The 34th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Service

The 34th Wisconsin Infantry was composed of men drafted by state authorities under General Order No. 94. The regiment was organized at

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, and mustered into Federal service December 31, 1862. The regiment was mustered out on September 8, 1863, in the course of disciplinary action against various members of the regiment, including the regiment commander,

Fritz Anneke Karl Friedrich Theodor "Fritz" Anneke () was a German revolutionary, socialist and newspaper editor. He emigrated to the United States with his family in 1849 and became a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, and later worked as an en ...

. Anneke, a famous Forty-Eighter of German origin, had been a former Prussian officer and artillery commander during the 1849 revolutionary war in Palatinate and Baden, Germany. Carl Schurz, who was later a U.S. general, Secretary of the Interior, and U.S. Senator, had been his adjunct officer during that campaign, and his wife

Mathilde Franziska Anneke Mathilde Franziska Anneke (née Giesler; April 3, 1817 – November 25, 1884) was a German writer, feminist, and radical democrat who participated in the Revolutions of 1848–1849. In late 1849, she moved to the United States, where she campaign ...

, the famous abolitionist and feminist activist, served as ordnance officer in that campaign.

Emil Anneke Emil Anneke (''Emil Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Annecke''; December 13, 1823 in Dortmund – October 27, 1888 in Bay City, Michigan, United States) was a German revolutionary and Forty-Eighter and American journalist, lawyer and politician (Republican ...

, the first

Michigan Auditor General The Michigan Auditor General is the chief fiscal officer of the State of Michigan. The Office of the Auditor General was established in 1836 and, with changes to the Michigan Constitution in 1963, has become the independent oversight arm of the Leg ...

of the Republican Party, was his brother. Although Anneke was arrested and later dismissed from military service, he was probably innocent and a victim of denouncement and slander. Most of his friends from the German 1849 campaign served as generals in the Union, for example Carl Schurz,

August Willich August Willich (November 19, 1810 – January 22, 1878), born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility. He later ...

Ludwig Blenker Louis Blenker (July 31, 1812 – October 31, 1863) was a German revolutionary and American soldier. Life in Germany He was born at Worms, Germany. After being trained as a goldsmith by an uncle in Kreuznach, he was sent to a polytechnical ...

, and

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

. Fritz Anneke later tried to be re-admitted to military service, also supported by his brother Emil, but did not succeed.

Casualties

The 34th Wisconsin suffered 1 officers and 18 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 19 fatalitie

Commanders

* Colonel (United States), Colonel

Notable people

* John A. Becher was quartermaster of the regiment. After the war he served as a Wisconsin state legislator and immigration commissioner. * Denis J. F. Murphy was 2nd lieutenant of Co. B. He previously served as a sergeant in the

14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Four of its members received the Medal of Honor for service in the Second Battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862 ...

, where he had earned a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

for his actions at the

Second Battle of Corinth The second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the siege of Corinth earlier the same year) was fought October 3–4, 1862, in Corinth, ...

, and was wounded five times. Later he would serve as a 1st lieutenant in the 53rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and 51st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. * Marcus Trumer was a sergeant in Co. F and later served in the 35th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. After the war he served as a Wisconsin state legislator.

References

External links