| The battle of Chickamauga took place in Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, on September 19-20, 1863. This was a critical battle which determined the control of the railroad within Chattanooga, and hence a large portion of the South. General William S. Rosencrans' Army of Cumberland fought 60,000 strong against General Branton Bragg's 43,000 Confederates. General James Longstreet of the Confederacy and General George Thomas also played decisive roles in this battle, especially on the second day. General George Thomas made the most famous move of this battle when, after the collapse of General Rosencrans' right line, Thomas was able to withstand the subsequent attack of Longstreet's Confederate army. This action gave Thomas the nickname of "Rock of Chickamauga," but did not win him the battle. The Confederate army won the Battle of Chickamauga and prevented the Union seizing control of the Chattanooga railroads. Wisconsin regiments that participated in this battle included the 1st, 10th, 15th, 21st, and 24th Infantry, the 8th and 3rd Battery Light Artillery, and the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry. Colonel Hans Christian Heg of the 15th Wisconsin Infantry was mortally wounded at Chickamauga on 19 September 1863 and died the next day. A statue of Heg by Norwegian-American sculptor Paul Fjelde was erected in 1926 - and still stands - at the King Street approach (northeast corner) to the state capitol in Madison.
Emma Gilbert, cousin of the donor, wrote: "My father Lieutenant Nels I. Gilbert and the father of the donor (Ole Christensen) were also members of this same 15th Wisconsin Regiment, an all Norwegian Regiment. My Father gave a print of this battle to his nephew E.T. Christensen of Minneapolis and his brother-in-law made this oil painting from it. The artist, Alfred Thorsen, a veteran of World War I, painted the picture about last year 1925, while a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Later he moved to Hollywood, California, where he made church window designing his life's work. He died there in the Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles and was buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Original painting is in the collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Museum, acquisition 1950.7642.
Also see: "Charge of the 15th Wisconsin at Chickamauga," the lithograph created prior to the painting. Image ID: 70325 |
