31st Wisconsin Infantry History | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

31st Wisconsin Infantry History

Wisconsin Civil War Regiment

31st Wisconsin Infantry History | Wisconsin Historical Society
EnlargeBirds-eye view of a Wisconsin Civil War regiment on parade in Fond du Lac, as drawn by Louis Kurz from the Marr Street Methodist Church.

Civil War Regiment on Parade,

Birds-eye view of a Wisconsin Civil War regiment on parade in Fond du Lac, as drawn by Louis Kurz from the Marr Street Methodist Church. View the original source document: WHI 45176

The 31st Wisconsin Infantry was organized by companies. Companies A through F were organized at Prairie du Chien and mustered into service on October 9, 1862. Companies G through K were organized at Camp Utley in Racine and mustered into service on December 24, 1862.

The regiment was ordered to Columbus, Kentucky, on March 1, 1863 and it moved through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., during its service. It participated in the Atlanta campaign, Sherman's March to the Sea, the Battle of Bentonville and the surrender of the Confederate army. Companies A through F were mustered out on June 20, 1865, and the other companies on July 8, 1865.

The regiment lost 112 men during service. Twenty-three enlisted men were killed. Three officers and 86 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?)]