Thomas Hopkins Wilder (b. 1837) enlisted in Company K, 4th Florida Infantry in the spring of 1862. He was the son of William Wilder III (b. 1807, d. 1867) and Sarah Gross Wilder (b. 1816). He was the oldest of four Wilder brothers who enlisted in the Confederate cause. The others were Edward Gross Wilder (b. 1847, d. 1912) who served under Capt. John T. Lesley, Munnerlyn's Battalion; John W. Wilder (b. 1839, d. 1864) who served in Company K, 4th Florida Infantry until he was captured in 1864 and subsequently died in prison; and Andrew J. Wilder (b. 1845, d. 1864) who served in Company I, 9th Florida Infantry until he was killed in 1864 defending Petersburg.
In order to meet the demands of the various commissary officers in Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina, Thomas Hopkins Wilder and about 160 others were detached from the regular army in October 1863 under the command of Captain James McKay, Jr. who resigned as Quartermaster of the 4th Florida Infantry. McKay, Jr.'s entourage returned to Florida and began the task of driving and collecting cattle for the Confederate Army. McKay Jr.'s cavalry company of cow drivers operated until the late summer or fall of 1864 when it was dissolved. The men were then re-assigned and/or transferred to the companies of Captain Francis A. Hendry, Captain John T. Lesley, and Captain Leroy G. Lesley of Munnerlyn's Battalion. Thomas Hopkins Wilder served in John T. Lesley's company until the end.
Below is Thomas Hopkins Wilder's Confederate pension application.
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