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Civil War General John T. Wilder
Location:
North side of 446 E. Main Street/SR 46 at Poplar Street, Greensburg. (Decatur County, Indiana)
Installed by:
2001 Indiana Historical Bureau and Wal-Mart
Marker ID #:
16.2001.1
Marker Text:
Side One
Wilder (1830-1917), resident of Greensburg circa 1858-1869, built this home 1865-1866. He was millwright and inventor; provided major employment in the area. Enlisted in Civil War; appointed lieutenant colonel of Seventeenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry 1861 by Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton.
Side two:
In 1863, Wilder commanded a brigade which included mounted infantry equipped with new Spencer repeating rifles. Use of rifles helped troops defeat Confederates at Hoover's Gap; earned them nickname Wilder's Lightning Brigade. Wilder was breveted Brigadier General 1864, after Chickamauga
Brief History by the Author
John T. Wilder, the son of Reuben and Mary (Merritt) Wilder John T. could claim descent from heroes. His grandfather and great-grandfather saw action in the Revolutionary War. His father fought in the War of 1812. When the Civil War erupted, John T. Wilder would join their ranks.
General John T. Wilder (January 31, 1830 - October 20, 1917)
From his home in the Catskill Mountains near Hunter, New York, John T. Wilder left his home at nineteen for Ohio. In Ohio, he would find his career. He worked as a draftsman and then he became apprenticed to a millwright. From Ohio, he migrated to Indiana in 1858 to live in the town of Greensburg. In Greensburg, he established a foundry, which became quite successful. While living in Greensburg he invented and patented many different machines. He sold his machinery all over Indiana and in neighboring states.
The War Breaks Out
Wilder enlisted, receiving the rank of private. The men of his company, Company A, 17th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, elected him captain. Governor Oliver P. Morton commissioned him as a lieutenant colonel and by spring of 1862, the company found itself at the Battle of Shiloh. His performance at that battle earned him a promotion to full Colonel and command of the 17th Indiana.
Extensive Duty in the War
Wilder and his 17th saw extensive action during the war. Two incidents stand out. At Munfordville, Tennessee Wilder commanded three regiments totaling about 4000 men behind extensive fortifications. Confederate General Braxton Bragg advanced towards him with approximately 22,000 soldiers. Bragg surrounded Wilder and then demanded surrender. Wilder demanded to see the Confederate positions. Rebel soldiers led a blindfolded Wilder behind their lines and removed the blindfold to show Wilder their overwhelming superiority.
Wilder, after considering his situation, said, "“Well, it seems to me that I ought to surrender.”
He did so and the Confederates held him prisoner for two months. They exchanged him for some Confederate prisoners and he resumed duty.
Mounted Soldiers and Repeating Rifles
Upon his return to duty, he received command of the First Brigade of the Army of the Cumberland. This brigade included his old unit, the 17th Indiana. During this time, an idea to mount his brigade inspired him to experiment. A first trial using mules from the wagon trains failed. His superior officer, Major General William S. Rosecrans, supported the idea and gave him leave to forage the countryside for horses. The Army was in rebel country, so they just commandeered whatever horses they found. The muskets in use at the time proved too clumsy for mounted soldiers, so Wilder searched for alternatives. He found it in the Spencer repeating rifle. Wanting this rifle, which held seven rounds of rim fire .56-caliber metallic cartridges, he requested his men vote on purchasing them. To avoid army red tape, which could take months and result in a denial, the men voted in approval. Wilder appealed to the banks in Greensburg, and they responded by lending out the thirty-five dollars needed by each weapon to purchase the weapons. Using these weapons, his brigade helped avert total Union disaster at Chickamauga and successfully held Hoover’s Gap against a devastating rebel assault.
Sickness and Resignation
Wilder had contracted typhoid fever in 1862 and suffered bouts of severe dysentery. Exhausted by his ill health, he resigned his commission in late 1864. He retired to Greensburg where he lived until 1869. He eventually left the area and went south, eventually serving as mayor of Chattanooga in 1871. President William McKinley appointed him commissioner of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. He died in Jacksonville, Florida at eighty-seven years old and was interred in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Excerpted from the Author's book:
Exploring Indiana's Historic Sites, Markers & Museums - South East Edition
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