Stories

Selected Stories from the Collection

With disarming candor, Wisconsin soldiers wrote about the Civil War — their encounters with the enemy, camp life, politics, and personal reflections; coping with death, destruction, and the hard hand of combat.

Through original letters, diaries, and other eyewitness accounts, we learn what the men in the field were experiencing and feeling during the war.

To browse stories, start with the topics shown at left. Each story is an excerpt from an original document. To read the full document, click on the "View the full document" link at the bottom of the story's page.

Featured Stories

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Wisconsin Troops Help Capture Jefferson Davis
- May 10, 1865

Wisconsin Governor Witnesses Lincoln's Assassination in Ford's Theater
- April 14, 1865

Wisconsin's Governor Drowns While Trying to Help Soldiers
- April 21, 1862

Cordelia Harvey Persuades President Lincoln to Establish Northern Hospitals
- September 1863

Chaplains' Virtues are Unheeded
by the Grim Rank and File
- August 11, 1863