George Wilson (a.k.a. Georg Wilson and Jurgen Wilson; December 18, 1836 – April 20, 1897) was a German-born

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, serving with the Scandinavian Regiment.

Early life

Born to an English father and German mother in

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Wilson lived in Kristiania, Norway (now

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

), for a time before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1858. Having settled in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, Wilson worked as a store clerk for a year before traveling to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in December 1859, where he became a sailor. He lived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for a time, before returning to Madison at the start of the Civil War in 1861, enlisting in the Scandinavian Regiment.

Military career

As a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in Company B, Wilson first saw action at the Union raid on

Union City, Tennessee Union City is located in Obion County, Tennessee, United States. The 2020 census reported the population of the town as 11,170. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion County and Fulton Count ...

, and, in May 1862, was made a full

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

following the campaigns of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. In command of Company H during the

Battle of Chaplin Hills The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the ...

, Wilson was later wounded at the Battle of Murfreesboro. Promoted to the rank of

Major (United States) In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, major is a field-grade military officer rank above the rank of captain and below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of lieutena ...

soon after returning to duty, Wilson was severely wounded, shot three times during the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

. After recuperating in Wisconsin (during which time he married Mary Madson, 1843–1903), Wilson returned in November 1863 as acting commanding officer of the Scandinavian Regiment during the

Battle of Rocky Face Ridge The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge was fought May 7–13, 1864, in Whitfield County, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union army was led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and the Confederate army by Gen. J ...

, Resaca and

Pickett's Mill The Battle of Pickett's Mill (May 27, 1864) was fought in Paulding County, Georgia, between Union forces under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate forces led by General Joseph E. Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign in the ...

(during which the regiment suffered particularly heavy casualties) before turning command over to Col.

Ole Johnson Ole Johnson (February 23, 1838 - November 4, 1886) was a Norwegian-American soldier in the American Civil War who served with the Scandinavian Regiment. Background Ole Johnson was born on the Skipnes Farm, (''Skibsnes''), near Nordsjø, in Helg ...

in July 1864. Wilson remained with the regiment, serving in an additional 26 military engagements, until the war's end in 1865.

Later years

Becoming a successful businessman in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, following the war, Wilson began a bank and steamship business under Wilson & Jurgens, as well as a partnership in a meat salting company. In 1874, during a family vacation in Europe, Wilson rescued a drowning woman after she fell overboard from a steamship off the coast of Norway. Wilson's business failed, and he was forced to sell his shares in 1878. He later worked as a traveling salesman for a wholesale clothing firm in Chicago. He moved to

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

, in 1882 and, three years later, he was one of several of veterans commissioned by Wisconsin Gov. Rusk to write on the history of Wisconsin's Civil War regiments. Wilson died in Madison, Wisconsin in 1897.

References

External links

George (Georg) Wilson, Jurgen Wilson, Major on the Field & Staff, 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, The Scandinavian Regiment
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, George 1836 births 1897 deaths German emigrants to the United States German people of English descent Union Army officers United States Army officers People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War People from Grand Forks, North Dakota People from La Crosse County, Wisconsin People from Madison, Wisconsin

Early life

Military career

Later years

See also

References

External links