Existing comment:
Ethnic Regiments:
Wisconsin Civil War regiments reflected the racial and ethnic make up of the state. Sixty percent of Wisconsin's Civil War citizen-soldiers were born in the U.S. -- with the remainder coming largely from immigrant groups that had settled in the state. Since Wisconsin's popular was so varied, members of virtually all of the state's ethnic groups could be found in any particular regiment. But a number of companies and even some regiments became known for the ethnic group that dominated the organization.
A Lot of Ole Olsons -- The Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry became known as the Scandinavian Regiment. So many of its members were named Ole Olson that they had to be assigned numbers. The regimental commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg, was a leading Norwegian-American politician before being killed at Chickamauga.
Germans and Irish -- German units also were formed, particularly in Milwaukee. The Ninth, Eighteenth, Twenty-sixth, and Twenty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry regiments were predominantly German. The Twenty-sixth Regiment gained fame at Gettysburg. Irish Wisconsinites served throughout the state's forces, but the Seventeenth Wisconsin Infantry was known as the "Irish Brigade." The unit carried a green banner.
American Indians -- Nearly 600 of Wisconsin's Native Americans served in the Civil War. Winnebago, Oneida, Stockbridge, Chippewa, and Menominee found their way into various state units. Menominee volunteers made up Company K of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry and suffered high times during the assault on Confederate trenches at Petersburg.
Blacks -- Members of Wisconsin's Black community also supported the war effort. Some 129 Black Wisconsinites formed Company F of the Twenty-ninth U.S. Colored Troops. Some 234 found themselves in other units. Black volunteers came from Milwaukee, La Crosse, and Prairie du Chien. |