John Wilder
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John Thomas Wilder (1830 - 1917)

Brig. Gen. John Thomas Wilder
Born in Hunter, Greene, New York, United Statesmap
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Husband of — married 3 Sep 1904 in Transylvania, North Carolina, United Statesmap
Died at age 87 in Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, United Statesmap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Madeleine Smith private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 11 Nov 2013
This page has been accessed 434 times.

Contents

Biography

Notables Project
John Wilder is Notable.

John Thomas Wilder was a brevet Brigadier General in the Union army during the Civil War and a post-war industrialist.

Early Life

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]

Military Career

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]

Post War Life

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]

Honors and Memorials

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).

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6352830/john-thomas-wilder: accessed 04 October 2023), memorial page for John Thomas Wilder (31 Jan 1830–20 Oct 1917), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6352830, citing Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 John T. Wilder Papers, Indiana State Library. https://www.in.gov/library/fa_index/fa_by_letter/w/l276.html
  3. John Thomas Wilder, 1839-1917, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=W059
  4. John T Wilder, American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-t-wilder
  5. Indiana Archives and Records Administration. Military, Civil War, Adjutant General, Record for John T Wilder. https://researchindiana.iara.in.gov/DigitalRecords/Detail.html?WORK_FILENAME=NDX00114&WORK_RECORD_ID=204277
  6. 76th Indiana Infantry Regiment, Military Fandom. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/76th_Indiana_Infantry_Regiment
  7. 76th Indiana Infantry ​in the American Civil War, Civil War Index. https://civilwarindex.com/76th-indiana-infantry.html
  8. Chattanooga Was His Town: The Life of General John T. Wilder, By Steven Cox. https://web.archive.org/web/20061106093754/http://www.johnsonsdepot.com/tweetsie/wilder_scox.pdf
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Chattanooga Was His Town: The Life of General John T. Wilder. by Steven Cox. http://www.johnsonsdepot.com/tweetsie/wilder_scox.pdf
  10. General John T. Wilder House, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_John_T._Wilder_House
  11. John T Wilder House, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Wilder_House
  12. State Historical Markers, John T. Wilder, Indiana Historical Bureau, Indiana.gov. https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/civil-war-general-john-t-wilder/
  13. Wilder Brigade Monument Reynolds' Division, Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=99073

See also:

Wikidata: Item Q14625520 help.gif

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Madeleine Smith for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Madeleine and others.





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Rejected matches › Johann Anton Wild (abt.1830-)