Silver Wilder's Lightning Brigade Medal Indiana Army of the Ohio 1861 - 1865

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This silver medal was awarded to members of John T. Wilder's Lightning Brigade. Around the outer rim; "WILDER'S LIGHTNING BRIGADE 1861-65," In the center is a cannon, a rifle and sword and an acorn, the symbol for the 14th Corps. The reverse is essentially blank with a serrated border around the outer rim. The back of the medal was used to display the recipient's name, company and regiment. The medal is 1 1/8" in diameter, the hanger is a red (with some violet) white and blue ribbon with a pin at the top. This medal has a blank reverse; the soldier never had it engraved with his name and regiment. More medals are found with the blank reverse than named. This is quite a scarce medal and is very popular and collectable. This medal probably dates to the 1870’s – 1880’s. John T. Wilder was an brave, energetic and innovative officer as can be seen by the sketch below. With the outbreak of the Civil War, John T. Wilder enlisted as a private in the 1st IndianaBattery in April 1861, and was elected a captain shortly thereafter. Governor Oliver P. Morton appointed him as the lieutenant colonel of the 17th Indiana Infantry Regiment three months later. On March 2, 1862, Wilder became the regiment's colonel. Serving in Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio. He saw his first combat at the Battle of Shiloh. In recognition for his performance and potential, he was assigned command of a brigade of infantry. In the 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky, Gen. Braxton Bragg's army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, in late August. Bragg approached Munfordville, a station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad where Wilder commanded the Union garrison, which consisted of three regiments with extensive fortifications. Wilder refused Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers's demand to surrender on September 14 and his men repulsed Chalmers's attacks that day, forcing the Confederates to conduct siege operations September 15–16. By this time, Wilder's 4,000 men were almost completely surrounded by 22,000 Confederates with 100 artillery pieces. Realizing that Union reinforcements were nearby, and not wanting to kill or injure innocent civilians, the Confederates communicated still another demand for surrender. Wilder personally entered enemy lines blindfolded under a flag of truce, and Maj. Gen. Simon B. Buckner escorted him to view all the Confederate troops and to convince him of the futility of resisting. Impressed, Wilder surrendered his garrison. The formal ceremony occurred on September 17. Wilder spent two months as a prisoner of war before being exchanged. Wilder received wide attention for his performance in the Tullahoma Campaign. By this time his brigade consisted of the 123rd Illinois, 92nd Illinois, 98th Illinois, 72nd Indiana, 17th Indiana and 18th Indiana Light Artillery. Although infantry, Wilder mounted his brigade on horses and mules that his men “appropriated” from the local area, and moved into battle with such rapidity that his men soon became known as the "Lightning Brigade". They were also known as the "Hatchet Brigade" because Wilder issued them long handled hatchets to carry instead of cavalry sabers. His men also carried Spencer repeating rifles, which were capable of a rate of firepower far greater than their Confederate adversaries. Bypassing Army red tape, Wilder asked his men to vote on purchasing the rifles and they agreed unanimously. He obtained a loan from his hometown bank and each man of the brigade co-signed a personal loan of $35 for his rifle. Embarrassed, the government paid for the weapons before the men expended any of their personal money. The Lightning Brigade seized and held Hoover's Gap, defeating repeated attempts to dislodge his force, winning the most significant battle in the Tullahoma Campaign. Wilder was the principal commander of a diversion launched against Chattanooga, Tennessee—artillery bombardments known as the Second Battle of Chattanooga—deceiving the Confederates into thinking the Union army would approach Chattanooga from the north in conjunction with Union forces ... read more

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