1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery Regiment

1st Regiment Wisconsin Heavy Artillery
Active	December 9, 1861, to September 21, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Artillery

Last updated September 09, 2019

The 1st Regiment Wisconsin Heavy Artillery was an artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons built to launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry's small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the large share of an army's total firepower.

A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country and the arm of service.

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic.

Service

The 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery was originally organized by companies over a considerable period of time and did not serve together as a complete regiment.

Battery "A" was created from Company "K," 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment on December 9, 1861, in the Washington, D.C. defenses, assigned at various times to Fort Cass, Fort Buffalo, Fort Ellsworth, Fort Worth, Fort Rodgers and Fort Willard. The battery was mustered out on August 18, 1865.
Battery "B" was organized at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in September 1863 and was assigned to Fort Terrell at Murfreesboro, Tennessee and remained there until January 4, 1864. It spent the remainder of the war at Fort Clay at Lexington, Kentucky and was mustered out on August 30, 1865.
Battery "C" was sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee, on October 30, 1863, and served in various stations in that state. The battery mustered out on September 21, 1865.
Battery "D" was mustered in on November 7, 1863, and was transferred to New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 9, 1864, and remained there to July, 1864. The battery was transferred to the District of LaFourche, Louisiana, in the Department of the Gulf until June, 1865. It mustered out of Federal service on August 18, 1865.
Batteries "E," "F," "G," "H," "I," "K," "L" and "M" were organized in September and October, 1864 and were sent to Washington, D.C..
- Company "E" was assigned to Fort O'Rourke.
- Company "F" was assigned to Fort Ellsworth.
- Companies "G" and "H" were assigned Fort Lyon.
- Company "I" was assigned to Fort Farnsworth.
- Company "K" was assigned to Fort Lyon.
- Company "L" was assigned to Fort Willard.
- Company "M" was assigned to Forts Lyon, Fort Weed and Fort Farnsworth.
Fort O'Rourke is a former Union Army installation now located in the Belle Haven area of Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It was the southernmost fort built to defend Washington, D.C. in the American Civil War.
Fort Lyon was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed south of Alexandria, Virginia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Built in the weeks following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Fort Lyon was situated on Ballenger's Hill south of Hunting Creek, and Cameron Run, near Mount Eagle. From its position on one of the highest points south of Alexandria, the fort overlooked Telegraph Road, the Columbia Turnpike, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the Little River Turnpike, and the southern approaches to the city of Alexandria, the largest settlement in Union-occupied Northern Virginia.
Fort Farnsworth is a former Union Army installation now located in the Huntingdon area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed south of Alexandria, Virginia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Nothing survives of the fort's structure as the Huntington Station of the Washington Metro occupies Fort Farnsworth's former hilltop site.

The 2nd Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city, located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, is one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

Fort Ellsworth historic fort in Virginia, USA

Fort Ellsworth was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed west of Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Built in the weeks following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Fort Ellsworth was situated on a hill north of Hunting Creek, and Cameron Run,. From its position on one of the highest points west of Alexandria, the fort overlooked the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the Little River Turnpike, and the southern approaches to the city of Alexandria, the largest settlement in Union-occupied Northern Virginia.

Batteries "E" to "M" were mustered out on June 26, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery initially recruited 1,777 officers and men. An additional 386 men were recruited as replacements, for a total of 2,163 men.^[1]

The regiment suffered 4 enlisted men killed or died from wounds in action, and 2 officers and 77 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 83 fatalities.^[2]

Notable people

Francis J. Borchardt, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
David C. Fulton, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Richard W. Hubbell, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Gilbert E. McKeeby, member of the Wisconsin State Senate
Henry Powell, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly^[3]
William T. Pugh, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly^[4]
George Washington Putnam, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Patrick Henry Ray, later a brigadier general in the U.S. Army
William M. Williams, Jr., member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

Francis J. Borchardt (1849–1915) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.

David Clements Fulton was an American businessman from Hudson, Wisconsin who served in various municipal offices and as a Liberal Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from St. Croix County.

Notes

↑ "1907-5-WICW". Archived from the original on 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2007-04-19.The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin, compiled and published under the direction of J. D. Beck, Commissioner of Labor and Industrial Statistics, 1907. Democratic Printing Company, State Printer, Madison, WI 1907.
↑ http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unwiarty.htm The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
↑ 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1887,' Biographical Sketch of Henry Powell, pg. 495
↑ 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1891,' Biographical Sketch of William T. Pugh, pg. 590

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References

The Civil War Archive

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[1] "1907-5-WICW". Archived from the original on 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2007-04-19.The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin, compiled and published under the direction of J. D. Beck, Commissioner of Labor and Industrial Statistics, 1907. Democratic Printing Company, State Printer, Madison, WI 1907.

[2] ttp://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unwiarty.htm The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.

[3] 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1887,' Biographical Sketch of Henry Powell, pg. 495

[4] 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1891,' Biographical Sketch of William T. Pugh, pg. 590