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John Wilder Letters- Home |
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The John T. Wilder Letters
MSS 001
Lupton Library Special Collections
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| Wilder circa 1861 |
Wilder circa 1900 |
(Photographs courtesy of Thomas Maher)
Scope and Content:
The John T. Wilder Letters were given to the University in 1960 by General Wilder's daughter, Edith Wilder Scott. They include correspondence of Civil War Union General John T. Wilder, written during and after the Civil War (1862-1899). The correspondence breaks down into three main categories: Military correspondence during the War; To his wife during the war; and Postwar letters and documents.
John T. Wilder Biography
John Thomas Wilder (January 31, 1830-October 20, 1917), soldier and industrialist, was born in Hunter Village, New York to Rueben and Mary Wilder. After his formal school years in Hunter Village, Wilder traveled to Ohio and served as an apprenticed draftsman in a millwright plant in Columbus. Several years later he established an iron mill of his own in Greensburg, Indiana where, in 1858, he married Martha Stewart. They had five daughters and one son. He was engaged in this business until the Civil War broke out in 1861.
On April 21, 1861, Wilder enlisted as a private in the First Independent Battery of Artillery and on the very next day was elected Captain. On June 12, 1861 he was made Lieutenant Colonel of the 17th Indiana Infantry. Shortly thereafter Wilder went to Kentucky where he received the rank of Colonel.
Wilder opposed the Confederate Army in a large number of skirmishes, often winning them, but on September 18, 1862 his forces were captured and briefly held prisoner. He was soon paroled and he formed a new brigade. Wilder was among the first officers to arm his soldiers with Spencer repeating rifles. He also mounted them, mostly on mules, to expedite their transportation from one site to another. His mounted “Lightning Brigade” became nearly invincible. Upon General Rosecrans’ succession as commander of the Union forces, Wilder received the command of Rosecrans’ army in the advance on Chattanooga, Tennessee. Wilder’s Brigade was the only part of the Union army at Chickamauga that was not forced to give way at any time. Because of the brilliant service there Wilder later received the brevet rank of Brigadier-General. During the war, General Wilder participated in 219 battles, in which he was never severely wounded. Wilder resigned his commission due to illness on October 5, 1864.
While campaigning in Tennessee Wilder procured reports on the geology of Tennessee. This, coupled with the land that he had already procured before the war, provided the backbone of Wilder’s soon-to-be very prosperous career in the mining industry. Realizing the mining potential in the area General Wilder and his family moved from Indiana to Chattanooga in 1866. In 1867 the Roane Iron Company was organized in Roane County by Wilder and two associates, Maj. W. A. Rockwood and Capt. H. S. Chamberlain. The surrounding town was named for Major Rockwood. On this site there is a fairly continuous vein of iron ore, coal, and limestone. Soon the Roane Rolling Mill was founded at Chattanooga for manufacturing railroad rails. He and his associates acquired nearly half a million acres of iron and coal lands throughout the South. General Wilder also served as mayor and postmaster of Chattanooga. He also represented Tennessee as commissioner to the World’s Fair in Vienna and was nominated for a seat in congress but lost. After his stint as mayor, Wilder became pension agent at Knoxville for eight years, and served as commissioner of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park. He was a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and an honorary member of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain.
Wilder maintained several homes throughout Tennessee and continued opening mines in the state. On Roan Mountain, in eastern Tennessee, he built the Cloudland Hotel, a large grand hotel that straddled the Tennessee/North Carolina border high up on the mountain. It became popular as a spa and health sanitarium. Always popular with Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, he was involved with the creation of the Chickamauga Military Park and the largest monument at the park, Wilder Tower, was built in his honor.
After the death of his first wife in 1892 Wilder married Miss Dora E. Lee, in 1904. General John T. Wilder died on October 20, 1917 in Florida while on vacation and was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery, in St. Elmo, at the foot of Lookout Mountain.
The Collection:
Civil War Military Correspondence
Letters from Wilder to his Wife
Post War Letters and Documents
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 January 2008 )
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