The 5th Wisconsin Light Artillery was organized at Racine and mustered into service on October 10, 1861. The regiment left the state for St. Louis, Missouri, on March 15, 1862. During its service it moved through Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

It participated in the battles of Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Jonesboro, and Bentonville, as well as the sieges of Corinth, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Savannah. On January 2, 1864, it re-enlisted and veterans were sent on furlough between January and February. The battery mustered out on June 6, 1865. It lost 25 men during service. One officer and five enlisted men were killed. One officer and 18 enlisted men died from disease.

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[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?)]