The Civil War Home Front

The Civil War had a profound effect on nearly all aspects of life in Wisconsin. All residents, regardless of whether they became a part of the Union effort, felt the repercussions of war. After the financial shock of early 1861 resulting from the secession of the Southern states, the Civil War brought economic prosperity to Wisconsin. The war helped to consolidate transportation and industrial activity by increasing the volume of eastward-moving trade, especially when the closing of the lower Mississippi River restricted access to New Orleans. Railroads were overwhelmed with business, sending transportation costs through the roof. With the departure... more...

Original Documents and Other Primary Sources

	Girlhood and motherhood on the Wisconsin frontier, 1824-1860.
	An Immigrant Who Became a Northwoods Missionary
	A Waukesha editor recalls the underground railroad
	Ozaukee County residents riot to resist the Civil War draft in 1862
	Women try to raise funds to improve soldiers' medical conditions, 1863.
	More than 200 Wis. newspaper stories about the war
	Henry Dodge brought his slaves to Wisconsin
	Basic facts about every Wisconsin soldier, in the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers
	Wisconsin women tell their stories of life on the Civil War home front.
	Photograph of attorney Byron Paine, ca. 1860
	Civil War Recruitment Broadside, 1861
	Daily life for a working class woman in Onalaska, 1864
	Emilie Quiner's diary of Wisconsin during the Civil War, 1861-1863

Primary Sources Available Elsewhere

	Wisconsin Blue Books
	An online exhibit from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum
	Manuscripts from Wisconsin soldiers and citizens during the Civil War
	Biographical sketches and writings of some Wisconsin pioneer women
	Governor Lewis announces the founding of a Soldiers' Home, 1865
	Letters from the Ladies Union League, 1862-1864
	An ex-slave woman visits Watertown after the war
	A former slave recounts his time in Wisconsin

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