Organization
The Tenth Wisconsin Infantry Regiment (10th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment) was organized at Camp Holton, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and mustered into the service of the United States on October 14, 1861. They left the State on November 9, and arrived at Louisville, Kentucky, on November 11.
Active Duty
To start, they were to guard the line of the Louisville & Nashville Railway until February 1862. Afterwards, they participated in the general southern movement of the Union forces that reached south as far as Huntsville, Alabama. Shortly thereafter, they were urged to retrace their steps north through Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Then, the hostile forces met in combat at Chaplin Hills (or Perryville) on October 8, 1862, with the Tenth’s participation.
After Perryville, the Union forces marched southward again with the Tenth, and the hostile armies engaged in battle again at Stones River (or Murfreesboro), from December 30 to January 1, 1863. Later, the Tenth was assigned to duty guarding railways until late June. Come June, they joined with the forces under Gen. Rosecrans in the Tullahoma Campaign from June 23 to July 7 as a part of the Army of the Cumberland.
Following this campaign, were the battle of Chickamauga and the advance on Chattanooga where the hostile forces met again at Chickamauga, GA, from September 19 to 20, 1863. In late 1863, the Tenth participated in the battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863.
Next, they participated in the demonstration on Tunnel Hill and Buzzard Roost, Ga from February 22 to 27, 1864. On May 24th, the Tenth rejoined their division and, as a part of the Fourteenth Army Corps, took part in the Atlanta Campaign. The Atlanta Campaign brought them to participating in the battles of Dallas, Georgia (May 13, 1864), the action at and around Kennesaw Mountain (June 10 to July 3, 1864), and the battle of Peach Tree Creek (July 20, 1864).
In October, the enlistment term for the regiment expired, so those recruits whose terms had not expired were transferred to the Twenty-first Infantry. Then, on October 16th, the Tenth left Marietta, GA for Wisconsin. They reached Milwaukee on October 25th, 1864, mustered out and disbanded.
Casualties
The Tenth Infantry lost 5 officers and 91 men to mortal wounds. They lost an additional officer and 147 men to disease.
For Further Research
Search our collections for photos and artifacts from Wisconsin in the Civil War. Read about other Wisconsin Civil War regiments. For detailed regimental histories of the U.S. Civil War, consult the Frederick H. Dyer, Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: Regimental Histories.
The histories above, unless otherwise noted, are adopted from Charles E. Estabrook, ed., Records and Sketches of Military Organizations, (Madison, 1914).
