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John Thomas Wilder was a brevet Brigadier General in the Union army during the Civil War and a post-war industrialist.
John Thomas Wilder was born on January 31, 1830, in the Catskill Mountains, at Hunter, New York. Wilder was the son of Reuben and Mary (Merritt) Wilder. [1]
In 1848, Wilder moved to Columbus, Ohio and was an apprentice draftsman at a millwright plant. In the late 1950s, he moved to Greensburg, Indiana. In 1857, Wilder established a mill and a foundry. [2] In 1859, Wilder patented an improved waterwheel. [3] By 1860, Wilder had become an inventor and an expert in the field of hydraulics. [4]
John T Wilder enlisted into the 17th Regiment, Indiana Infantry. Wilder was detailed from the 17th to the 76th Indiana Infantry as its Lieutenant Colonel. [5] The 76th paroled southern Indiana and the Ohio River for 30 days after the attack on Newburgh, Indiana. [6] [7]
Forces under Wilder's command dislodged Confederate forces and opened Hanover's Gap in the Cumberland Mountains. Wilder equipped his mounted brigade with Spencer repeating rifles. Earning them the nickname Wilder's Lightning Brigade. Wilder's forces fought with such distinction at Chickamauga, that Wilder was recommended for promotion to brevet Brigadier General and on August 6, 1864, Wilder was promoted to brevet Brigadier General. On October 5, 1864, Wilder resigned. [2][8]
After the War, Wilder moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Wilder became a leading industrialist of the South. In 1867, Wilder established the Roane Iron Works. In 1870, Wilder established a rail mill. [2] In 1871, Wilder was elected mayor of Chattanooga, but served only about a year. In 1876, Wilder ran unsuccessfully for Congress. In 1877, Wilder was appointed Chattanooga Postmaster. In 1886, Wilder was on the initial Board of Trustees for the University of Chattanooga (now University of Tennessee of Chattanooga). Wilder became Vice President of the Charleston, Cincinnati, and Chicago Railroad. In 1892, Wilder established e Carnegie Iron Company in Johnson City. In 1897, President McKinley appointed Wilder Pension Agent for Knoxville. [9](Pages 11-20).
Wilder was a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society of the Army of the Cumberland, the National Geographic Society, the Loyal Legion, and the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain.
His first wife, [Stewart-9407[|Martha Jane (Stewart) Wilder]] died in 1892. In 1904, Wilder married his 26-year-old nurse, Dora Ethel (Lee) (Wilder) Smith
John T Wilder died on October 20, 1917, while on vacation in Jacksonville, Florida. He was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee. [1]
Two of John T Wilder's homes are on the National Register of Historic Places, the General John T Wilder House in Knoxville [10] and the John T Wilder House in Roan Mountain, Tennessee. [11] His house in Greensburg, Indiana is commemorated with a historic marker. [12]
The Wilder Brigade Monument is near Fort Oglethorpe in Walker County, Georgia. [13] Camp Wilder, near Knoxville, was named in his honor. [9] (Page 20). Wilder's Point at Signal Mountain near Chattanooga was so named because Wilder had set up his signal corps there during the War. [9] (Page 22).
See also:
Wikidata: Item Q14625520
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Categories: 17th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, United States Civil War | Lightning Brigade (Wilder's), United States Civil War | 76th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (30 days, 1862), United States Civil War | Union Army Generals, United States Civil War | Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee | Notables