Colonel Heg and his Boys
(Oberst Heg og hans Gutter)
1916

   Translated by Della Kittleson Catuna and Clarence A. Clausen, and published by the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA). Copies of this 262 page hardcover book, which features Tom Redman's 15th Wisconsin at Chickamauga t-shirt artwork on its cover, are now available. For ordering information contact NAHA at 1-507-646-3221 or naha@stolaf.edu

    Ager collected substantial material on the Union Army's Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, made up mostly of Norwegians and headed by one, Colonel Hans Christian Heg (at left).  When Ager supervised a Wisconsin exhibit for Norway's 1914 Centennial Exhibition, he brought along much of that material, including the regiment's battle-torn banner.
    Two years later, Ager published his book on the Fifteenth Wisconsin.  He intended it not to be a history, but a sort of scrap book, proof that immigrants--especially Norwegian immigrants--had something vital to contribute to America.  In addition to containing some of Ager's essays, Oberst Heg og hans Gutter offers letters, photos, first-hand accounts and battlefield maps.  Ager used the book as part of his fund drive for a statue of Heg, which was raised in 1925 at the state capitol in Madison.  And much of the historical material found its way into another of Ager's books, Sons of the Old Country. In it, the protagonist joins the Fifteenth Wisconsin, fights, suffers wounds and is incarcerated in the Andersonville prison camp.
   The Fifteenth Wisconsin's admirers are legion. Scott Cantwell Meeker maintains an incredible website about the regiment at www.15thwisconsin.net.