1st Regiment, Wisconsin Heavy Artillery

Brief History
Battery "A" organized as Company "K," 2nd Wisconsin Infantry. Detached from Regiment August, 1861, and assigned to duty as Heavy Artillery at Forts Corcoran, Marcy and Ethan Allen, Defences of Washington, D. C., until October, 1861. Rejoined Regiment October 10. Permanently detached as Battery "A," 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, December 9, 1861. Attached to Military District of Washington, to May, 1862. Whipple's Command, Military District of Washington, to February, 1863

Battery "B" organized at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and left State for Murfreesboro, Tennessee, September, 1863. Mustered out August 30, 1865. Battery "C" left State October 30, 1863, for Chattanooga, Tennessee.Attached to 2nd Division, Artillery Reserve, Dept. of the Cumberland, to December, 1863. Garrison Artillery, Chattanooga, Tennessee to April, 1865. 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, District of East Tennessee, Dept. of the Cumberland, to July, 1865. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, District of East Tennessee, to August, 1865. Duty at Chattanooga, Tennessee, until March 29, 1865. At Athens, Mouse Creek and Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, until September. Mustered out September 21, 1865. Battery "D" mustered in November 7, 1863. Ordered to New Orleans, Louisiana., February 9, 1864. Attached to the Defences of New Orleans, Lousiana., Dept. of the Gulf, to July, 1864. District of LaFourche, Lousiana., Dept. of the Gulf, to June, 1865 Ordered to Washington, D. C., and there mustered out August 18, 1865. Batteries "E," "F," "G," "H," "I," "K," "L" and "M" organized September and October, 1864. Ordered to Washington. D. C. Attached to 3rd Brigade, DeRussy's Division, 22nd Army Corps, to December, 1864. 4th Brigade, DeRussy's Division, 22nd Army Corps, to June, 1865. Batteries "E" to "M" mustered out June 26, 1865.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Wikipedia Article, 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery Regiment. (accessed 23 November 2012).

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 3,182 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

The following company links are to rosters taken from Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, found on the Internet Archives web site. The rosters show the men who served in each regiment, their residences, dates of enlistment and mustering out, and other remarks.

Company A - Roster page 255.

Company B - Roster page 260.

Company C - Roster page 263.

Company D - Roster page 266.

Company E - Roster page 270.

Company F - Roster page 273.

Company G - Roster page 275.

Company H - Roster page 278.

Company I - Roster page 281.

Company K - Roster page 283.

Company L - Roster page 286.

Company M - Roster page 289.

Unassigned Recruits - Roster page 291.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'Wisconsin in the Civil War' and 'United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865' (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Wisconsin in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Wisconsin, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.