River

"During our hard suffering from frost and hunger, I often had opportunities to feel thankful to my men -- as they would come to me and enquire about how I got along and divide a cracker, or a cup of coffee, when I was willing to take it. Many of them came to me with tears in their eyes, as they shook hands with me. It is well worth the suffering I have had to go through, when I remember how bravely and how faithfully these men stood by me -- and how well they have sustained our reput[at]ion for coolness and bravery in Battle."

--Colonel Hans C. Heg of Field & Staff
January 6, 1863, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
about the Battle of Stone River

"We have now been in several battles and in them, more or less of what a soldier carries with him gets thrown away. I and 3 others in the Company hung on to our knapsacks, the others threw them away and I came very near to throwing my knapsack. On the battle field lay all such things strewn in all directions and are trod under foot and ruined. A soldier who has had some war experience has with him very little more than he has on his body."

--Corporal Rollin Olson of Company E
January, 1863, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
about the aftermath of the Battle of Stone River

"My Regiment is very small now. I have only a little over 200 men left, but I think perhaps I may get my two companies from Island No. 10 now that the Island is being evacuated. The whole country from here to Nashville is completly ruined. Every house is burned and not a fence rail to be seen. What has become of the poor wemen and children I do not know...It makes a man pretty hard hearted to be a soldier long. I have almost got so I feel indifferent as to how rebels suffer, although many of them no doubt have been forced and fooled into this war."

--Colonel Hans C. Heg of Field & Staff
January 8, 1863, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
about the aftermath of the Battle of Stone River

"...Murfreesboro is deserted of its inhabitants, every house being either a hospital or a soldiers' barracks. I have been in town several times since its occupation and have seen only one woman and child in it. This is a terrible reality to the southern people at least, and it is impossible to give you the faintest idea of the horrors it inflicts upon them...Our loss in killed, in wounded and missing foots up to 119, being more than one-third of the number that went into the fight...The Fifteenth regiment, while suffering thus severely, has earned a reputation for patriotism and bravery of the highest order, and it is a glorious honor to belong to it..."

--Surgeon Stephen O. Himoe of Field & Staff
January 9, 1863, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
about the aftermath of the Battle of Stone River

"There are hardly any soldiers in the service who in their heart dont [sic] wish the war to cease soon so we can go home, and there are some men, young or old, at home who say that soldiers have good pay, etc. Then I wish they could serve Uncle Sam for 6 months. Not in Wisconsin, to serve there is nothing compared to service in the South. No man who has not personally participated in what we have endured could begin to write a description in a letter. It would be practically impossible."

--Corporal Rollin Olson of Company E
January 28, 1863, letter from Murfreesboro, Tennessee

"I can see no daylight in any other direction than a suppression of the rebels by us. It is nothing else than simply this. Death and destruction to us, and our government, or their subjugation. The latter must be accomplished, no matter what the sacrifice may be -- life, property, or anything else."

--Colonel Hans C. Heg of Field & Staff
February 15, 1863, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee

"On the 31st [of January] our Division (Jeff C. Davis commanding) started on an expedition to cut off the retreat of the Rebel Cavalry that was operating near the Cumberland river north of Nashville. We had very hard marching for the roads were very muddy and the first day it rained considerable. After three days of hard marching we reached Franklin...it is about 30 mi. from this place, but by the way we went it was over forty. During the first part of our stay in Franklin it was very cold and we found it not pleasant to sleep in small shelter tents as they afford but imperfect shelter but it lasted only a few day. After staying away there eight day we returned by the same way as we came in two days hard march. Although the Rebels were not cut off we took many prisoners."

1st Lieutenant Andrew A. Brown, of Company H
February 17, 1863, letter to his Mother from Murfreesboro
about the expedition to Franklin, Tennessee

"I am happy to inform you that I am beginning to feel a little better, as my wounds seem to be healing a little, so I hope, with God's help, I will soon be well again...Regarding my wounds, the bullet went in the left side and the bone was shattered somewhat on the right, but not enough to do permanent harm...The food here in the hospital is mostly meat and potatoes, sometimes applesause, coffee, or tea. The bread is so dry I can hardly chew it. How I wish I were at home with you! It is hard to say if they will let me go home when I do get well again. It is my wish that, with God's help, I shall be able to see my home once more. There is no one here in the hospital that I know, only Yankees and Irish."

--Private Lars O. Dokken of Company H
final letter home before his death from infection
on April 1, 1863, at Nashville, Tennessee

"Dear Parents, I know it will distress you to hear that I am not getting better, but we must put our faith in the Lord. He will do what is best, and if it is not the Lord's will that I see you again in this world, then I hope that we shall all be together again in Heaven..."

Private Torger Torgerson of Company F
March 31, 1863, final letter home before his death
due to wound received at Stone River and chronic diarrhea

"[General] Rosecrans gave our regiment more praise than any other when he held a review of Davis' Division. He said that he honored them because they were soldiers through and through, and not just half, like many other regiments."

--Sergeant Iver Torkelson of Company H
April 16, 1862, letter from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee

"I wish this war would soon end so that I could return and see my folks. Still, I am unwilling to see it end in any other way than by an entire submission on the part of the South. I hate and detest the Cooper heads [Confederate sympathizers] and peace makers of the North. The only true way of making peace is to make vigorous war on the rebels first. And then when they have got tired and are willing to return to the Union and behave themselves then we will receive them as a brother that was lost but is found again."

1st Lieutenant Andrew A. Brown, of Company H
May 4, 1863, letter to his Mother from near Murfreesboro, Tennessee

"The army of the Cumberland though apparently inactive is by no means idle. We are preparing for comming events. We are in good health - high spirits - and, as the saying goes, spoiling for a fight."

1st Lieutenant Andrew A. Brown, of Company H
May 13, 1863, letter to his Brother from near Murfreesboro

Stone River Memories

15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
The Scandinavian Regiment

Stone River Memories

15th Wisconsin Volunteer InfantryThe Scandinavian Regiment

15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
The Scandinavian Regiment