History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the American Civil War

By Michael J. Martin

Michael J. Martin’s A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War is a deeply researched and vividly written study of an unheralded Federal combat regiment. Few of the thousands of regiments raised to fight the American Civil War experienced the remarkably diverse history of this little-known organization.

The Wisconsin "Badgers" began the war as foot soldiers in the summer of 1861 as the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After service in Maryland guarding railroads, the men sailed to the Gulf of Mexico to join Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s expedition to capture the South’s most important city: New Orleans. From August 1862 to July 1863, the 4th Wisconsin participated as infantry or mounted infantry in a series of bloody battles in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Bisland, the siege of Port Hudson, and Clinton. With a desperate need for mounted troops, the Badgers were officially changed to cavalry in September 1863 and became the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry. As troopers, they took part in four mounted expeditions across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, serving under such notable generals as Albert Lee, John Davidson, and Benjamin Grierson.

The Confederate armies surrendered in the spring of 1865, but the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry joined Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt’s cavalry division that July on its ride from Louisiana into Texas, where the regiment was broken up and deployed in various outposts along the Rio Grande River. On May 28, 1866, Wisconsin’s last regiment of Civil War volunteers was finally mustered out at Brownsville, Texas. Unfortunately, many of the men would not be going home: 431 had lost their lives to enemy bullets and disease.

Eight years in the making, Martin’s regimental history is based upon scores of previously unused soldier and civilian diaries, letters, reports, contemporary newspapers, and reminiscences. It includes dozens of previously unpublished soldier photos, and a complete roster. Martin’s study is a must-have addition for every serious Civil War reader.
About the Author: A descendant of a Civil War soldier who was wounded at the Wheatfield at Gettysburg, Michael James Martin grew up in Mequon, Wisconsin, and received both an MS and a Ph.D. in Animal science from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author of several published articles on the Civil War. This is his first book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Savas Beatie
• Release date: Apr 19, 2007
• ISBN: 9781611210163

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© 2006 by Michael J. Martin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

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This book is dedicated to the soldiers and horses who served in the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry during the War of the Rebellion and afterward in southwestern Texas along the Rio Grande River.

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Foreword by Lance J. Herdegen

Chapter 1: Camp Utley

Chapter 2: Guarding Railroads in Baltimore

Chapter 3: The Eastern Shore Expedition: The Badgers' First Campaign

Chapter 4: The First Yankees to Set Foot in the Crescent City

Chapter 5: Digging Ben Butler's Ditch

Chapter 6: The Battle of Baton Rouge and the Capital Sport of Guerrilla Hunting

Chapter 7: A Diversion for the Navy: The First Trip to Port Hudson

Chapter 8: The Teche Campaign: Fighting as Mounted Infantry

Chapter 9: Port Hudson and Clinton: Defeats on Foot and Horseback

Chapter 10: The Second Assault on Port Hudson: Ye living men come view the ground where you must shortly lie.

Chapter 11: Cavalry at Last

Chapter 12: Gain a Company, Lose a Colonel

Chapter 13: The Second Battle of Clinton: Vindication for the Badgers

Chapter 14: Three Raids in Three Months: The Badgers Come of Age as Cavalrymen

Chapter 15: Marching Across Alabama

Chapter 16: Peace Soldiering in Texas

Chapter 17: A History of Earl's Scouts

Chapter 18: Aftermath

Appendix A: 4th Wisconsin Casualties suffered at Port Hudson, Louisiana on May 27, 1863

Appendix B: 4th Wisconsin Casualties suffered at Port Hudson, Louisiana on June 14, 1863

Appendix C: 4th Wisconsin Soldiers Interred in the National Cemetery at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Appendix D: Lieutenant Isaac Earl's Scouts

Appendix E: Roster of officers in the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry at muster out on May 28, 1866

Appendix F: Roster of the 4th Wisconsin 1900 Reunion

Appendix G: Roster of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Preface

On April 15, 1861 President Abraham Lincoln issued the following proclamation:

Whereas, the laws of the United States have been for some time past, and now are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the Marshals by law:

Now, therefore, I ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and Laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of 75,000, in order to suppress said combinations and to cause the laws to be duly executed.

The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the State authorities through the War Department …

The next day Wisconsin governor Alexander Randall received Secretary of War Simon Cameron's request for one regiment of militia for immediate service. Governor Randall and the Badger state easily met and surpassed the Secretary's directive raising a sufficient number of men to make up at least five regiments within 10 days. Wisconsin's commitment to reestablishing the Union never wavered and when hostilities finally ceased with the surrender of Major General Kirby Smith and the Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2, 1865, Wisconsin had supplied 53 regiments of infantry, four regiments and one company of cavalry, 13 batteries of light artillery, one regiment of heavy artillery, one regiment of United States Veteran Volunteer Engineers, one company of United States Sharpshooters and one company of United States Colored Troops to the Union Army. These units encompassed over 91,200 men, 11,000 of whom died of wounds or disease.¹

While the vast majority of Wisconsin's regiments performed admirably during the Civil War, only a few rose to prominence. These included, among others, the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantries of the Army of the Potomac's famed Iron Brigade, the 8th Wisconsin Infantry noted for its Bald Eagle mascot Old Abe, the 15th Wisconsin Infantry comprised almost entirely of men of Scandinavian descent, and the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry which played a prominent role in the capture of the Confederacy's President, Jefferson Davis.

There was one Badger regiment, however, that had the distinction of fighting as both infantry and cavalry during the Civil War. Comprised of the best material the counties of Calumet, Columbia, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Monroe, Oconto, Sheboygan, Walworth, and St. Croix had to offer, the 4th Wisconsin Infantry was formed at Camp Utley in Racine during June of 1861. On July 15 the regiment left for Maryland where it spent the early part of the war guarding railroads and protecting Union interests in Maryland's eastern shore. It later saw action as an infantry and, finally, a cavalry regiment in the bayous and swamps of Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. When the Civil War ended, the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry was dispatched to Texas where it patrolled the Rio Grande River and occasionally skirmished with Indians and Emperor Maximilian's Contra guerrillas. On April 18, 1866 detachments of the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry began reassembling at Brownsville, Texas and on May 28, the last of the regiment's troopers were mustered out. Their honorable discharge marked the end of the longest period of continuous service by any Wisconsin volunteer regiment in the Civil War.

Early in the Spring of 1861, Wisconsin, not less backward than its elder sisters, manifested most vigorously its determination to uphold the Union. Companies were raised throughout the state, the services of which were tendered with the utmost loyalty and fervor … On the 6th of May the 4th Regiment of infantry was formed … It was comprised of companies from the border counties, and numbering a class of men deemed the most hardy in the Union.²

This is their story.

Acknowledgements

The incentive for writing a history of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry began with the purchase in 1999 of a 5th Model Burnside carbine from an antique store in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The weapon has clearly seen better days for its stock and forearm are now covered with scratches and the barrel and block are generously peppered with rust, the bluing having long since been lost. Carved near the butt of the stock are the owner's identification marks, W.S. Jackson, 4th Wisc. Cav., Co. I. A subsequent search of the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Veterans Museum for additional information on the owner of the carbine and his regiment revealed the existence of several soldiers' letters and a few diaries, but no comprehensive written history of the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry. Upon learning the regiment was the only one from the state of Wisconsin to have been officially designated as both infantry and cavalry during the Civil War, and the last to be mustered out on May 29, 1866, at Brownsville, Texas, I concluded the regiment's story needed to be told. I hope I have done these good men the justice they deserve.

The history of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry could not have been written without the assistance of many individuals. My thanks go out to them all. I am sorry if I have overlooked anyone.

Lance Herdegen, former Director of the Institute for Civil War Studies at Carroll College, Waukesha, Wisconsin, deserves a special thanks for reading and critically assessing the raw manuscript and for penning the Foreword.

Everyone at Savas Beatie helped make this a better book. Theodore P. Ted Savas separated the wheat from the chaff, and Lee Merideth took a jumble of maps, rhetoric, and images and crafted an outstanding book and index. Thanks!

Billy Spedale, The Louisiana Relic Man, showed me hospitality, and his knowledge of Baton Rouge history and the battle fought there are unsurpassed. Thank you for also being the first to wade through the manuscript and offer suggestions to make it better.; Mike Fraering, Curator, Port Hudson State Historic Site, graciously answered all my questions, whether by phone or e-mail, and took time from a busy schedule to personally guide a true Yankee over the battlefield. Mike also read the book's chapters on the siege of Port Hudson; The Wisconsin Veterans Museum's Curator of Collections, Bill Brewster, Reference Archivist, Carrie Bohman, and Abbie Miller provided me with photos of the standards and guidons carried by the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry and allowed me to personally view the originals; Lisa Hinzman, Wisconsin Historical Society, located and provided images of Company K's Lieutenant George Peck, Company F's Thomas J. Handy, and a plethora of the regiment's officers; Jacqueline Frank, Neville Public Museum of Brown County, allowed me to use the images of Surgeon A. H. Van Norstrand and Captain Joseph Loy.

The staff at the Milwaukee Public Library patiently showed me how to use the microfiche reader and provided me with six years of the Milwaukee Sentinel on microfilm upon which to practice my newly acquired skills; Susan Watson, River Falls Area Research Center, allowed me access to a variety of original documents, letters, and diaries pertaining to the regiment; Michael Hughes, an ancestor of the 4th Wisconsin's George Robert Hughes, permitted me to include his outstanding website's images of the 4th Wisconsin soldiers, including one of his great, great grandfather; Perry Frohne, proprietor of Frohne's Historic Military, located and provided me with original documents pertaining to the regiment's service in Louisiana; Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin's Jim Schimdt, an expert on and collector of images of Wisconsin soldiers, graciously allowed me to acquire the postwar image of one of Lieutenant Isaac Earl's Scouts.

Michael Winey, Curator, U. S. Army Military History Institute, provided images of officers and soldiers from the Institute's American Civil War photo database; the staff at the National Archives steered me in the right direction for information on the regiment's postwar period of service in Texas; Dr. Samuel Hyde and staff at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies copied a voluminous amount of material related to Halbert Paine; Brenda McClurkin, Special Collections and Archives at the University of Texas-Arlington, provided a copy of the Buckley Bacon Paddock Papers; Betty Gardner of the Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Historical Society supplied additional postwar information on Company I's William S. Jackson. The staff at New Orleans' Fort Pike State Historic Site provided details on the United States Colored Troops and officers stationed in New Orleans in 1864-1865.; Chris Eaton, owner of 2C Studios, Athens, Ohio, digitized many of the images that appear in this book.

I am also extremely grateful to Connie Adams for her assistance with the translation and transcription of the handwriting in various diaries and letters, for taking wonderful care of my house and horse while I was away on research trips to Louisiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., and for buoying my spirits when life gave me lemons.

Philip Laino's superb cartographic skills were instrumental in creating the book's exceptionally fine set of maps.

Finally, I am most thankful for the love, support and encouragement of my parents, Raymond and Marilyn, brother, Joe, and, of course, my constant companion and Civil War reenacting friend for over 15 years, my mare, Virginia.

Foreword

If done correctly, unit histories can be the most fascinating books on the American Civil War—a compiling of official documents, formal memoirs, personal letters, and other records into a compelling narrative of military service. Each regiment had its own individual style and manner, and much can be learned by following an organization from its formation through its wartime experiences and final separation from the Army's muster rolls.

The finest units histories have the best material to draw from: a good outfit with an important record of service, populated with interesting officers and men who left behind insightful accounts of their experiences. If an author does his job—and it is a tall task—by conducting thorough research, and then skillfully stitching it together, the result will be worth buying, reading, and keeping on the shelf. All of these attributes and many more will be found inside Michael Martin's The 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War.

Martin's study is the first formal history of any of the four Wisconsin cavalry units. That alone makes this book important because it fills a void in Wisconsin Civil War scholarship. What makes this an even better book is that the unit's record of service was not only unusual, but significant. The 4th Wisconsin was organized as infantry, but two years later changed to cavalry. It served in the Eastern Theater during the Civil War's early months, but was transferred west, where it spent the remainder of the war. In its ranks at different times could be found some of the most important men of Wisconsin history in the 19th Century.

The 4th Wisconsin Infantry was posted to Maryland in 1861. It remained in the East until March 1862, when it was sent to New Orleans to join the Army of the Gulf. The unit took part in two expeditions up the Mississippi River against Vicksburg in May. Its last infantry service was in the long and difficult campaign against Port Hudson in Louisiana. On September 1, 1863, the regiment was formally equipped as cavalry and served in Louisiana and Mississippi until July 1865, when it was again transferred, this time to Texas for service near the Rio Grande. In May 1866 the regiment was finally sent home. The men reached Madison the following month.

This remarkable Wisconsin regiment served continuously from June 6, 1861, to June 16, 1866—longer than any other volunteer regiment of the war. As the author aptly observes, no Wisconsin regiment of volunteers traveled farther on both foot and horseback or served the country longer than did the 4th regiment.

In its ranks were some of the most interesting Wisconsin men sent to war. Colonel Halbert Paine, a law partner of German activist Carl Schurz, was promoted to general and after the war served three terms in Congress. Paine was badly wounded at Port Hudson and his left leg was amputated a few days later in New Orleans. Joseph Bailey, who came in as a captain, saved Admiral Porter's ironclad and timber flotilla that was trapped on the Red River in 1864 with a dam technique used by Wisconsin loggers to raise water levels. Lieutenant Colonel Sidney A. Bean, who taught at Prairieville Academy (now Carroll College) in Waukesha, was killed by a sharpshooter at Port Hudson. He was the highest ranking Wisconsin officer killed during the war.

Perhaps the most famous man to step from the ranks of the 4th Wisconsin was Wilbur Peck, a humorist and newspaper editor who served two terms as Wisconsin's governor. Peck is remembered for a series of books, including Peck's Bad Boy. His somewhat fictional autobiography on his soldier days was entitled How Private George W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion.

Another man central to Wisconsin history was William Hoard, who enlisted as a fifer but was discharged in 1862 due to disability. Unwilling to sit out the rest of the war, Hoard joined the 1st New Y ork Light Artillery and served until the end of the conflict. In 1870, he launched the Jefferson County Union newspaper at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and a short time later began publishing Hoard's Dairyman. That publication is even today considered one of the international dairy industry's most important journals. Hoard also served as a Wisconsin governor before dying in 1918 at the age of 82.

If the 4th Wisconsin served longer than any other Badger regiment, it was also fitting it had the last surviving Wisconsin veteran—Lansing Wilcox of Cadott, who enlisted in the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry at the age 17 in 1864. Wilcox celebrated his 105th birthday on March 3, 1951, and died September 30 of that year. Gil Strodock, who at that time was the commandant of the Grand Army of the Republic home at King, Wisconsin, near Waupaca, conducted what he called the Grand Army ritual for the last time in Wisconsin.

Lance J. Herdegen

Town of Spring Prairie

Walworth County, Wisconsin

Chapter 1

Camp Utley

To the Patriotic People of Wisconsin:

In six days from the issue of my Proclamation of the [April] 16th, instant, the First Regiment called for by the President of the United States, for defense of the Union, is enrolled already for service … It is to be regretted that Wisconsin is not permitted to increase largely her quota, but her loyal citizens must exercise patience until called for. I urge the formation of companies of able-bodied men … in every locality where it can be done … men, who will pledge themselves to be minute men, standing ready, at short notice, to answer other calls of the Government …

Alex. W. Randall¹

Thirty-six companies of men from the Badger state offered their services to the Union within seven days after the governor's proclamation. This was 26 companies in excess of Secretary Cameron's initial request for one regiment of militia. In order to meet any future entreaties for men with celerity, Governor Randall assigned the additional companies to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th regiments. Three of these companies, Capts. Edmund Gray's Sheboygan Company, Daniel Roundy's Geneva Company, and Daniel White's Hudson City Company, would become Companies C, F, and G, respectively, of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry. The remaining elements of the regiment would come from throughout the southern and border counties of Wisconsin.²

The Jefferson County Guards, Company E, was raised in the city of Jefferson by its resident physician, Dr. A. H. Van Norstrand. Its elected officers included Dr. Van Norstrand as captain, 1st Lieutenant Seth B. Tubbs from Hebron, and 2nd Lieutenant Henry B. Lighthizer from Jefferson. William Dempster Hoard, a 24-year-old resident of Lake Mills and future governor of Wisconsin, joined the company as a fifer on May 21. Hoard was the first man in Lake Mills to write his name down on the roster and it seems that he did so as a personal tribute to Abraham Lincoln. In 1859, Hoard had borrowed a neighbor's horse and ridden a day and a half to hear Lincoln debate Senator Stephen Douglas in Freeport, Illinois. When Lincoln arose to speak, Hoard thought that he had never seen so awkward a human being as he [Lincoln] appeared to be for the first few minutes of his address. But very soon his great mind so completely overshadowed his physical being that when he commenced to walk back and forth on the platform, the consciousness of his physical unattractiveness was entirely lost. Thoroughly impressed by the future president, I enlisted in the war because it seemed to me that I owed it to this good man to help him in his great task of preserving the Union, recalled Hoard. As I look back upon these times, I do not recall that there were any heroics about enlistment. Men and women were so wrought up by the agitation upon slavery and ‘states rights’ that no other course was possible and when I went down to the village to enlist, it seemed that about every other man was there for the same purpose.³

Under the guidance of Captain Van Norstrand, the Jefferson County Guards drilled daily in the courtyard at Jefferson. The proprietors of the Jefferson House, Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins, provided food for the men. Mrs. Stebbins was a renowned cook and took great pride in preparing the choicest viands for her boys. Shortly before leaving for Racine, Captain Van Norstrand was appointed regimental surgeon. The change temporarily left Company E without a captain, a vacancy that was ably filled by Webster P. Moore from Beloit.⁴

Company H, the Oconto River Drivers, was raised by Joseph Loy, a Fox River steamboat captain/pilot. Upon hearing of Fort Sumter's surrender, Loy sailed one of the boats to a pinery near Oconto, Wisconsin. There he recruited 101 stalwart fellows from the area's lumbering camps. These lumbermen averaged 161 lbs. each and would fight as soon as eat any time. Loy brought his volunteers to Green Bay and drilled them with hand pikes in place of guns. Described by one soldier as a large, fine looking man with long black whiskers, Captain Loy and his men would be mustered into Federal service on July 6, 1861.⁵

In May, the 4th Wisconsin Infantry gained yet another outstanding recruit in the form of 19-year-old Knute Nelson, a future two-term governor of Minnesota and United States Senator. A native of Norway, Nelson immigrated with his mother to the United States in 1849. A year later Knute's mother married another Norwegian immigrant, Nils Olson Grotland. The family moved to Wisconsin in 1852 where they eventually settled on a farm in the Norwegian Koshkonong settlement near Deerfield. At the age of16 Nelson enrolled in Albion Academy, a Seventh-Day Baptist institution located in nearby Albion. Nelson worked his way through three years of schooling at the Academy cutting wood, building fires, and caring for the school principal's horse.

Captain Joseph Loy, Company H. An embarrassing incident that occurred while the Badgers were on board the Constitution may have contributed to Loy's early resignation from the regiment on July 13, 1862.

Following the fall of Fort Sumter, Knute and 18 Albion Academy classmates began drilling in preparation for the great struggle. At the end of May, Captain Lohmiller of the Black Hawk Rifles, a company of state militia located in nearby Fort Atkinson, paid Albion a visit. Captain Lohmiller brought along a band and a few of his most respectable men in uniform and persuaded Knute and his classmates to join his company. Nelson and the other Albion students left for Fort Atkinson and drilled with Captain Lohmiller's company until June 14 when the Black Hawk Rifles boarded a train and traveled to Racine. Nelson, his Albion classmates, and the remainder of the Rifles arrived in the city late that evening and immediately joined five other companies of volunteers at Camp Utley (named in honor of Wisconsin's Adjutant General William Utley).⁶

Many of the volunteers in the Hudson County Guards, the forerunner of Company G, began their nearly 350-mile journey from River Falls to Racine's Camp Utley on June 14. The eager volunteers, including 23-year-old Corporal Jerry Flint and George Hughes, left River Falls that morning and traveled 12 miles to the Mississippi River town of Prescott, Wisconsin. Flint and his companions arrived at sundown and boarded the steamer, Frank Steele. As the boat pulled away and turned south, the Prescott Company, a local group of militia, formed in line on the riverbank and cheered lustily for the Hudson County Guards. Flint and his comrades answered all their demonstrations and passed on. At Red Wing, Minnesota, a large group of spectators gathered on the shore and wished the future soldiers well as the steamer slowly churned by. The Hudson County Guards passed the remainder of the evening singing, speaking and [playing] music. Those who managed to sleep did so on the cabin floor or up on the deck. The steamboat reached La Crosse at 5:00 a.m. the next morning. With flags flying from every point, the gaily caparisoned vessel passed below the city, made a broad turn, then came back and landed at the depot after breakfast. Flint and his friends shouldered their meager belongings, left the steamer, and proceeded to the railroad station. Here, they boarded a train for Sparta. At Sparta, the Hudson County Guards were joined by the 4th Wisconsin Infantry's future Company I, the Monroe County Volunteers. The train steamed southeast through central Wisconsin and arrived at Milwaukee late that afternoon. Flint and the other volunteers gathered up their gear once more and marched through the city to catch another train that was bound for Racine.⁷

George Hughes, Company G. Hughes left the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry on February 10, 1864 to serve as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 15th, and later 99th, United States Colored Troops. Courtesy of the Hughes Family Collection

The trip to Racine took a mere 33 minutes. Flint and the other volunteers arrived at Camp Utley near dusk and were immediately marched to the Quartermaster's Office. Each man now received a blanket, towel, soap, and a washbasin. After supper the men repaired to their sleeping quarters for the night. The roof of the sleeping apartments, as Flint referred to them, consisted of oak trees and a clear sky and as the wind blew like fury off from the lake [Michigan] you can judge whether our rooms were well aired or not. I don't think I ever came quite so near to freezing to death before, he wrote his parents, but you know there was a lot of us so we couldn't have the blues.⁸

Camp Utley was located a half mile south of the city just north of Racine College on a 75-acre tract of farmland owned by Truman G. Wright. A small river served as the site's western boundary, while its eastern extremity rested atop a high bluff that overlooked Lake Michigan. I do not believe a more beautiful place is to be found in the whole state, Nelson wrote to his friend, T. G. Thompson. The camp lies on a twenty-five-foot-high level along the shores of the beautiful lake [Michigan] with a thick stand of trees around it and beautiful shade trees here and there in the middle of it. Flint agreed, noting that Camp Utley was the pleasantest place I ever was.⁹

The camp's layout was simple in design and adhered closely to military decorum of the period. The soldiers' tents, each of which was supplied with a pail and washtub, were big canvas affairs (probably Sibley tents) that housed from six to eight men. These were placed on a ridge parallel to the city's Main Street on the west side of what had once been a track for horse racing. The tents were laid out in streets about five rods wide, each company having its own street. The officers' tents were in the edge of a grove at the northernmost portion of the race course and overlooked the whole encampment. The centerpiece of Camp Utley was the main building. At the north end of this well built, imposing structure was a 25 × 40 foot Commissary storeroom which stored all the food. At the southern end was a 25 × 78 foot kitchen that contained several brick fireplaces with iron plates for broiling, boilers, and steamers. Between these two rooms was the grand dining room, 100 feet in length by 75 wide. Ten tables, each 100 feet long and able to seat 100 men, were arranged so as to allow enough space for the easy passage of waiters. Not far from the main building stood a 20 × 25 foot structure that housed the quartermaster's stores.¹⁰

Sanitation of the camp was deemed excellent and it was a Racine newspaper reporter's opinion that the duties of the surgeon and his assistants would be delightfully small as a result of the camp's setting. Great emphasis is placed on cleanliness, wrote Knute Nelson, so we must wash our feet every morning and our whole bodies once a week. Two sources supplied the water. Potable water came from five excellent wells, all of which were bricked up and furnished with a good pump. Soft water for washing purposes was provided by rain water that was collected in specially designed two foot wide watertight troughs which ran under the main building's eaves. The troughs conveyed rain water to large cisterns, two of which were located on the west and two on the east side of the building. A road from the camp to Lake Michigan was also constructed in hopes it would encourage the men to bathe. The entire cost of the construction of Camp Utley, though thought by many to be extravagant, was quite reasonable and did not exceed 60 cents per man.¹¹

The 4th Wisconsin Infantry's Colonel Halbert Paine had selected this campsite, and while his choice proved to be an excellent one, the realization that a regiment of men would soon be in their midst was initially looked upon with some trepidation by the mayor and citizens of Racine. These fears were groundless as the men of the 4th would prove to be model citizens during their stay in Racine. Much of the Badgers' good behavior could be traced directly back to the leadership of their lawyer-turned-colonel, Halbert Paine.¹²

Halbert Eleazar Paine was born in Chardon, Ohio, on February 4, 1826. After graduating from Western Reserve College at the age of 19, he taught school for a season in the state of Mississippi. He returned to Ohio where he was admitted to the bar in 1847 and subsequently practiced law in Cleveland. On September 10, 1850, Paine married Eliza Leaworthy Brigham in Windham, Ohio. Three years later their daughter and only child, Eliza, was born.¹³

Colonel (and later Brigadier General) Halbert Eleazar Paine. Paine was badly wounded during the second assault on Port Hudson. His left leg was amputated a few days later at the Hotel Dieu in New Orleans.

In 1857, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paine again took up the practice of law and eventually partnered with one of the city's prominent German lawyers, Carl Schurz. In his autobiography, Reminiscences, Schurz described his business associate as one of the finest characters I have ever known, a gentleman in the best sense of the word, and a patriot capable of any self sacrifice. Whenever in later years I rose in public positions my first thought always was to find some way of bringing Mr. Paine to my side, being sure that in him I would have the safest counselor and truest friend.¹⁴

In April of 1861, Paine received a commission as colonel and was ordered to report to Camp Randall in Madison. After several weeks he was sent to Racine to assume command of the fledgling 4th Wisconsin Infantry. Paine and his family arrived in Racine in May and took up residence with a local minister whose home was adjacent to Camp Utley.¹⁵

On Tuesday, June 18, another of the regiment's recent volunteers, Company C's Newton Culver, set out from his home in Sheboygan Falls for Camp Utley. Culver sailed down to Racine on board the sloop Comet. [A] great many [came] to see us off, Culver recalled, … [I] had a pleasant trip. Wednesday was Newton's first day at Camp Utley and it was not quite so nice as some had expected. On Sunday, the 23rd, Culver and the regiment drilled one hour in the forenoon and one hour in the afternoon. The regimental chaplain, Alfred Constantine Barry, gave the sermon and the day ended with dress parade in the evening. With the first week of drill and camp life behind them the Badgers began to feel like soldiers. Most of the men naturally assumed that their inaugural combat experience would come against the Rebels and they drilled with this expectation in mind. None of them imagined that the civilian populace of Milwaukee would be the first to feel the regiment's might.¹⁶

The infamous Milwaukee Bank Riots were, for the most part, the result of pre-war overinvestment by many of Wisconsin's banks in cheap, high interest yielding Southern bonds. These bonds were eventually used to back more than one half of the bank notes that were issued as currency in the state of Wisconsin. When the southern states began to secede, the value of these bonds fell almost immediately. In order to make up for their depreciation, the bank comptroller asked for the banks holding bonds to put up additional security. Those banks that could meet the comptroller's request soon refused to accept notes from those that could not. By April 1861, only 70 of 111 of the state's major banks remained solvent.

At this point, the Wisconsin Bankers' Association and its head, Alexander Mitchell, decided to address the problem. In an attempt to bolster the public's confidence in the 70 remaining banks, the association agreed to accept their notes at par value. When the price of bonds plummeted yet again in early June, several more banks could not meet the comptroller's demand for additional security and subsequently closed. On Friday, June 21, Mitchell and the Wisconsin Bankers' Association met again. This time they agreed to stop accepting notes from the newly insolvent banks. Mitchell and the Bankers' Association shrewdly withheld announcement of their decision until after normal banking hours on Saturday morning. Some felt that Mitchell and his fellow bankers used this delay to quickly unload or sell what bonds they could. Whether true or not, a large proportion of the city's common laborers, many of whom were German, were devastated by the bankers' decision. These unfortunate individuals had received their week's wages in currency from one of the newly insolvent banks late Friday afternoon, not realizing that much of that money would be worthless by Sunday.¹⁷

On Monday morning an angry crowd of German workers marched to Mitchell's office at the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance Company. Mitchell, the police chief, and the mayor attempted to calm the crowd, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Stones were hurled at Mitchell injuring him and a clerk. The mob then turned its wrath upon several nearby banks; these were ransacked and their contents set afire. News of the bank riot reached Camp Utley that afternoon. Great excitement prevailed in camp as the men expected to be ordered there at any moment to protect the city from a mob … The situation in Milwaukee continued to deteriorate and at 10:15 p.m. Colonel Paine received orders from Milwaukee's General Rufus King to send two companies of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry as soon as possible to the beleaguered city. Paine selected future companies G and F, respectively, the Hudson County Guards and Geneva Independents, for this undertaking. The men quickly boarded a train and in a short time were in the heart of Milwaukee marching on a mob which numbered at least 500. Though the newly arrived soldiers were threatened with knives and clubs, it was the brass cannon loaded with canister that worried the men most. As the German mob struggled to wheel the piece around and discharge it in the Badgers' direction, the Milwaukee Zouaves and a detachment from the Hudson County Guards suddenly charged the would-be artillerists and captured the cannon. With their artillery gone the mob slowly dispersed but threatened to rally again with greater force. The Badgers were reinforced soon afterward by an artillery company and two cannon. One piece was positioned so that it guarded the Juneau Bank and swept the bridge on Wisconsin Street. The remaining piece was placed at the corner of Main and Wisconsin streets.¹⁸

Colonel Paine stationed his two companies of Badgers in different parts of the city. Jerry Flint and 25 Hudson County Guards under the command of Lieutenant James Keefe were placed around the artillery piece and crew that had been posted on Wisconsin Street. You may think it strange that a gun in our possession should need a guard around it, Jerry Flint later wrote his brother, "but I will tell you how it was …

The artillery were all German and this was a German mob and we were afraid that they were disposed to favor them and so indeed it proved to be for about midnight we had noticed several odd motions but said nothing and kept walking backwards and forwards apparently paying little attention to what was going on. It was not long before their Captain gave them an order in Dutch, we saw them spring to their cannon but they were not quite quick enough for before they knew which way to turn we had them between a couple of rows of finely sharpened bayonets. Our muskets were also pretty heavily loaded with buckshot. After they saw their situation they cooled down and pretended that they meant nothing. Just at this time the relief guard was called out. Before we left we told the relief about it so as to have them on their guard. In about an hour they tried the same trick on them.¹⁹

During the evening of the 24th, two more companies of soldiers, one of which was the 4th Wisconsin Infantry's Sheboygan County Volunteers (later Company C), arrived from Racine and Madison. The situation had quieted down considerably by Tuesday morning, but the Badgers were kept on strict guard anyway. At 8:00 a.m., Flint and the Hudson County Guards were deployed in front of the Police Office. The Badgers kept the growing crowd at a distance while the Milwaukee Zouaves brought 25 of the previous day's prisoners over to the Police Office for trial. Flint looked out over the immense throng of angry Germans that continued to grow and worried that the mob would attempt to rescue the prisoners. General King shared Flint's concern and ordered the crowd to clear the streets. When the seething Germans refused, the Hudson County Guards formed across the street in two ranks with charged bayonets and slowly marched upon the belligerents. As the Guards moved forward another company of soldiers formed on their right, extending across the street, and yet another company formed on their left. The ranks of Badgers bristling with bayonets made it impossible for the Germans to press in and the crowd began to scatter. With the mob dispersed, the Milwaukee Zouaves brought the remainder of the prisoners out. These individuals posted bail and were allowed to go home. Wisconsin Governor Alexander Randall arrived later that afternoon and ordered the artillery to be withdrawn from the city's streets.²⁰

The soldiers slept little Tuesday evening, and as Wednesday dawned most hoped that the violence was at an end. The situation remained quiet throughout the morning until the men sat down for dinner. Suddenly, the order came quick and sharp for the Hudson City Guard to fall in. In almost no time every man was in his place, wrote Jerry Flint. With Colonels (Lysander) Cutler and Paine and General King riding out in front, the Badgers marched by platoons down to East Water Street, where a mob of 1,500 had assembled. Flint described to his brother what transpired next:

As we approached them we formed a hollow square to defend ourselves on all sides and marched right through them they showing no fight except swinging clubs and yelling most furiously. By this time two more companies had arrived at the spot and halted. The Mayor then announced to the mob that unless they immediately dispersed they would not be allowed to disperse at all. After a short consultation they concluded to take up with the terms offered them so there was no fight this time.²¹

This final show of force effectively put an end to the protests. There being no more excitement up to and including Thursday, many of the soldiers were sent back to Racine and Madison. The Hudson County Guards, however, remained in Milwaukee an additional day. Back in Camp Utley, Flint informed his brother that only two protesters had been killed during the two and one-half days of riots. He also told his sibling, "you cannot form a correct idea of what a mob is until you have seen one …

Such beastly yells with the swinging of knives and clubs was perfectly horrible. But there was only one thing that troubled the boys and that was we must wait for orders. We had to stand perfectly calm and let the wretches call us sons of bitches and [were] not allowed to charge upon them.

Flint was impressed throughout the ordeal by the captain of the Hudson County Guards, Daniel White. Captain White acquitted himself to the satisfaction of all his men; marching boldly in front telling the boys to come on, he noted. On June 28, the Hudson County Guards presented their captain with a sword that cost 40 dollars. He has pledged himself never to disgrace it, Flint wrote, and we have sworn to follow him through ‘rivers of blood.’²²

The bank riots indirectly claimed the 4th Wisconsin's first shooting victim early Wednesday morning. At 6:15 a.m. Warren Van Ness Reed and his fellow Sheboygan County Volunteers left the building in which they had bivouacked the previous night and began stacking their muskets on the relatively smooth sidewalk. When one of the stacks began to slip, Reed sprang forward to keep the muskets from falling. One of the weapons suddenly discharged, sending a ball through his breast. The stunned Lyndon, Wisconsin, native clasped his hands near the wound, exclaimed, ‘Oh dear’ and sank back lifeless. A Racine newspaperman wrote that Reed was a young man of fine abilities, beloved by his comrades. His untimely death cast a complete gloom over the Regiment … It seems hard to lose any of our brave soldiers on the field of battle, but infinitely worse is it to see them fall through accidents of this kind. The utmost precaution should be taken among the troops with fire-arms.²³

The men drilled throughout the day on Friday, but the Sheboygan County Volunteers and the Hudson City Guard were very down hearted at the loss of Reed. Severe drill was the order of the day for both Saturday and Sunday as well. In a letter to a friend at home, Knute Nelson described a typical day of drill: Morning: 4:30 reveille; 5:00-6:00 drill; 6:00 breakfast; 8:00-9:00 drill; 10:00-12:00 drill. Afternoon and evening: 12:30 dinner; 2:00-3:00 drill; 4:00-5:30 drill; 5:30 supper; 7:00-7:30 drill - hence, seven hours of drill every day. While such drill was needed in order to prepare for U.S. service, the men soon grew tired of it. Drill was liberally supplemented with guard duty as well. According to Knute Nelson, Forty men [were] stationed around the camp in the daytime as guards, and sixty at night. Pulling guard duty at night was the worst thing, but since the guard is off duty the following day this isn't so hard …"²⁴

The monotony of camp life and the endless procession of drill were pleasantly interrupted Sunday morning by the wedding nuptials of Captain Oscar H. LaGrange and Miss Jennie Stowell of Hastings, Minnesota. A little before 8:00 a.m., Captain LaGrange's Company B, the Ripon Rifles, marched to a grove on the border of Lake Michigan just east of camp. Ably led by Orderly Sergeant and Waupaca native Horatio Baker, the men formed a hollow square in which the wedding party soon made its appearance. Accompanying Captain LaGrange and Miss Stowell were the best man, Major Frederick Boardman, and a single bridesmaid, Miss Parker. The ceremony was impressively performed by Chaplain Barry and attended by many Racine residents and several of LaGrange's fellow officers who had managed to slip away from camp duties. After completion of the festivities, Captain LaGrange invited all his boys to meet him at his tent where he and his wife happily shared the Bride's Cake with them.

On Tuesday, July 2, nine companies of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry were mustered into service. These included Company A, the Whitewater Light Infantry; B, Ripon Rifles; C, Sheboygan County Volunteers; D, Columbia Rifles; E, Jefferson County Guards; F, Geneva Independents; G, Hudson County Guards; I, Monroe County Volunteers; and K, Calumet Rifles. In a letter to his father, Company G's Frank Harding wrote, Our Company was one [in which] every man passed. The officer that ‘swore us in’ after we had gone to our tents told the Col. that ‘there was a company that could be depended on.’

The Black Hawk Rifles were to have been mustered in as Company H, but Knute Nelson and his Albion Academy classmates refused to enter into service with that company. The company was immediately broken up and Nelson and his comrades were scattered around in the other companies. Knute and 11 or 12 of his friends eventually joined Company B, the Ripon Rifles. Captain Joseph Loy's Oconto River Drivers were accepted in place of the Black Hawk Rifles and mustered in as Company H on Saturday, July 6. This brought the number of officers and men on the rolls of the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry to 1,053.²⁵

Many years after the war then U. S. Senator Knute Nelson wrote a letter to his friend General F. C. Ainsworth in which he defended the actions he and his friends had taken that July day in 1861:

We Albion boys found, after joining the company, that we had gotten into a hard crowd; the captain was an easy-going, beer-drinking German, who kept little track of his company or his men; the first and second lieutenants were bummers and toughs of the first water. Hummel was a German, Rohr an Irishman. When they were not drunk, they were continually swearing and God-damning the men. A large share of his men were of the same character, and we boys saw that we had gotten into the worst kind of gang. What to do about it we didn't know.

Finally, when the United States mustering officer came to Racine … and commenced to muster in the Black Hawk Rifles, we Albion boys stepped out of the ranks and refused to be mustered in with that company. The colonel of the regiment, the mustering officer and the other officers threatened to put us in the guard house, etc., but we simply told them that we wouldn't be mustered in with that company. We were perfectly willing to go into the service, and be mustered in then and there, if we could be put in some other company in the regiment.²⁶

Uniforms were issued on Tuesday as well. According to Jerry Flint, the soldiers received two versions; one of blue for drilling which [was] to be worn every day and another of very fine dark gray cloth for a dress suit.²⁷ Many of the gray uniforms would be exchanged for dark blue Federal issued versions before August 1861.²⁷

The initial regimental and company officers included the following:

Colonel Halbert E. Paine

Lieutenant Colonel Sidney A. Bean

Major Frederick A. Boardman

Adjutant Lewis D. Aldrich

Quartermaster Andrew J. McCoy

Surgeon A. H. Van Norstrand

1st. Asst. Surgeon L. Smith

2nd Asst. Surgeon Samuel Wilson

The 1st Assistant Surgeon, L. Smith, was preceded by two individuals. Dr. John Page was the first to fill this position but turned in his resignation on June 24, 1861. His successor, Dr. Daniel Roundy, resigned on June 29. Daniel Roundy was also the captain of Company F but left this position upon becoming 1st Assistant Surgeon. Nelson F. Craigue replaced Roundy as the commander of Company F. He would not be commissioned a captain until October 29, 1862. The regimental chaplain was Alfred Constantine Barry, a Universalist preacher from Racine, who, according to Lieutenant Colonel E. A. Calkins, admitted with infinite humor and kindness … that there might be a hell for rebels …²⁸

Nine of the regiment's original officers would become casualties by the war's end. Lieutenant Colonel Sidney Bean, Major Frederick Boardman, Captain John Lynn, and Lieutenant Levi Blake would be killed outright while urging their men on in battle. Adjutant Louis Aldrich would die from a pulmonary hemorrhage in Boston on May 21, 1862. Colonel Paine and Captain George Carter would each lose a leg at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Many of these men would receive accolades of one kind or another during or after the war. Fifer and future governor of Wisconsin, William Hoard, paid perhaps the highest tribute to his colonel, Halbert Paine, and adjutant, Louis Aldrich, when he named his firstborn son Halbert Louis in honor of both men.²⁹

Chapter 2

Guarding Railroads in Baltimore

The ladies of Racine celebrated July 4 by furnishing the men of the 4th Wisconsin with a splendid dinner. Corporal Jerry Flint admitted to his parents that it had been so long since he had seen any pies and cakes that he devoted his whole time to them, including strawberries. Flint lauded Racine's fairer sex, noting, they spare no pains in trying to make the soldiers comfortable. While the Badgers were enjoying dinner, Lieutenant General Winfield Scott received a request for additional troops from Major General Robert Patterson who was then headquartered in Martinsburg, Virginia. Scott sent orders off to Madison, Wisconsin the next day that directed the 3rd and 4th Wisconsin Regiments to report to Patterson at Williamsport, Virginia.¹

Early Sunday morning, July 6, an accidental shooting claimed the life of another Badger. Company E's Charles Preston, a Racine native, and another soldier were fooling with their muskets while standing guard when the soldier's weapon suddenly discharged. The ball passed through Preston's breast, killing him instantly. The soldier responsible for the shooting later admitted that he didn't know that his musket was loaded. The men continued their drilling on the 9th and 10th in spite of a steady rain. On Thursday, July 11, the paymaster made his first visit to the regiment. The soldiers would have little time to spend their money as the regiment would be leaving fer (sic) the seat of war on Monday. Many of the men procured passes that Sunday and paid Racine one last visit. Frank Harding described the city as one of the finest towns in the west. The streets are regularly laid out [with] plenty of shade trees. The buildings are mostly stone or Milwaukee brick … this brick is different from any that I have ever seen. It is almost white and hard as stone. It makes the finest building material in the world. ²

With the firing of the morning gun at 5:00 a.m. on Monday, July 15, tents were struck and the arduous task of packing camp equipage commenced. The men worked rapidly and before noon all army chests and superfluous baggage had been loaded onto the railroad cars. At 11:00 a.m. the men marched into the dining room and sat down to their last meal in Racine. When lunch was over each individual filled his haversack with provisions of bread and boiled beef for the upcoming journey. Thinking that this fare was unworthy of such an occasion and wishing to give ample evidence of their affection, the ladies of Racine had one additional surprise in store for their Badger soldiers. As each man left the dining room baskets of cookies and doughnuts were deposited in each haversack until the men cried enough. This was followed by cheer after cheer for this token of kindness on the part of the ladies.³

1st Lieutenant Theodore Gillette, Company I. Gillette attributed the Federal victory at the Battle of Baton Rouge to the 21st Indiana Infantry's quick firing breech-loading Merrill rifles. Wisconsin Historical Society

Once all were outside, the men were ordered into line to receive the official thanks of Racine's Mayor G. C. Northrup. After the Mayor's kind remarks and Chaplain Barry's closing prayer, Many a tear fell, and many a heartfelt ‘God bless you!’ was uttered. That was a noble sight, recalled one Racine Journal reporter, when over one-thousand true hearted, brave men stood in one unbroken line … Fine manly, stalwart fellows, they will make a terrible foe to encounter.

Within this line of manly, stalwart fellows stood a last minute addition to the regiment, Company I's Theodore Gillette. Gillette's ambition to join the 4th Wisconsin Infantry had initially been opposed by his father. He wanted Theodore to remain at home in Tomah and manage the family's property … an undertaking that his father felt would make all of us rich some day. Recalled Gillette,

My father had ordered me not to enlist, and I had promised him I would not unless he should get up and make a speech and say that ifhe was a young man he would enlist. If he should do that then down went my reserve … the first drum and fife came into town from Sparta in April and all the inhabitants for miles around gathered to meet the recruiting squad. At the gathering in the square it was all excitement and enthusiasm with the drums beating, fife playing. My father could not stand it, he must talk, they expected it of him the Judge of the County and father of the town. To get me away he told me to take his horse and carriage and go after a large American flag about a mile away. On my return, I saw him getting down off the dry goods box and the crowd cheering. He had got his work in but he was fearful that I would find out what he said and I would enlist. I only went to the Captain and told him that I wanted him to keep me informed as to when the company would leave the state, as I would join them at the last moment. Which he did the gallant man and friend of mine, Captain John W. Lynn of Co. I, 4th Wisconsin Infantry.⁴

On July 12, Captain Lynn kept his promise and sent Sergeant James Farnsworth to notify Gillette that the regiment would leave on Monday and to fetch him if he wished to go. That night Gillette said goodbye to his father and grandparents and started out for Racine. On Monday the 15th, Private Gillette drew his uniform of gray, the state color, and sent his citizen's clothes home. There had been nearly eleven hundred uniforms issued and as they had made most of them too large, I had to take one of the largest, he complained. I did not have time to have them fitted to me. I tucked the pants into my boots and then they lapped over clear down to my feet. The jacket was the worst. The sleeves turned back six inches and the body lapped double across my back. The body was as long as my body. I weighed but one hundred ten pounds. You can imagine what a sight I was.⁵

Well-wishers, relatives, including Newton Culver's father, and thousands of citizens gathered at the Junction of the Chicago & Milwaukee and Racine & Milwaukee Railroads to see Theodore Gillette and the rest of the soldiers off. At 2:00 p.m., amid cheers, tears and music, and the roar of the cannon, the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and its 24-piece band embarked on their long awaited campaign to thwart the South's quest for independence.⁶

Bread, cold beef, and doughnuts comprised the first of what would be many suppers out of one's haversack. Few, if any, of the Wisconsin men managed to sleep that first night. The train reached Toledo, Ohio, Tuesday morning. Here the people had gathered together and prepared a wonderful breakfast for us. Great quantities of good coffee, cake, pie, eggs, sandwiches, and ham were consumed by all the soldiers. Everyone ate his fill, and that was not all, Knute Nelson wrote to his parents, The ladies also filled our haversacks for the journey.⁷

Sergeant, later Captain, James Farnsworth, Company I. Wisconsin Historical Society

The Badgers left Toledo at 8:00 a.m., changed trains, and rolled into Cleveland at 3:00 p.m. The regiment detrained at the Vineyard and the men marched up Superior Street to the park. There the Badger Staters dispersed by company, marching to an area in the park where the shade was best. Representatives of Cleveland's militia brought food to the park, including sandwiches, biscuits, meats, coffee, lemonade, and ice water. After a hearty meal served by the city's fairer sex, many of the men obtained leave to visit relatives and friends in the local Cleveland area. Others climbed the fence surrounding the park fountain and washed themselves in the cool Lake Erie waters.⁸

While the men lounged in the park, their officers ate at a bountifully spread table in the confectionary store of J. Schrink. When all had favorably attended to their appetites, the men formed up again on Superior Street and marched to the depot at the Cleveland & Erie Railroad. Colonel Paine had the men form a single rank on the railroad pier then asked for three cheers for Cleveland, which were promptly given. The Badger soldiers filed onto the train and eventually filled 35 cars. Accompanying the now seasoned travelers were half a dozen baskets filled with edibles, two of which overflowed with a liberal supply of raspberries all compliments of Cleveland's generous inhabitants. The two locomotives, Leopard and Ashtabula, quickly raised steam and shortly after 7:00 p.m. the 4th Wisconsin Volunteers were again on their way.⁹

To the dismay of Colonel Paine, one Wisconsin soldier's term of service ended abruptly at Cleveland. James Alexander, described as large, strong, and very intelligent, apparently became intoxicated somewhere between Chicago and Cleveland. When the regiment arrived at Cleveland, the visibly drunk Alexander was brought before Company K's Captain Hobart. The captain drew up his company and called for a vote among Alexander's comrades to determine if he should be allowed to remain with the regiment. The final decision went against Alexander and he was left behind in Cleveland's Police Station awaiting orders when the 4th Wisconsin departed.¹⁰

The train continued on through the evening hugging the shore of Lake Erie. By Wednesday morning the regiment had passed through the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and entered the Empire State. The 4th Wisconsin arrived in Buffalo, New York, at 6:00 a.m. After scrambling off the train the men marched through town in full battle dress. No one had had anything to eat since the evening before, so when the Badgers finally sat down to morning mess, we ate more like animals than human beings, remembered Company B's Knute Nelson. The regiment boarded the train at 10:00 a.m. and continued on to Batavia. There, the train turned south, rumbled through Stueben County and pulled into the town of Corning, New York, sometime during the afternoon. Along the way, one Badger soldier thought that he had seen some of the handsomest country in New York [and that] it beat Wisconsin all to smash.¹¹

Upon their arrival in Corning, Colonel Paine and the 4th Wisconsin faced their first test of the war. Because the train that carried the 4th Wisconsin Infantry had not taken the New York and Dunkirk rail line, Mr. Minott, of the Erie Company, directed that they should not be allowed to proceed to Elmira over their branch. The Erie Road authorities stubbornly maintained their position until 11:00 p.m. when an irate Colonel