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").
| A Wisconsin officer refuses to give slaves back to their owners (2), 1862 |
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| A 14-year-old Wisconsin boy fights in the Civil War |
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| An interview with a Black soldier among Wisconsin troops in the Civil War. |
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| A Wisconsin officer refuses to give slaves back to their owners (1), 1862 |
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| A teenage nurse at the front, 1863-1864 |
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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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| The Civil War diary of a private from Sheboygan County |
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| A Wisconsin logger saves the Union fleet in 1864 |
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| Wisconsin Governor Jeremiah Rusk (1830-1893) |
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| Memories by a Wisconsin commander of Black troops in the Civil War. |
| A Tiffany punch bowl in honor of Bailey's heroics |
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| A feather from war eagle Old Abe |
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| An iron collar removed from a fugitive slave by Wisconsin soldiers in 1862 |
| Roster of Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers, vol. I |
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| A Wisconsin soldier recounts the Battle of Gettysburg for his family. |
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| A guide to the battles and engagements fought by Wisconsin troops. |
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| The history and traditions of the Chippewa Valley |
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| The roster of Wisconsin's only unit of black Civil War soldiers |
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| The only Wisconsin unit of Black soldiers in the Civil War |
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| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1895 |
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| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1905 |
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| Roster of Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers, vol. II |
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| Alphabetical index to all Wisconsin Civil War soldiers |
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| Official List of Wisconsin Soldiers Killed in the Civil War |
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| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1885 |
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| An 1875 history of the Chippewa Valley |
| A photo of former slave Peter Thomas |
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| More than 100 photographs and other pictures from the Civil War |
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| An 1887 portrait of General and Governor Lucius Fairchild |
| Letters by relatives of Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1861-1919 |
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| 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 Rock Co. soldier writes home, 1862-1865 |
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| A Wisconsin soldier describes being a prisoner of war, 1863-1865 |
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| All official records of the Union and Confederate Armies |
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| All official records of the Union and Confederate Navies |
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| Wisconsin Blue Books |
| An online exhibit from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum |
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| Manuscripts from Wisconsin soldiers and citizens during the Civil War |
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| First person narratives from Wisconsin soldiers and citizens |
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| "Old Abe," mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry |
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| Gov. Edward Salomon's request for volunteers, 1862 |
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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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| A former slave recounts his time in Wisconsin |
