38th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry

Brief History
The 38th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry Companies "A," "B," "C" and "D" were organized at Madison, Wisconsin, and were mustered in April 15, 1861.Companies "F," "G," "H," "I" and "K" joined October 1,1864.It was in the Grand Review May 28. The 2nd Battalion was mustered out June 6, 1865. The 1st Battalion was on duty at Arsenal, Washington, during trial and execution of President Lincoln's assassins. It was mustered out July 26, 1865.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 38th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 21 November 2012).
 * The Wikipedia Article, 38th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, (accessed 21 November 2012).

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 633.

Company B - Roster page 635.

Company C - Roster page 638.

Company D - Roster page 640.

Company E - Roster page 642.

Company F - Roster page 645.

Company G - Roster page 647.

Company H - Roster page 649.

Company I - Roster page 651.

Company K - Roster page 653.

Unassigned Recruits - Roster page 655.

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 1,326 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

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.


 * Pierce, Solon Wesley. Battlefields and camp fires of the Thirty-Eighth : an authentic narrative and record of the organization of the Thirty- Eighth Regiment of Wis. Vol. Inf'y, and the part taken by it in the late war, a short biographical sketch of each commissioned officer, and the name, age at time of enlistment, nativity, residence and occupation of every enlisted man, with notes of incidents relating to them. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1993),.