8/26/2023 0 Comments Wisconsin civil war hospitalLater in the candle-lit barracks men played cards, told stories, sang, read newspapers, and read letters from home. Once the recruits had uniforms, a dress parade was common in the evening, sometimes admired by visitors from town. In some cases older veterans of the Mexican War or European wars ran the drills for the green recruits. Most of the recruits were young unmarried fellows, seventeen to twenty-one years old, with no military experience. The recruits' mornings and afternoons were largely spent drilling - learning marching, muskets, cooking in the field, and discipline. The camp could handle several regiments at once. Ten companies formed each regiment of a thousand recruits. Each company typically came from one region - students and young businessmen from Madison, farm-boys from Delton, lumberjacks from Eau Claire, etc. The men had volunteered from around the state, arriving in companies of 100. The typical recruits' day at Camp Randall began at 5am with a cannon shot that woke thousands. One of those gates was where the Memorial Arch stands now. An eight foot fence surrounded the 10-acre camp, with two manned gates. 45 barracks buildings were each 80 by 20 feet, with bunks three high, each housing up to 100 men. Some fair sheds housed cavalry animals, and other buildings were constructed. And the fair's Floral Hall held the hospital and officers' quarters. The fair's machinery exhibit building was converted to a mess hall that could feed 3,000 men at a time. Some of the new recruits bunked in what had been the State Fair's cattle sheds, while others lived in tents. With the outbreak of war, the Wisconsin Agricultural Society provided its fairground to be used as a training camp. Just a few years before the war, in 18, the camp's flat open area on what was then the west side of Madison had hosted the Wisconsin State Fair. Brown, Company B, 40th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment Sketch made from top of University Building, May 20, 1864, by W. Subsequent regiments assembled at Fond du Lac, Racine, and other places, but the majority ended up mustering at Camp Randall - 70,000 of the 91,000 who served from Wisconsin over the course of the war. The second regiment organized in Madison, and Camp Randall was rapidly established for them, with recruits already there by May 1. The first regiment of volunteers organized at Camp Scott in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Governor Alexander Randall, a strong abolitionist, promptly pledged that first regiment to the Union cause, and more to come. He initially asked Wisconsin for one regiment of 780 men for three months. When the Civil War broke out after the fall of Fort Sumter in April of 1861, President Lincoln called for troops from the state militias to put down the rebellion. In 1971 the Memorial Park section was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, considered "the single most important site in Wisconsin relating to the state's participation in the Civil War." Training/Mustering camp Today the camp's land is split between UW athletic buildings including Camp Randall Stadium, the College of Engineering, and Camp Randall Memorial Park with its historic and memorial displays. Also located on the grounds were a hospital and briefly a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederate soldiers. At this camp fresh volunteers received quick training before heading off to join the Union Army. Camp Randall Memorial Park, Madison, WisconsinĤ3☄′11″N 89☂4′34″W / 43.06972°N 89.40944°W / 43.06972 -89.40944Ĭamp Randall was a United States Army base in Madison, Wisconsin, the largest staging point for Wisconsin troops entering the American Civil War.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |