Poetry and Proverbs
By Russell Horton, Reference Archivist “If I die a prisoner of war, I would like to have this diary sent to my Father, A. Ingersoll, Waupun, Wis.” -Frank J. Ingersoll, Diary Entry, ca. September 1864 In the first two years of the Civil War, soldiers from either side of the
Here Lies Lieutenant Wemple
By Gregory Krueger, Curator of Exhibits At the start of the Civil War, Union forces were under the command of Winfield Scott. Scott, an old Army veteran, outlined a plan to defeat the southern states based upon the premise of a naval blockade of southern ports. Hoping to suffocate Southern
The La Crosse Light Guard Flag
When the Civil War began and President Lincoln called for volunteers in April 1861, Wisconsin’s volunteer militia companies answered the call. Among the first to offer their services to Wisconsin’s Governor Alexander Randall, the La Crosse Light Guard marched into Madison under a beautiful white silk flag made for them
Talking Spirits Cemetery Tour XVII Recap
The Wisconsin Veterans Museum would like to share the thank you cards from Ms. Alt’s 5th Grade class at Huegel Elementary (Madison) for the Talking Spirits Cemetery Tour XVII at Forest Hill Cemetery. We look forward to seeing more classes this October 4th-7th for Talking Spirits Cemetery Tour XVIII! Thank you to
Lincoln’s Railcar Plate
By: Andrea Hoffman (Collections Manager) In November of 1864, the United States Military Railroad’s car shop in Alexandria, Virginia began construction of a new official railcar for President Abraham Lincoln. When it was completed a few months later, the new car, dubbed the “United States,” was considered the most opulent private
The Price of a Name by Kevin Hampton
“The last terrible battle has reduced this brigade to a mere skeleton; there being scarcely enough members to form half a regiment, the 2nd Wisconsin, which but a few weeks since, numbered over nine hundred men, can now muster but fifty-nine. This brigade has done some of the hardest and best
The Archivist Chronicles: A Union Addition by Andrew Baraniak
The use of wallpaper as a substitute for newsprint was a common occurrence for some printers in Louisiana and Mississippi during the Civil War. Most paper mills were in the North, and printers in those regions looked to wallpaper as an alternative to dwindling paper supplies as the war dragged
The “Grand Old Lady of Memorial Days” by Jennifer Carlson
Did you know that Memorial Day was first established as “Decoration Day” by the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) in May of 1868? Just three years after the Civil War, with so many soldiers lost, it was a way to pay tribute to those killed during America’s bloodiest war. To honor their loved
The Archivist Chronicles: Civil War History Mystery
Each of the thousands of objects in our collection has a story behind them. Ideally, our staff records that story at the time the item is donated—but sometimes we have to uncover the story ourselves, even after more than 100 years have passed. These “history mysteries” are a challenging but fun aspect