Heg mortuary site

I've always been interested in Hans Heg.  I've posted about him previously.  I don't have any Norwegian ancestry, as far as I know, but my family is from Wisconsin so I've always had a soft spot for Heg and his 15th Wisconsin.  Part of me has also wondered how they would have fared at Shiloh.  The other Wisconsin regiments there were the 14th, 16th and 18th so the 15th was raised at the right time, but for a variety of circumstances was not there.  From what I know Heg was a good colonel, and Chickamauga was his first test commanding a brigade, would have liked to see how he would have turned out there as well.

Hans Christian Heg

Hans Christian Heg commanded a brigade at Chickamauga after previously leading the 15th Wisconsin. Heg and the 15th Wisconsin were unique in that he was Norwegian and the regiment was primarily Norwegians, with a few Swedes and Danes. Foreign born officers and regiments primarily made up of one nationality were not too rare but the number of Norwegians was a bit more rare. We think mainly of the Irish and German regiments, not of the Norwegians. In fact I've seen sources that claim the 15th Wisconsin was the only Scandinavian regiment in the war.

At Chickamauga Heg was mortally wounded on the first day. From what I've read it seems that Heg was considered a pretty good officer and had a bright future in the army. Who knows how high he might have risen but division command by the end of the war doesn't seem that much of a stretch. In any respect we'll never know how good Heg might have been as Chickamauga was his first and last battle as brigade commander.

I had read that there was a statue of Heg on the grounds of the capitol in Madison. So one day while doing research at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum (located across the street from the capitol) I decided to go for a stroll. And I found the story to be true.

And here is Heg's mortuary monument at Chickamauga.