WILDER’S ARTILLERY POSITION

CHICKAMAUGA CAMPAIGN HERITAGE TRAIL

The summer of 1863 had been a bad artillery shells began crashing down from the 21st of August." one for the Confederate cause. Severe Stringers Ridge, directly across the defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, Tennessee River. Wilder then described the shelling of together with the forced retreat of the Chattanooga. "We put four guns of Lilly's Army of Tennessee from Tullahoma Colonel John T. Wilder with his battery (Eighteenth Indiana) on the ridge mounted infantry brigade had been sent on the north side of the river as Major J. A. north of Chattanooga to create a diversion, Connoly, One HundreHundredd and Twenty-third while the Federal Army of the IllIllinois,inois, with four companies dashed Cumberland crossed the Tennessee well to forward to the river's edge to capture a the south. "We marched up Sequachee ferry boat that was bringibringingng a lot of battery valley ten miles" Wilder wrote "and found horses across to pastpastureure them. A battery Hazen's brigade. Passing them we pushed from the opposite shore opened upon us, on over Walden's Ridge to Poe's Tavern at to which we immediateimmediatelyly replied, and the east foot of the mountain, where we some of our shells passpassinging over the captured the picket post from Bragg's parapeparapett of their battery caused army, and marched two miles down to the consconsternationternation to the congregation North Chickamauga river … At dawn we assembled in the PresbyterPresbyterianian church a started for Chattanooga, twelve miles mile away, where a servicservicee was being held away, and reached the river at 9 o'clock on in favor of the ConConfederacyfederacy by the order of their president, [Jefferson] Davis. Two steamboats lying at the Chattanooga CAPTAIN ELI LILLY (ON THE RIGHT) wharf began to fire up to enable them to and scouts, if any were out, had given no escape. Two guns were trained on them warning of the Yankee approach. Some COLONEL JOHN T. WILDER and both were quickly sunk, and a women and children were killed and wounded by the not unusual act of atrocity prompted President Jefferson Davis to pontoon bridge swinging from the foot of of our savage foe.” declare August 21 to be a day for fasting the island was also destroyed. The and prayers for the Confederacy. steamers, Paint Rock, a large stern- Wilder, like several other officers in the Throughout the camps, chaplains and wheeler and the Dunbar, a side-wheel Army of The Cumberland remained in the some religious minded officers conducted boat, were the boats we sunk.” local area after the war. It is ironic that special services for the men. Officers and seven years after he shelled the city, civilians attended the Sunday morning “On fast day (August), while religious Wilder was elected mayor of Chattanooga. church services in Chattanooga, services were being held in Chattanooga,” petitioning the Almighty “who rules in the General Daniel H. Hill wrote, “the Yankees appeared on the opposite side of armies of heaven and among the Please visit our website at: the river and commenced shelling the inhabitants of the earth.” Suddenly, http://www.ChickamaugaCampaign.org town without giving notice. Our pickets