A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the American Civil War

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Michael J. Martin’s A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War is a deeply researched and vividly written study of an unheralded Federal combat regiment. Few of the thousands of regiments raised to fight the American Civil War experienced the remarkably diverse history of this little-known organization.

The Wisconsin “Badgers” began the war as foot soldiers in the summertime of 1861 as the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After service in Maryland guarding railroads, the men sailed to the Gulf of Mexico to sign up for Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s expedition to capture the South’s most important city: New Orleans. From August 1862 to July 1863, the 4th Wisconsin participated as infantry or mounted infantry in a series of bloody battles in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Bisland, the siege of Port Hudson, and Clinton. With a desperate need for mounted troops, the Badgers were officially changed to cavalry in September 1863 and became the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry. As troopers, they took part in four mounted expeditions across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, serving under such notable generals as Albert Lee, John Davidson, and Benjamin Grierson.

The Confederate armies surrendered in the spring of 1865, but the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry joined Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt’s cavalry division that July on its ride from Louisiana into Texas, where the regiment used to be broken up and deployed in more than a few outposts along the Rio Grande River. On May 28, 1866, Wisconsin’s last regiment of Civil War volunteers used to be in spite of everything mustered out at Brownsville, Texas. Unfortunately, a number of the men would not be going home: 431 had lost their lives to enemy bullets and disease.

Eight years in the making, Martin’s regimental history is based upon scores of in the past unused soldier and civilian diaries, letters, reports, up to date newspapers, and reminiscences. It includes dozens of in the past unpublished soldier photos, and a complete roster. Martin’s study is a should-have addition for every serious Civil War reader.
About the Writer: A descendant of a Civil War soldier who used to be wounded at the Wheatfield at Gettysburg, Michael James Martin grew up in Mequon, Wisconsin, and received both an MS and a Ph.D. in Animal science from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the Writer of several published articles on the Civil War. This is his first book.

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