The 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an

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 3rd Wisconsin assembled at Camp Hamilton, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and mustered into Federal service on June 19, 1861. Its first commander was Col.

Charles Smith Hamilton Charles Smith Hamilton (November 16, 1822April 17, 1891) was a career United States Army officer who served with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Union Army general during the early part of the American Civil Wa ...

. The 3rd Wisconsin Infantry was a part of Gen.

Nathaniel Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was promine ...

' army during Jackson's Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862. Later in the year, the 3rd Wisconsin took part in the fighting around the Cornfield during the Battle of Antietam. In 1863, after the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, the 3rd was sent to New York, to help control the

New York City draft riots The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-cla ...

. The regiment participated in the

Grand Review of the Armies The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in th ...

on May 24, 1865, and then mustered out at

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on July 18, 1865.

Total enlistments and casualties

The 3rd Wisconsin Infantry initially mustered 979 men and later recruited an additional 940 men, for a total of 1919 men. The regiment lost 9 officers and 158 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 2 officers and 113 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 282 fatalities.Civil War Archive
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Colonels

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

(May 11, 1861August 10, 1861) was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He was later promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. After the war, he served as a

U.S. marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

. * Colonel Thomas H. Ruger (August 10, 1861November 29, 1862) began the war as engineer-in-chief to Governor Alexander Randall, and mustered into federal service with the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry as lieutenant colonel. He left the regiment when promoted to brigadier general. After the war he was military governor of Georgia during reconstruction and remained in the military until 1897, retiring with the rank of major general. * Colonel William Hawley (March 10, 1863July 18, 1865) mustered into federal service with the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry as captain of Co. K. He mustered out with the regiment and received an honorary brevet to brigadier general.

Notable people

* Oscar Bartlett, chief surgeon, was a Wisconsin state legislator before the war. *

Henry Bertram Henry (''Heinrich'') Bertram (born Emil Gustave Victor Beeger; ) was a German American immigrant and Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He rose to command a brigade in the trans-Mississippi and western theaters of the war, and r ...

, 1st lieutenant in Co. A, later became colonel of the 20th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and received an honorary brevet to brigadier general. After the war he became a Wisconsin state legislator and sheriff. * Edwin E. Bryant, sergeant major, was commissioned and appointed adjutant to Colonel Ruger in 1862. In 1864, he returned to Wisconsin as a draft commissioner, and was later commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 50th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. After the war, he served as private secretary to Governor

Lucius Fairchild Lucius Fairchild (December 27, 1831May 23, 1896) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat. He served as the tenth Governor of Wisconsin and represented the United States as Minister to Spain under presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Ja ...

and became a Wisconsin state legislator. * Horace O. Crane, assistant surgeon, was appointed surgeon-in-charge for the field hospital at St. John's College, Annapolis. In 1863 he returned to Wisconsin as an examining surgeon for the Union Army enrollment board. * Charles L. Dering, 1st lieutenant in Co. B, later served in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

. * John A. Haggerty, private in Co. A, later became a Wisconsin state legislator. *

Bertine Pinckney Bertine B. Pinckney (April 26, 1824December 26, 1909) was an American farmer, surveyor, and politician. He served in the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly, representing Fond du Lac County, and later served in the Kansas House of Representativ ...

, major, later became colonel of the 20th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, but suffered a stroke in 1862. Before the war, he had served in the

. After leaving the Army, he was elected mayor of Ripon, Wisconsin, and served in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...

. * Asher Clayton Taylor, corporal in Co. D, later became the regiment's sergeant major and served as Colonel Hawley's adjutant at the close of the war. He remained in the U.S. Army and served in the 15th U.S. Infantry Regiment in the Indian Wars. He was a colonel during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

and retired with the rank of brigadier general.

References

The Civil War Archive

External links

Online memoirs of a 3rd Wisconsin Infantry veteran

Notes

Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Wisconsin 1861 establishments in Wisconsin {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub