Between 1860 and 1861, eleven Southern states defied the authority of the U.S. government and seceded from the Union, asserting a doctrine of states' rights. Ironically though, for several years before the war, Wisconsin had been the most thoroughgoing champion of states' rights. Unlike the Southern states, however, Wisconsin had used the doctrine in opposition to, rather than in support of, slavery. States' rights had been the basis of the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision to nullify the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act after the controversy surrounding the fugitive slave Joshua Glover (see "Abolitionism and Other Social Reforms").
| Wisconsin Governor Jeremiah Rusk (1830-1893) |
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| A 14-year-old Wisconsin boy fights in the Civil War |
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| A teenage nurse at the front, 1863-1864 |
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| A Wisconsin officer refuses to give slaves back to their owners (2), 1862 |
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| Memories by a Wisconsin commander of Black troops in the Civil War. |
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| The Civil War diary of a private from Sheboygan County |
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| More than 200 Wis. newspaper stories about the war |
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| Leonard Farwell, seeing Lincoln killed, saves Vice President Johnson |
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| The Iron Brigade recalled by a veteran, 20 years after the war |
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| An interview with a Black soldier among Wisconsin troops in the Civil War. |
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| A Wisconsin logger saves the Union fleet in 1864 |
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| A Wisconsin officer refuses to give slaves back to their owners (1), 1862 |
| An iron collar removed from a fugitive slave by Wisconsin soldiers in 1862 |
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| A Tiffany punch bowl in honor of Bailey's heroics |
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| A feather from war eagle Old Abe |
| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1905 |
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| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1895 |
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| An 1875 history of the Chippewa Valley |
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| The history and traditions of the Chippewa Valley |
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| The only Wisconsin unit of Black soldiers in the Civil War |
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| A guide to the battles and engagements fought by Wisconsin troops. |
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| Basic facts about every Wisconsin soldier, in the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers |
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| The roster of Wisconsin's only unit of black Civil War soldiers |
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| A Wisconsin soldier recounts the Battle of Gettysburg for his family. |
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| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1885 |
| An 1887 portrait of General and Governor Lucius Fairchild |
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| A photo of former slave Peter Thomas |
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| More than 100 photographs and other pictures from the Civil War |
| A Wisconsin soldier recounts the removal of a slave's iron collar |
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| Gettysburg day-by-day (June 30-July 6, 1863) |
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| A Wisconsin soldier writes a prison poem on envelopes, 1863 |
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| A Wisconsin soldier writes home from the war, 1863 |
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| A Wisconsin soldier describes being a prisoner of war, 1863-1865 |
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| Wisconsin Blue Books |
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| All official records of the Union and Confederate Navies |
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| All official records of the Union and Confederate Armies |
| First person narratives from Wisconsin soldiers and citizens |
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| Manuscripts from Wisconsin soldiers and citizens during the Civil War |
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| An online exhibit from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum |
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| Letters from Wisconsin soldiers, online at UW-Milwaukee. |
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| "Old Abe," mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry |
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| A former slave recounts his time in Wisconsin |
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| Read letters from Wisconsin soldiers in the Civil War |
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| A Wisconsin soldier witnesses the Fugitive Slave Law in action, 1862 |
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| A soldier writes the governor about conditions among the troops, 1862 |
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| A letter suggesting amendments to the Conscription Law, 1865 |
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| Gov. Edward Salomon's request for volunteers, 1862 |
