26th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery

26th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery (Wilder's or Rigby's Battery)
Active	May 1861 – July 19, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Artillery
Engagements	Battle of Cheat Mountain Battle of McDowell Battle of Cross Keys Battle of Harpers Ferry Knoxville Campaign Stoneman's 1865 raid
Commanders
Notable commanders	Silas F. Rigby Hubbard T. Thomas

Military unit

26th Indiana Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery of the Union Army in the American Civil War. It was also known as Wilder's Battery

Service

The battery was organized in May 1861, but was not accepted for the service. Instead, the recruits were mustered in as Company A, 17th Indiana Infantry on June 12, 1861, but retained their status as artillery. The battery was detached from the 17th Indiana Infantry in mid-September 1861.

The battery was attached to Reynolds' Cheat Mountain District, West Virginia, to November 1861. Milroy's Command, Cheat Mountain, West Virginia, to March 1862. Milroy's Cheat Mountain Brigade, Department of the Mountains, to June 1862. Milroy's Independent Brigade, I Corps, Army of Virginia, to July 1862. Piatt's Brigade, Winchester, Virginia, to August 1862. Trimble's Brigade, White's Division, Winchester, Virginia, to September 1862. Miles' Command, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, September 1862. Camp Douglas, Illinois, and Indianapolis, Indiana, to March 1863. Central District of Kentucky, Department of the Ohio, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XXIII Corps, Army of the Ohio, to July 1863. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to August 1863. Reserve Artillery, XXIII Corps, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXIII Corps, to April 1864. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to February 1865. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, District of East Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland, to March 1865. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, District of East Tennessee, to July 1865.

The 26th Indiana Battery Light Artillery mustered out of service on July 19, 1865.

Detailed service

Left Indiana for Parkersburg, Virginia, July 2. Moved from Parkersburg, to Oakland July 23, 1861; then to Camp Pendleton and duty there until August 7. Moved to Cheat Mountain Pass and Elkwater August 7–13. Operations on Cheat Mountain September 11–17. Petersburg September 11–13. Cheat Mountain Pass September 12. Elkwater September 13. Greenbrier River October 3–4. Expedition to Camp Baldwin December 11–14. Allegheny Mountain December 13. Duty at Beverly until April 1862. Expedition on the Seneca April 1–12. Monterey April 12. Battle of McDowell May 8. Franklin May 10–12. Strasburg and Staunton Road June 1–2. Battle of Cross Keys June 8. Duty at Winchester until September 1. Defense of Harpers Ferry September 12–15. Bolivar Heights September 14. Surrendered September 15. Paroled and sent to Annapolis, Maryland, then to Camp Douglas, Illinois; duty there, at Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois, and at Indianapolis, until March 1863. Left Indiana for Lexington, Kentucky, March 18. Duty in Central District of Kentucky until August. Operations against Pegram March 22-April 1. Action at Danville, Kentucky, March 24. Hickman's Heights March 28. Dutton's Hill, Monticello, May 1. Burnside's Campaign in eastern Tennessee August 16-September 17. Carter's Depot September 20–21. Jonesboro September 21. Knoxville Campaign November 4-December 23. Siege of Knoxville November 17-December 5. Garrison duty at Knoxville until March 1865. Stoneman's Raid through eastern Tennessee into North Carolina March and April 1865. Duty at Greenville, Tennessee, until July.

Casualties

The battery lost a total of 13 men during service; 1 officer and 12 enlisted 6 men due to disease.

Commanders

Captain Silas F. Rigby
Captain Hubbard T. Thomas

Notes

No soldier by the name of Wilder is in the records of the battery. Perhaps this was the name of someone who initially sponsored the battery.

References

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908.

Attribution

This article contains text from a text now in the public domain: Dyer, Frederick H. (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Co.

v t e Indiana military units in the Civil War
Heavy artillery	1st Regiment
Light artillery batteries	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th
Cavalry	1st Regiment 2nd Regiment 3rd Regiment 4th Regiment 5th Regiment 6th Regiment 7th Regiment 8th Regiment 9th Regiment 10th Regiment 11th Regiment 12th Regiment 13th Regiment Stewart's Company Bracken's Company Mounted Scouts (Independent Company)
Infantry regiments (3 month enlistments)	6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 54th
Infantry regiments (1 year enlistments)	12th 16th 54th
Infantry (3 year enlistments)	6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th 119th 120th 121st 122nd 123rd 124th 125th 126th 127th 128th 129th 130th 131st 132nd 133rd 134th 135th 136th 137th 138th 139th 140th 141st 142nd 143rd 144th 145th 146th 147th 148th 149th 150th 151st 152nd 153rd 154th 155th 156th 157th 158th 159th
See also: List of Civil War regiments by state

v t e Indiana in the American Civil War
People	William A. Bowles Jesse D. Bright Ambrose Burnside Harrison H. Dodd Alvin P. Hovey Andrew Humphreys Lambdin P. Milligan Oliver P. Morton Francis A. Shoup Lew Wallace Indiana regiments
Places	Camp Joe Holt Camp Morton Jefferson General Hospital Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot Military Park New Albany National Cemetery
Battles raids	Battle of Corydon Battle of Pogue's Run Hines' Raid Morgan's Raid Newburgh Raid
Related	Union Literary Institute
See also: Indianapolis in the American Civil War

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