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 (1), 1862 |
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| A Wisconsin officer refuses to give slaves back to their owners (2), 1862 |
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| More than 200 Wis. newspaper stories about the war |
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| An interview with a Black soldier among Wisconsin troops in the Civil War. |
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| Leonard Farwell, seeing Lincoln killed, saves Vice President Johnson |
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| A Wisconsin logger saves the Union fleet in 1864 |
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| A teenage nurse at the front, 1863-1864 |
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| The Civil War diary of a private from Sheboygan County |
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| The Iron Brigade recalled by a veteran, 20 years after the war |
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| A 14-year-old Wisconsin boy fights in the Civil War |
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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. |
| 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 |
| A Wisconsin soldier recounts the Battle of Gettysburg for his family. |
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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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| Roster of Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers, vol. I |
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| A guide to the battles and engagements fought by Wisconsin troops. |
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| Official List of Wisconsin Soldiers Killed in the Civil War |
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| Alphabetical index to all Wisconsin Civil War soldiers |
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| Roster of Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers, vol. II |
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| 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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| Names of ex-soldiers and sailors residing in Wisconsin, 1885 |
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| An 1875 history of the Chippewa Valley |
| 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 describes being a prisoner of war, 1863-1865 |
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| A Wisconsin soldier recounts the removal of a slave's iron collar |
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| A Wisconsin soldier writes a prison poem on envelopes, 1863 |
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| Gettysburg day-by-day (June 30-July 6, 1863) |
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| Letters by relatives of Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1861-1919 |
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| A Wisconsin soldier writes home from the war, 1863 |
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| All official records of the Union and Confederate Navies |
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| Wisconsin Blue Books |
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| All official records of the Union and Confederate Armies |
| An online exhibit from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum |
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| Letters from Wisconsin soldiers, online at UW-Milwaukee. |
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| 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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| "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 letter suggesting amendments to the Conscription Law, 1865 |
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| A soldier writes the governor about conditions among the troops, 1862 |
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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 |
