Wisconsin quickly fielded forces for Civil War

By 1st Lt. Brian Faltinson

Wisconsin National Guard historian

One hundred and fifty years after the start of the Civil War, it’s important to look back and see how Wisconsin responded to the conflict that changed our destiny.

Wisconsin had only been a state for 13 years in 1861, and retained much of its frontier character. The state population was approximately 776,000 — 45,000 in Milwaukee — and much of the northern part of the state was uninhabited.

State law called for a state militia consisting of “every able-bodied free white man between 18 and 45,” which in 1861 totaled about 130,000. However, Adjutant General Augustus Gaylord reported to Gov. Alexander Randall that Wisconsin fielded only 42 organized company-sized units totaling at most a few thousand men. These units lacked weapons, designed their own uniforms and largely operated as social clubs who marched on parade fields. It was not a force ready for war.

But as Southern states seceded from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln, Randall ordered Gaylord to prepare the militia. Randall also sought legislation allowing him to raise and outfit additional units. Wisconsin rallied to the cause following the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April of 1861 and began raising funds for local militia units. Fond du Lac raised $3,500 in a few days to purchase uniforms and equipment.

President Lincoln called for 75,000 Soldiers to serve a 90-day tour, with one regiment to come from Wisconsin. Randall asked “all patriotic citizens” to organize themselves into militia companies. The first unit Randall accepted for service was the Madison Guard, which became part of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment under the command of Col. John Starkweather.

The 1st Wisconsin reported to Camp Scott, now the site of the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. Camp Scott lacked almost everything needed to support a military unit, and the state provided gray uniforms but no weapons or equipment. Still, the regiment trained and improved its living conditions before departing for Washington in May with 794 men. The 1st Wisconsin fought a skirmish at Falling Waters in Virginia, suffering 20 wounded and one fatality — Pvt. George Drake, Wisconsin’s first Civil War casualty.

Randall continued raising troops even though Washington had yet to request them. The 2nd Wisconsin formed in April at the Madison Fairgrounds under Col. S. Park Coon, who renamed the site Camp Randall. Clad in gray uniforms, the unit’s 1,048 men shipped out in time to fight at the war’s first major battle, Bull Run. The 2nd Wisconsin was placed in a brigade, commanded by Col. William Tecumseh Sherman, which would soon be known as the Iron Brigade, one of the war’s most distinguished units.

The 3rd Wisconsin, consisting of men from northern and western Wisconsin, also experienced action during 1861. The unit trained in Fond du Lac before shipping to Harpers Ferry, Va., for a brief skirmish in July. In all, Gov. Randall organized 10 more infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment and eight artillery batteries. The 8th Infantry carried with it one of the war’s most famous mascots — an American bald eagle named Old Abe.

Thousands of Wisconsinites joined these units for three-year enlistments. While additional units were formed, those formed in 1861 were the backbone of the state’s war effort contribution.

Do you have any Civil War veterans in your family tree? Are you interested in learning more about how your community contributed to the Civil War? Are you looking for personal stories from the war? Try a search of these people, places and stories.