15th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment

The 15th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, more popularly known as the "Norwegian Regiment" or the "Scandinavian Regiment", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.[1][2]

15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment
Flag of Wisconsin
Active	February 14, 1862–February 13, 1865
Country	USA
Allegiance	Federal
Branch	Union Army
Type	Regiment
Role	Infantry
Garrison/HQ	Camp Randall (Madison, Wisconsin)
Nickname(s)	Scandinavian Regiment
Motto(s)	"För Gud og Vårt Land!" ("For God and Our Country!")
Engagements	American Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Hans Christian Heg Jurgen Wilson Ole Johnson

Service

The 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment was originally formed by Col. Hans Christian Heg at Camp Randall, near Madison, Wisconsin. The majority of its members were Norwegian[3] immigrants with the rest being mainly Swedish and Danish immigrants. The regiment was organized at Madison, Wisconsin, and mustered into federal service January 31, 1862. The regiment was mustered out of service by company between December 1, 1864, and February 13, 1865.[4]

Major campaigns

The 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment was a participant in a number of major battles conducted by the Union Army during the Civil War.[5]

• The Battle of Island Number Ten
• The Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862)
• The Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862 - January 2, 1863)
• The Tullahoma Campaign (June 24 - July 3, 1863)
• Battle of Chickamauga (September 19 – 20, 1863)
• Battle of Resaca (May 13–15, 1864)
• The Battle of Peachtree Creek (July 20, 1864)
• Battle of Atlanta (July 22 - August 25. 1864)
• Battle of Jonesborough (August 31 – September 1, 1864)

Casualties

The 15th Wisconsin suffered eight officers and 86 enlisted men who were killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another one officer and 241 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 336 fatalities.[4] Colonel Hans Christian Heg was killed in action in the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863.

See also

• List of Wisconsin Civil War units
• Wisconsin in the American Civil War
• Hans Mattson
• Charles J. Stolbrand
• Oscar Malmborg
• Ernst von Vegesack

References

1. 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (Wisconsin Trails) Accessed 2009-05-17. Archived 2009-05-18.
2. http://www.hhogman.se/the-american-civil-war.htm
3. https://dailyhistory.org/Why_Did_Scandinavians_Volunteer_for_the_Union_Army_during_the_Civil_War%3F
4. Union Regimental Index, Wisconsin(The Civil War Archive)
5. Norsemen weren’t afraid to fight at Stones River (by: By Mike West, Managing Editor. Murfreesboro Post. June 8, 2008) Accessed 2009-05-17. Archived 2009-05-18.

Other sources

• Buslett, Ole Amundsen Det Femtende Regiment Wisconsin Frivillige (Decorah, Iowa, 1894) Norwegian
• Estabrook, Charles E, ed. Records and sketches of military organizations: population, legislation, election and other statistics relating to Wisconsin in the period of the Civil War (Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 1914)
• Current, Richard Nelson The History of Wisconsin, The Civil War Era, 1848-1873 (Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 1976)

Further reading

• Ager, Waldemar Colonel Heg and His Boys: A Norwegian Regiment in the American Civil War (Northfield, Minnesota: The Norwegian-American Historical Association. 2000) English translation by Della Kittleson Catuna and Clarence A. Clausen

External links

• Camp of the 15th Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry