WI Involvement in the Civil War
Eleni D, Paige H, Sierra D and Brianna D
African American Soldiers from Wisconsin
- Before the Emancipation Proclamation African-Americans weren't allowed to fight in the war
- Two years after the Emancipation Proclamation there were 272 African-American soldiers from Wisconsin
- Main Regiment that African-American soldiers from Wisconsin were in was Company F of the 29th Infantry
- This Regiment was in many major battles during the second half of the war
Heroic Soldier Stories from Wisconsin
- President Obama recently honored Alonzo Cushing with a Medal of Honor
- He got the medal because while he was in battle he got shot 3 times, but was still commands his troop and fighting
- He was in Company B of the 31st Infantry
- During a battle Peter saved a cannon from getting captured by the Confederates even though no one one would help him at first and both sides were still shooting at them
- He was honored with a Medal of Honor for how brave he was
- Albert was Company A of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry
- He saved a Union officer that was about to become a prisoner
- Got a Medal of Honor for his actions
- He was born and lived in Mifflin, Wisconsin
- While protecting Fort Blakely in Alabama one of the men from his infantry was shot and Daniel ran to go get him
- He was from Pennsylvania, but joined a Wisconsin Infantry
- Got a Medal of Honor for the Battle of Globe Tavern
- He captured one of the Confederate States of America Flag
Daniel B. Moore
Horace Ellis Gravestone
President Obama Giving Medal of Honor
Military Leaders
Lucius Fairchild
- Born in Kent, Ohio, on December 27th, 1831
- Later moved to Madison, WI
- He enlisted to be one of the first people to join the war in 1861
Major Frederick Boardman
- Frederick enlisted in the Civil War in 1861
- Eventually lead the 4th Wisconsin Infantry
- Fought in the battles of Fort St. Phillips, Fort Jackson, Vicksburg, and Baton Rouge
General Lysander Cutler
- Lysander came to Milwaukee in 1856
- He was the General of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry
- Later on in the war he was assigned to recruitment
Regiments, Battalions, and Companies from Wisconsin
Regiment - A permanent unit of an army typically commanded by a colonel and divided into several companies, squadrons, or batteries
Company - A number of individuals gathered together, especially for a particular purpose
Battalion - A large body of troops ready for battle, especially an infantry unit forming part of a Brigade
Battery - A unit or subunit corresponding to a company
General Information
- There was a total of 53 Wisconsin Regiments/Infantries, 4 Calvary Regiments, 13 Heavy Artillery groups, and 1 Light Artillery group
- A total of 91, 327 men from Wisconsin enlisted to help fight in the War
- There were multiple different companies within each Infantry
Iron Brigade
- The most famous Civil War unit from Wisconsin
- Fought in many famous battles throughout the Civil War
- The unit got their name from a remark that George McClellan made
Company G
- Company G was an Infantry Group
- They were the first group of United States Sharpshooters
- The group officially began their service in New York
First Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment
- The First Infantry Regiment was started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Fought in the Battle of Falling Waters
- They only served for 3 months, and were disassembled on August 21, 1861
First Light Artillery Battery from Wisconsin
- The First Light Artillery Battery was formed in La Crosse, Wisconsin
- There was a total of 269 men serving in the battery
- Remarkably, only 28 men and officers were killed during their service
Political Leaders from Wisconsin
Alexander Randall
- Lawyer, Juge, and Wisconsin Politician
- 6th governor of WI from 1858-1861
- Raised the 1st army from WI to go fight in the Union Army
- Bron in Ames NY and moved to Wisconsin in childhood
- Was an abolitionist and probably would have made Wisconsin secede from the Union if Lincoln did not win presidency
- Got about 91,327 young men to enlist in the Union Army
- Training camp, known as Camp Randall was named after him
Louis P. Harvey
- Born in Connecticut in the year 1820, and as a young man moved west to attend college at Western Reserve
- He moved to WI in 1841 and settle in Southport (Kenosha) and opened an academy
- He moved to more times eventually settling in Shopiere, near Beloit
- In his political career he was very liked by the people, who choose him to be the WI delegate for the Constitutional Convention
- He became state senator from 1854-1857, and secretary of sate from1860-1862
- In January 1862 he became the governor of WI
- He died on his way back from Tennessee to visit the WI soldiers who were wounded in the Battle of Shiloh
- On April 19, 1862 Harvey drown when crossing in the dark over two boats
James Taylor Lewis
- Born in Clarendon, NY, and moved to Columbia, WI
- In his career he was district judge, county judge, and served two terms in both State Assembly and State Senate
- He was elected the 9th governor of WI and the last governor to hold office during the Civil War
- He was concerned he could not supply a sufficient amount of troop to the army, at the same time keeping then safe
- He constantly visited the troops on the field as well as in hospitals, he also made many hospitals in WI to care for the wounded
- He didn't want to be elected in 1865, so he wen t back to Columbia, WI to continue law practice
Wisconsin Mascot
- Old Abe was well known in WI during the Civil War, mostly in the 8th regiment
- bald eagle
- Lived from May 1861 – March 26, 1881
- Old Abe was taken by Ahgamahwegezhig or "Chief Sky" right out of his nest that he cut down
- Chief Sky sold Old Abe for a bustles of corn, to a man named Daniel MCcann
- MCann sold Old Abe for $2.50--to a group called the "Eau Claire Badgers"
- Captain Perkins named the eagle after President Abraham Lincoln
- Th bird was taken to battles, and set on a perch, James McGinnis a young soldier volunteered to take care of her
- Old Abe was never wounded in the 37 battles he attended
Life in Wisconsin during Civil War
- Women helped raise funds to keep soldiers healthy
- The draft for the war was very infamous in Wisconsin, there were riots in Ozaukee County
- One of the reasons the draft was so unpopular was because many Germans who immigrated to Wisconsin left to avoid mandatory military service
- The civil war helped Wisconsin prosper economically, because crop prices multiplied
- Wisconsin would have gone through a tough time economically but women immediately took over farming even if they didn't know how to
- Women in Wisconsin during the war often also put aside their regular lives to become nurses for the soldiers
- Women in Wisconsin also took over men's jobs at home, which gained them lots if respect
- Between 1860-1870 the number of women in farming increased by 500%
- Women also sent care packages to their husbands or sons that were in war to lift their spirits
- All in all Life in Wisconsin during the war wasn't that bad because of how women took over farming and men's jobs
Training in Wisonsin
- Most training in Wisconsin took place at Camp Randall, located in Madison
- More than 70,000 Union soldiers trained there
- Later the camp expanded as a hospital, and confederate soldier prison
- Today Camp Randall is a football field for the college football team Wisconsin Badgers
- If you visit the memorial park in Madison you can see 2 cannons used in the War
- Some of the other bases in Wisconsin were Camp Bragg, Camp Wood, and several small camps located in Milwaukee
- Camp Holton, renamed Camp Reno was another camp but never really got used
- All in all Wisconsin was a great training spot for the Union Army
Work Cited
(Sierra)
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(Eleni)
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(Brianna)
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