Great men.Today some tennessee flavor. We'll start with battle of hoover's gap. One think that is significant , this is first battle where repeating rifle was used.. this brings me to our subject john t wilder. He actually purchased the rifles with money he borrowed with a promise from his mounted infantry to pay him back.The governament later paid them back.
Later at battle of Chickamauga he is credited with saving the day.protecting a mistake by his commanding officer.there is a tower erected in his honor on the battlefield. I have visited several times.
he was also a prisoner of war. Served the union well.
Why I bring him up. His after war activities are fascinating to me. .a union general retires after the war and decides to stay in the south. A union general with this much success is amazing to me. I'm pasting his story from wiki. He was beloved by many in Chattanooga. It's a pretty accurate according. Also lived in Knoxville.
"After the war, Wilder settled in Rockwood, Tennessee, and later in Chattanooga. In 1867, he founded an ironworks in the Chattanooga region, then built and operated the first twoblast furnaces in the South at Rockwood, Tennessee. In 1870, he established a company in Chattanooga to manufacture rails for the railroads. From 1884 to 1892, he helped promote and construct the Charleston, Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad while living inJohnson City, Tennessee. While in Johnson City, he developed the booming industrial suburb of Carnegie, named in honor of fellow industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, and a host of iron making and railroad-related manufacturing facilities. Iron ore was brought to Johnson City via the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, and Wilder constructed a popular 166-room hotel near Johnson City named the Cloudland Hotel near the summit of Roan Mountain to serve tourists via this scenic narrow gauge railwayline.
Wilder entered politics and was elected mayorof Chattanooga in 1871. He resigned a year later to pursue his business interests. He unsuccessfully ran for the United States Congress in 1876. In 1877, he accepted the position of city postmaster, serving until 1882.
He moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1897 after receiving an appointment from PresidentWilliam McKinley as a Federal pension agent, then was commissioner of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.
He died in Jacksonville, Florida, aged 87, while on his annual winter vacation with his second wife, Dora Lee, and was returned for burial in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga with his first wife, Martha Jane Stewart.
Two of Wilder's homes in Tennessee, theGeneral John T. Wilder House in Knoxville and the John T. Wilder House in Roan Mountain, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another that he built in Greensburg, Indiana is commemorated by a historic marker"
Talking about a man for all seasons. I present general john t wilder
Later at battle of Chickamauga he is credited with saving the day.protecting a mistake by his commanding officer.there is a tower erected in his honor on the battlefield. I have visited several times.
he was also a prisoner of war. Served the union well.
Why I bring him up. His after war activities are fascinating to me. .a union general retires after the war and decides to stay in the south. A union general with this much success is amazing to me. I'm pasting his story from wiki. He was beloved by many in Chattanooga. It's a pretty accurate according. Also lived in Knoxville.
"After the war, Wilder settled in Rockwood, Tennessee, and later in Chattanooga. In 1867, he founded an ironworks in the Chattanooga region, then built and operated the first twoblast furnaces in the South at Rockwood, Tennessee. In 1870, he established a company in Chattanooga to manufacture rails for the railroads. From 1884 to 1892, he helped promote and construct the Charleston, Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad while living inJohnson City, Tennessee. While in Johnson City, he developed the booming industrial suburb of Carnegie, named in honor of fellow industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, and a host of iron making and railroad-related manufacturing facilities. Iron ore was brought to Johnson City via the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, and Wilder constructed a popular 166-room hotel near Johnson City named the Cloudland Hotel near the summit of Roan Mountain to serve tourists via this scenic narrow gauge railwayline.
Wilder entered politics and was elected mayorof Chattanooga in 1871. He resigned a year later to pursue his business interests. He unsuccessfully ran for the United States Congress in 1876. In 1877, he accepted the position of city postmaster, serving until 1882.
He moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1897 after receiving an appointment from PresidentWilliam McKinley as a Federal pension agent, then was commissioner of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.
He died in Jacksonville, Florida, aged 87, while on his annual winter vacation with his second wife, Dora Lee, and was returned for burial in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga with his first wife, Martha Jane Stewart.
Two of Wilder's homes in Tennessee, theGeneral John T. Wilder House in Knoxville and the John T. Wilder House in Roan Mountain, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another that he built in Greensburg, Indiana is commemorated by a historic marker"
Talking about a man for all seasons. I present general john t wilder
