25th Wisconsin Infantry History | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

25th Wisconsin Infantry History

Wisconsin Civil War Regiment

25th Wisconsin Infantry History | Wisconsin Historical Society
EnlargeIllustration of Frederick Mero of Company E, 25th Wisconsin Infantry.

Frederick Mero, 1860s ca.

Painting of Frederick Mero of Company E, 25th Wisconsin Infantry. View the original source document: WHI 33511

The 25th Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Salomon in La Crosse and mustered into service on September 14, 1862. The regiment was then ordered to St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 19, and assigned to duty on the Northwestern frontier briefly during the Sioux Uprising.

It then moved to Camp Randall in Madison, where it remained until February, 1863. The regiment departed Wisconsin again on February 17, 1863, for Cairo, Illinois, and then traveled to Columbus, Kentucky. During the war the regiment moved through Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Virginia, and finally to Washington D.C., where it was mustered out on June 7, 1865.

It participated in the sieges of Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Savannah, the battles of Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and Jonesboro, Sherman's March to the Sea, and the campaign of the Carolinas which included the Battle of Bentonville and the surrender of the Confederate army. The regiment lost 460 men during service. Three officers and 46 enlisted men were killed. Seven officers and 402 enlisted men died from disease.

[Source: Estabrook, Charles E, ed. Records and sketches of military organizations: population, legislation, election and other statistics relating to Wisconsin in the period of the Civil War. (Madison, 1914?)]