In 1901, the Wisconsin Legislature created a museum in the State Capitol honoring the veterans of the Civil War and “any subsequent wars.” The museum was named the G.A.R. Memorial Hall in recognition of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), the most significant Civil War veterans organization. The Memorial Hall also served as the state G.A.R. headquarters and housed the Civil War battle flags of Wisconsin regiments. The director of the Hall was called the custodian and was by law to be a Civil War veteran.
In February 1904, the capitol burned to the ground as a result of a faulty gas light jet, destroying the original Memorial Hall. Among the Wisconsin Civil War treasures lost in the fire were Old Abe the War Eagle, military memorabilia, military and veteran records, books, and portraits. Wisconsin's Civil War battle flag collection was displayed in the Capitol rotunda, and two Madison citizens rushed into the capitol, broke the exhibit cases, and moved all 194 flags to safety in the snow outside. Virtually all of the records in this collection date from after the Capitol fire.
A new Memorial Hall was dedicated and opened in the north wing of the present capitol in 1918. This Memorial Hall remained under the custodianship of the G.A.R. until it was passed to Spanish-American War veterans and the Adjutant General's office in 1938. Immediately after World War II, the G.A.R. Memorial Hall was transferred to the auspices of the newly created Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1965, the Hall was rededicated after significant renovation. The Memorial Hall remained under the custodianship of the Wisconsin Department of the United Spanish-American War Veterans until the early 1970s when the museum's first professional museum curator was hired. In 1972, the G.A.R. Memorial Hall was integrated into the newly created Wisconsin Veterans Museum System and it ceased to be known by that name.
This collection covers the period from the creation of the Memorial Hall through 1965. Much of the collection is organized by the names of the Memorial Hall custodians, and a list of the custodians and their dates of service is provided below. The custodians through Charles W. Netherwood were Civil War veterans, and after that point were Spanish-American War veterans.
