The 21st Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Bragg in Oshkosh and mustered into service on September 5, 1862. The regiment left Wisconsin for Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 11, 1862, then traveled to Covington, Kentucky, and on to Louisville. During the war it moved through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Washington D.C. The regiment participated in numerous battles, including Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kennesaw Mountain, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta. It participated in Sherman's March to the Sea, the sieges of Atlanta and Savannah, and the surrender of the Confederate army. The regiment's veterans mustered out of active military service and were discharged June 8, 1865. The remaining soldiers were transferred to the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry and discharged at a later date. The 21st Infantry lost 305 men during its service. Five officers and 117 enlisted men were killed. Three officers and 180 enlisted men died from disease.

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[Source: Estabrook, Charles E, ed. Records and sketches of military organizations: population, legislation, election and other statistics relating to Wisconsin in the period of the Civil War. (Madison, 1914?).]

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