21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment
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The 21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a
volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
that served in the Union Army during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. They were assigned for their entire war service to XIV Corps, operating in the western theater of the war.


Service

The 21st Wisconsin Infantry was established by Governor Edward Salomon as one of several new regiments to fill President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
's call for 300,000 three-year volunteers. The volunteers of the 21st Wisconsin Infantry were mostly drawn from the counties of Fond du Lac, Winnebago, Outagamie, Waupaca, Calumet, and Manitowoc. Organized at
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
, and mustered on September 5, 1862. Left Wisconsin for
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, Ohio, September 11, thence to Covington, Ky., and to Louisville, Ky., September 15. Duty in the fortification of Louisville September 18 – October 1. Attached to 28th Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Ohio, September, 1862. 28th Brigade, 3rd Division, 1st Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Center 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to April, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, to April, 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1865. SERVICE.--Pursuit of Bragg to Crab Orchard, Ky., October 1–16, 1862. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. Guard duty at Mitchellsville until December 7. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., and duty there until December 26. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26–30. Jefferson December 30. Battle of Stone's River December 30–31, 1862, and January 1–3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro until June. Expedition to McMinnville April 20–30. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 23 – July 7. Hoover's Gap June 24–26. Occupation of Middle Tennessee until August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16 – September 22. Davis Cross Roads, near Dug Gap, September 11. Battle of Chickamauga September 19–21. Rossville Gap September 21. Siege of Chattanooga September 24 – November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Orchard Knob November 23–24. Mission Ridge November 25. Reconnaissance to Cooper's Gap November 30 – December 3. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8, 1864. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8–11. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Advance on Dallas May 18–25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25 – June 5. Pickett's Mills May 27. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10 – July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5–17. Buckhead, Nancy's Creek, July 18. Peach Tree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22 – August 25. Utoy Creek August 5–7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Near Red Oak August 29. Battle of Jonesboro August 31 – September 1. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama September 30 – November 3. March to the sea November 15 – December 10. Siege of Savannah December 10–21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Taylor's Hole Creek, Averysboro, N. C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19–21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29 – May 17. Grand Review May 24. Mustered out June 8 and discharged from service June 17, 1865.


Casualties

The 21st Wisconsin suffered 5 officers and 117 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 3 officers and 180 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 305 fatalities.


Commanders

* Colonel
Benjamin Sweet Benjamin Jeffery Sweet (April 24, 1832 – January 1, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, public administrator, and Union Army officer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and a Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Swee ...
– Was major of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry, then assigned colonel for 21st Wisconsin Infantry. Was wounded at
Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...
and had to resign commission. Before the war was a Wisconsin state legislator. * Colonel Harrison C. Hobart – Was captain in 4th Wisconsin Infantry, then assigned Lt. Colonel for 21st Wisconsin Infantry. Was wounded and taken prisoner at
Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southe ...
, and later escaped, then commanded 21st Wisconsin Infantry until promoted to brigade command. Before the war was 2nd
Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly The Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Wisconsin Wisconsin State Assembly, State Assembly, the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Article IV of the Constitution of Wisconsin, ratifi ...
and Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin. * Lt. Colonel Michael H. Fitch – Was adjutant of regiment, then major and lt. colonel. Wrote a memoir of his war service. * Major Charles H. Walker – Was captain of Co. K, then major. Before the war was a Wisconsin state legislator and judge.


Notable people

*
Charles B. Clark Charles Benjamin Clark (August 24, 1844 – September 10, 1891) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin and one of the founders of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Neenah, Wisconsin, Neenah with John A. K ...
was enlisted in Co. I and later rose to the rank of 1st lieutenant in that company. After the war he became a U.S. Congressman and co-founder of the
Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...
Corporation. *
Wynn Edwards Wynn Edwards (November 9, 1842 – August 7, 1900) was an American farmer and politician. Born near Ruthin, Wales, Edwards emigrated to the United States and settled in the town of Rosendale, Wisconsin, where he farmed. He took a business ...
was a private in Co. F and was wounded at Atlanta. After the war he became a Wisconsin state legislator. * William Fowler was a sergeant in Co. E and died of wounds at the
Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...
. He was the first non-white legislator in
Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...
. * Milan H. Sessions was captain of Co. E and resigned due to disability in 1863. After the war he became a Wisconsin state legislator. * De Wayne Stebbins was a corporal in Co. K for just 2 months, after which he was enrolled as an officer in the U.S. Navy. After the war he became a Wisconsin state senator. * William Wall was enlisted in Co. C, then commissioned as 1st lieutenant and promoted to captain in 1863. After the war he became a Wisconsin state legislator. * Joseph H. Woodnorth was a private in Co. G until June 1864, when he was detailed as an orderly and clerk on the staff of General
George Henry Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War, and despite be ...
. He received an honorary brevet to captain and after the war became a Wisconsin state senator.


See also

*
List of Wisconsin Civil War units The state of Wisconsin enrolled 91,327 men for service in the Union Army during the American Civil War, 77,375 in the infantry, 8,877 in the cavalry, and 5,075 in the artillery. Some 3,802 of these men were killed in action or mortally wounded, ...
*
Wisconsin in the American Civil War With the outbreak of the American Civil War, the northwestern state of Wisconsin raised 91,379 soldiers for the Union Army, organized into 53 infantry regiments, 4 cavalry regiments, a company of Berdan's sharpshooters, 13 light artillery bat ...


Further reading

* *


References


External links

* {{Internet Archive, 03442914.3149.emory.edu, Echoes of the civil war as I hear them (1905) Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union army from Wisconsin 1862 establishments in Wisconsin