Title: Company A, 11th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment Records
Inclusive Dates: 1861-1865

Creator:

• , Company A, 11th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment

Call Number: WVM Mss 77

Quantity: 3.0 linear ft. (1 archives box and 4 flat boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

The records of Company A, 11th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment consist of the forms, lists, and reports that the officers in the company submitted to higher authorities throughout the war. The collection includes numerous muster rolls for the company from throughout the war, which include valuable information about the service of individual soldiers. Also included are numerous lists and reports about supplies used by the company during the war. There are some scattered orders and circulars pertaining to the 11th Wisconsin Infantry. In addition, the collection contains scattered papers relating to soldiers being admitted or discharged from Union hospitals and being given furloughs or leaves of absence.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00077

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Company A of the 11th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment was organized in September 1861. Originally named the Watson Guards, the unit was composed largely of farmers from Dane County and was led by Captain Daniel E. Hough. As part of the 11th Regiment, they trained at Camp Randall through November, when they set out for the St. Louis area. They spent the winter of 1861-1862 guarding bridges and lines of communication. With the coming of spring, the 11th moved out and took part in movements and skirmishes throughout Missouri and Arkansas. On July 7, they saw their first significant action at Bayou Cache, Arkansas, where the regiment lost seven men, none from Company A. The men continued marching around the area and participating in light skirmishes throughout the summer and fall of 1862 before settling in at Patterson, Missouri for the winter.

The following spring they marched into Tennessee and Louisiana, before moving on to Vicksburg. As part of the 13th Corps under General John McClernand, the men of the 11th played a significant role in the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1. Two weeks, later the regiment was held in reserve during the battle of Champion Hill. The Confederate forces fled from that battle to fortifications at the Black River Bridge where the 11th saw significant action. The battle took place on May 17 and Company A was sent in first as skirmishers. Captain Hough, who personally led the men, was mortally wounded along with 1st Lieutenant William Freeman. Upon their deaths, Sergeant Luther T. Park was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and led the Company throughout the rest of the war.

The 11th Regiment took part in the subsequent siege of Vicksburg through its surrender on July 4, 1863. Following that victory, the men took part in the attack on Jackson, Mississippi under General William T. Sherman. Upon a reorganization of the 13th Corps, the men of the 11th were sent to Louisiana. In the remainder of the year they saw light action in that state, and in Texas. As their terms of enlistment began expiring in early 1864, more than seventy-five percent of the men in the 11th Regiment re-enlisted, earning the unit the status of “veteran” regiment and a brief furlough at home in March and April. The unit returned to Louisiana and remained there until February 1865 when it was called to take part in the campaign against Mobile, Alabama. Along the way they saw brief action at Spanish Fort before taking a more active role in the battle at Fort Blakeley. The regiment advanced to Mobile, where they served as part of the occupation force until being mustered out on September 4, 1865. They returned to Madison on September 18 and were officially disbanded on the 28th.

The records of Company A, 11th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment consist of the forms, lists, and reports that the officers in the company submitted to higher authorities throughout the war. The majority of the documents come from the last two years of the war, when the company was under the leadership of Captain Luther Park. The collection includes numerous muster rolls for the company from throughout the war. These rolls include valuable information for individual soldiers within the company, including date and place of enlistment, pay received, and remarks about their service history. Also included are numerous lists and reports about supplies used by the company during the war. The clothing, camp, and garrison, ordnance and ordnance stores, and quartermaster's stores forms give a good idea of the types of clothing, weapons, and other items the soldiers were supplied with and used on a daily basis. There are some scattered orders and circulars pertaining to the 11th Wisconsin Infantry. In addition, the collection contains scattered papers relating to soldiers being admitted or discharged from Union hospitals and being given furloughs or leaves of absence.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Robert and Barbara Bruder, Bloomington, MN, 1995. Accession Number: TR0450. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Preliminary inventory by Mark Van Ells, circa 1995. Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.

Box   1 Folder   1	Abstracts of materials expended, 1864-1865
	Series: Clothing, camp, and garrison supplies	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2	Equipage lists, 1863-1865
Box   5 Folder   1	Oversized, 1864-1865
Box   1 Folder   3	Final statements, 1863-1865
Ov   15 Folder   12	Inventories, 1864-1865
Box   2 Folder   1	Reports, 1864-1865
Box   4 Folder   1	Oversized, 1864-1865
Box   2 Folder   2-4	Returns, 1863-1865
Box   1 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1862-1864
Ov   15 Folder   13	Descriptive rolls (new recruits), 1863-1864
Box   1 Folder   5	Inventories of personal effects, 1862-1865
Box   1 Folder   6	Leaves of absence, 1863, 1865
Box   1 Folder   7	Medical forms, 1862-1865
Box   2 Folder   5	Monthly reports, 1861-1862
Box   3 Folder   1-3	Monthly returns, 1863-1865
Box   5 Folder   2-6	Muster rolls, 1861-1865
Box   4 Folder   2	Muster-in rolls, 1863-1864
Box   5 Folder   7-8	Muster-out rolls, 1861-1865
	Series: Orders	⇧
Box   1 Folder   8	Circulars, 1863-1865
Box   1 Folder   9	General, 1864-1865
Box   1 Folder   10-12	Special, 1863-1865
	Series: Ordnance and ordnance stores	⇧
Box   1 Folder   13	Lists, 1864-1865
Box   3 Folder   4-6	Oversized, 1863-1865
Box   4 Folder   3-5	Pay and clothing account lists, 1861-1865
Box   1 Folder   14	Quartermaster's stores lists, 1863-1865