Series 1200 contains documentation of use to both military historians and genealogists. For many --but by no means all-- Wisconsin soldiers, the records contain personal information that is not available in the Red and Blue Muster Rolls, the basic source for research about Wisconsin's Civil War soldiers. The descriptions which follow indicate those types of soldiers for which there is likely to be unique information in Series 1200. Although these categories of records may also be of interest to military historians, additional files containing correspondence, histories, orders, and quarterly and monthly returns will be of special interest to these researchers.
Series 1200 contains documents for all of Wisconsin's Civil War units arranged in the following order: 53 regiments of infantry,
four regiments of cavalry, thirteen light infantry batteries, one heavy artillery regiment, and a small number of miscellaneous units. Among the miscellaneous units which are filed at the end of the series is a collection of correspondence relating to the “Iron Brigade,” a famous combat unit which included three Wisconsin regiments: the 2nd, 6th, and 7th infantry regiments.
In 1995, the records were reviewed, thanks to a grant from Charles Gelatt of La Crosse, and arranged into their current form in order to facilitate research access. At that time, documents pertaining to each unit were sorted into fourteen distinct and consistently defined categories. The types of documents in each category is described below. A summary table of contents and a detailed box listing follows the description.
History: The chronologically-arranged histories are handwritten documents that chronicle a unit's service. Some of these reports were specifically requested by the state; others seem to be more spontaneous accounts of the unit's participation in particular battles. These narratives are very useful for understanding the events and highlights in the experience of the unit as a whole.
Muster-In Rolls: These records, officially known as “master and descriptive rolls,” were the actual documents that made official a soldier's entry into the army. Series 1200 includes three distinct types of muster-in rolls: company muster-in rolls, detachment muster-in rolls, and a general category of other types of rolls.
In theory the company muster-in rolls include the names of all of the original members of a company. There are usually eleven of these rolls for each regiment (ten companies plus one for field and staff). Each soldier is listed along with information about rank; birthplace; age; occupation; when, where, and by whom enlisted; period of enlistment; eye and hair color; complexion; height; when, where and by whom mustered into United States service; when and by whom last paid; bounty paid and due; current clothing account status; date of first muster; company assignment; and remarks. For field and staff the records include rank; age; when, where, and by whom enrolled; period of enlistment; miles traveled to place of rendezvous; state in which enrolled (usually blank); number of the enrollment district (usually blank); and remarks. Company muster-in rolls are arranged by regiment and thereunder alphabetically by the company's letter designation.
Detachment muster-in rolls were used to record the mustering-in of a small group of men, usually between two and ten individuals. When all men appearing on the roll went into the same company, that roll is filed with the company muster-in rolls. Frequently, however, the men in these detachments did not all go into the same company, and in these cases the rolls can be found in
folders marked “Muster-In Rolls - Other.” Detachment muster-in rolls contain the same information as the company muster-in rolls.
Individual muster-in rolls were used to document the induction of one soldier into the service. They contain the same information as detachment muster-in rolls and appear among the muster-in rolls for the soldier's company.
Muster-in rolls are valuable as a source of information on individual soldiers. The spaces for place of birth; age; occupation; eye and hair color; complexion; and height are usually filled in, and as a result these rolls provide the most complete set of personal information on individual soldiers to appear in Series 1200.
Veteran Muster-In Rolls: These rolls document soldiers who re-enlisted in late 1863 and early 1864. After a brief furlough, these soldiers were officially designated as veterans. The 1st through 19th Wisconsin Infantry, the 1st through 4th Wisconsin Cavalry, the 1st through 12th batteries of light artillery, and the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery all have rolls for re-enlisted veterans. For each soldier, the roll lists: name; rank; birthplace; age; occupation; when, where, and by whom enlisted; period of enlistment; eye and hair color; complexion; height; when, where and by whom mustered into United States service; when and by whom last paid; any bounty paid and due; current clothing account status; the date of first muster; company assignment; and remarks. Though often less complete than the original muster-in rolls, these rolls should be checked for information missing from the original muster-in rolls.
State Muster-In Rolls: During 1861 and 1862, regiments completed separate muster-in rolls for the Wisconsin Adjutant General. The 1st through 34th Wisconsin Infantry, the 1st through 4th Wisconsin Cavalry, the 1st and 4th through 12th batteries of light artillery, and the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery are represented by such rolls. They list name; age; residence; place of enlistment; marital status; date of muster into state service; birthplace; occupation; and remarks. These rolls were the only documents that regularly recorded marital status. In addition, the other data categories are usually completed, and they consequently provide yet another source for personal information for individual soldiers.
Transfer Rolls: In some regiments, soldiers transferred between companies within the regiment or to different regiments. In these cases, a transfer roll was completed in order to document the relocation. Company muster-in rolls were used for this transfer, but in many cases not all columns on the form were filled out. Transfer rolls are arranged by destination. These documents are most useful in helping to confirm the complete
service record for soldiers in companies which were transferred to another regiment, consolidated with other companies, or which had selected members detached to serve with other units.
Descriptive Lists: Sometimes referred to as “volunteer descriptive list and account of pay and clothing,” the alphabetically-arranged descriptive lists were filled out for soldiers who were separated from their regiments due to illness, desertion, or long-term detached service. Descriptive lists also exist for groups of new recruits in transit from a Wisconsin camp of rendezvous (often Camp Randall) to their assigned regiment in the field. Without a descriptive list, a soldier could not receive his pay, bounty, or clothing allowance. The most common form used as a descriptive list gives the soldier's name; rank; age; eye and hair color; complexion; height; birthplace; occupation; when, where, and by whom enrolled; when, where, by whom, and for what period mustered; when and by whom last paid; bounty paid and due; and remarks. Usually all of these data columns were filled in, and as a result the descriptive lists provide another possible source of personal information. Descriptive lists also reveal instances where an individual soldier's service record differed from that of his company or regiment.
Final Statements and Inventories of Effects: When a Civil War soldier died, final statements were used to complete his official record. However, only about one-half of the Wisconsin soldiers who died in service have final statements in Series 1200. Each final statement has spaces for name; rank; company; regiment; where born; age; height; complexion; occupation; where and when enlisted; when and where enrolled; term of enlistment; cause, date, and place of death; pay, clothing, and travel account balances; and any debts owed to the sutler and laundress. In many cases an inventory of effects is also included. This form gives much of the same information, but in addition lists the soldier's personal effects, who held these effects, and their intended final disposition. Final statements are arranged alphabetically. The final statement is often the only document in Series 1200 which gives the place and cause of death. The inventory of effects provides a detailed accounting of the soldier's personal belongings.
Reports: In this category are filed a variety of printed forms that include the word report in their title, for example “Report of Men Joined,” “Report of Re-enlistments,” and “Morning Report.” Most reports include a variety of personal information about selected soldiers. Handwritten reports are filed under the heading “Correspondence, Lists, and Orders” which is described below.
The reports are subdivided by type and then arranged chronologically. They are most useful in tracing the movement of
men in and out of the regiment due to enlistment, casualty, or detachment.
Returns: Monthly returns were filled out for both regiments and companies. Series 1200 contains nearly complete runs of regimental returns, although company returns are much less complete, often present for only one unit. Regimental returns give tabulations by company of the commissioned officers and enlisted men present and absent and the losses and gains since the last return. All absent men are individually accounted for in these documents. In addition, many returns include a concise summary of the regimental activities during the preceding month. Company returns contain much of the same information, and they probably served as the source for the numbers tabulated on the regimental return. Both types of returns are useful in tracing the exact dates and reasons behind the loss and gain of individual soldiers from the regiment's official roster, and the summary of activities is often more detailed than accounts found in printed histories of Wisconsin regiments.
Quarterly Return of Deceased Soldiers: These forms were filled out for each regiment every three months, and they document all soldiers who died during the previous quarter. For each soldier, the form lists name; rank; company; place, date, and cause of death; pay, bounty, and allowances due the deceased; money owed by the soldier to the United States, Soldiers' Home, sutler, and/or laundress; the date when the final statement and inventory of effects were forwarded to the Adjutant General and regimental headquarters; and remarks. The quarterly returns and the final statements are the only places in which place and cause of death were consistently recorded; these returns should be searched for any soldier for whom a final statement cannot be found in Series 1200.
Muster Rolls: Muster rolls were filed by each company every two months, and this document was necessary for the regiment to be paid. The condition of the company's discipline, instruction, military appearance, arms, and accoutrements is noted, and for each soldier the muster roll also records name; rank; when, where, by whom, and for what period enrolled; when, where and by whom mustered; by whom and when last paid; those present on day of muster; and remarks. They are arranged by company. Not only is this the only source for the condition of the company, but by checking the list of those present on day of muster, the detachment of a soldier from his company can be confirmed.
Correspondence, Lists, and Orders: This category consists of miscellaneous regimental records. Most documents filed here (except for a few printed orders) are handwritten, and they generally chronicle the day-to-day activities of the regiment and its members. The records cover a wide variety of subjects, including: orders received by and issued by the regiment;
casualty lists; leaves of absence; soldiers absent in hospitals; correspondence relating to the regiment's equipment, weapons, and flags; and lists of soldiers' families entitled to the $5 per month state bounty. These documents are arranged chronologically, and their usefulness varies from regiment to regiment. Some files are filled with information about individual soldiers; others consist mostly of documents that deal with the regiment as a whole.
Adjutant General Postwar Inquiries: In the forty years after the war the Adjutant General's office, as well as individual veterans, sought to correct and clarify the state's official Civil War service records. The resulting correspondence, much of which was produced from 1865 to 1869 and from 1885 to 1890, explains discrepancies and ambiguities in the records. Included are personal statements by the veterans, including information on the whereabouts of Wisconsin's veterans in the decades after the war. Although this file often contains facts on only a few soldiers (and most of these are officers), the information here about a particular soldier's service and his activities after the war is invaluable.
Muster-Out Rolls: These records officially ended a soldier's Civil War service. Much of the information on this form mirrors that found in the muster-in and muster rolls: name; rank; age; when, where, by whom, and for what period enrolled; when, where, and by whom mustered into service; by whom and when last paid; travelling, subsistence, clothing, and equipment accounts; and remarks. The arrangement also parallels the muster-in and muster rolls and--as with muster-in rolls--company, detachment, and individual muster-out rolls exist. Through the settlement of pay and accounts these documents sometimes reveal a soldier's financial situation at the end of the war.
