John T. Wilder

John Thomas Wilder
John Thomas Wilder, c. 1861-65
Born	(1830-01-31)January 31, 1830 Catskill Mountains in Hunter, Greene County, New York
Died	October 20, 1917(1917-10-20) (aged 87) Jacksonville, Florida
Buried	Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1861 – 1864
Rank	Colonel Brevet Brigadier General
Commands held	17th Indiana Infantry Regiment Lightning Brigade
Battles/wars	American Civil War Siege of Corinth Battle of Munfordville Tullahoma Campaign Second Battle of Chattanooga Battle of Chickamauga Chattanooga Campaign Atlanta Campaign

John Thomas Wilder (January 31, 1830 – October 20, 1917) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, noted principally for capturing the critical mountain pass of Hoover's Gap during the Tullahoma Campaign in Central Tennessee in June 1863. Wilder had personally ensured that his "Lightning Brigade" of mounted infantry was equipped with the new Spencer repeating rifle. However, Wilder initially had to appeal to his men to pay for these weapons themselves before the government agreed to carry the cost. The victory at Hoover's Gap was attributed largely to Wilder's persistence in procuring the new rifles, which disoriented the enemy.