Organization
The 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Sigel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and mustered into the United States Army on September 17, 1862. The regiment left Wisconsin on October 6 and proceeded directly to Washington, D.C.
Active Duty
The regiment moved to Fairfax Court House, Virginia, on October 15 and was assigned to the 11th Army Corps. It was among the reserve force at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 15, 1862, and participated in the Chancellorsville Campaign from April 27 to May 6, 1863, and the Battle of Chancellorsville from May 1 to 3.
The regiment was engaged in the Gettysburg Campaign from June 11 to July 4, 1863, and the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1 to 3. In September 1863, the 26th was transferred to the Army in middle Tennessee in the vicinity of Chattanooga. It participated in the Battle of Wauhatchie near Lookout Mountain on October 28-29, the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, and the movement to relieve Knoxville from November 27 to December 8, 1863.
On the reorganization of the Army of the Cumberland in 1864, the 26th was assigned to the 20th Army Corps. The regiment continued to be a part of the army under General Sherman, participating in the Atlanta Campaign from May 1 to September 8, 1864, the Savannah Campaign from November 15 to December 21, 1864, and the Campaign in the Carolinas.
After the surrender of the Confederates under General Joseph E. Johnston near Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 26, 1865, the regiment marched to Washington and took part in the Grand Review. The regiment was mustered out of service on June 17, 1865, and reached Milwaukee on June 17. The regiment was disbanded on June 29, 1865.
Casualties
Losses to the regiment include 12 officers who were killed and mortally wounded, 176 enlisted men who met the same fate. Seventy-seven enlisted me died by 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.
