WISCONSIN STORIES IS A PARTNERSHIP OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN AND WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION.

FIRE ! 
( gunshots )

Tracy Will: THE CIVIL WAR. BUT THIS TIME, FOUGHT ON WISCONSIN SOIL. TONIGHT, A LOOK AT THE NORTHERN HOME FRONT  SOME REAL... AND UNREAL CIVIL WAR STORIES ON "WISCONSIN STORIES."

MAJOR FUNDING FOR WISCONSIN STORIES IS PROVIDED BY THE MEAD WITTER FOUNDATION, INC. WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN. ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY THE HALBERT AND ALICE KADISH FOUNDATION PHILIP J. AND ELIZABETH B. HENDRICKSON AND AN ADVISED FUND OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

Debbie Kmetz: IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON. PEOPLE ARE HERE AT CAMP RANDALL TO SEE A GAME. THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GATHERING PLACE OF SORTS. IT'S HISTORY MAY SURPRISE YOU. 
( playing "Battle Hymn Republic" )
 I'M TRACY WILL, HERE AT CAMP RANDALL. I'M WITH DEBBIE KMETZ, OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. FOR A FEW YEARS AFTER STATEHOOD, IN 1848 THIS WAS THE STATE FAIR GROUNDS. IT WAS MORE A PLACE FOR SHOWING PRIZE-WINNING ANIMALS THAN IT WAS FOR WATCHING FOOTBALL. IT WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR THAT THIS PLACE BECAME KNOWN AS "CAMP RANDALL." THAT'S BECAUSE SHORTLY AFTER THE SOUTH'S REBELLION IN 1861 THIS BECAME A TRAINING CAMP FOR SOLDIERS. IT WAS NAMED AFTER ALEXANDER RANDALL THE GOVERNOR AT THE TIME WHO SUDDENLY FOUND HIMSELF IN CHARGE OF THE STATE'S WARTIME ACTIVITIES. MANY OF WHICH CENTERED AROUND CAMP RANDALL. IN FACT, THE MEN WHO TRAINED HERE BECAME AN IMPORTANT PART OF WISCONSIN'S CONTRIBUTION TO HELP THE NORTH WIN THE CIVIL WAR. EVEN THOUGH NO BATTLES WERE FOUGHT ON WISCONSIN LAND-- AND FOR THAT, WE'RE FORTUNATE-- THE MEN AND SUPPLIES THAT WISCONSIN PROVIDED TO THE CIVIL WAR EFFORT PLAYED A VALUABLE, AND SOMETIMES A SURPRISING ROLE IN THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNION. READY, AIM... FIRE !

Will: HERE'S A TASTE OF WHAT CIVIL WAR BATTLE FIELD TRAINING WAS LIKE ESPECIALLY, FOR RECRUITS NOT ACCUSTOMED TO SOLDIERING. 
( cannons firing )
 THIS IS A REENACTMENT, THE ANNUAL CIVIL WAR REENACTMENT AT THE WADE HOUSE, A WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SITE NEAR FOND DU LAC. WHERE PARTICIPANTS MIX ENTHUSIASM WITH HISTORY. 
( yelling and cheering )

COMPANY FORWARD ! 
( cannon fires )
 THE WEAPONS USED ARE CIVIL WAR STYLE RIFLES AND CANNONS. THE SOLDIERS WEAR HEAVY, ALL-WOOL UNIFORMS AND THE PROPER INSIGNIA.

EVEN IN THE BATTLEFIELD CAMPS REENACTORS LIVE IN SMALL MILITARY TENTS THEN CALLED "DOG TENTS" SLEEP ON STRAW AND EAT THEIR FOOD COOKED OVER AN OPEN FIRE. ...IT'S JUST MY LITTLE CONTRIBUTION TO THINKING THAT I'M DOING THINGS RIGHT. Will: THE THINKING IS TO PUT YOURSELF INTO A ROLE PERHAPS, SOMEONE SPECIFICALLY FROM THE PAST OR JUST SOMEONE FROM THE TIMES. I CAME HERE LAST NIGHT, I FOUND OUT I'M IN CHARGE OF THE DISMOUNTED CALVARY SO I PUT THIS PARTICULAR COAT ON. I WAS A CAPTAIN. RATHER THAN-- I MIGHT HAVE HAD A LIEUTENANT'S OR A SERGEANT'S. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE GRAY UNIFORMS. Will: REENACTORS ARE PART ACTORS AND PART AMATEUR HISTORIANS. SOME COME TO IT FROM HAVING A FAMILY ANCESTOR IN THE WAR OTHERS FROM HISTORICAL INTEREST, AND SOME FOR A WEEKEND THRILL LIVING IN SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES. Man: IF WE ARE RECREATING A PARTICULAR BATTLE WE FEEL IT IS OUR OBLIGATION TO THE PUBLIC TO RECREATE THE BATTLE AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE. AIM... ! FIRE ! 
( gunshots )
 IT'S A HOBBY. IT'S ALL VOLUNTARY. IT'S NOT ONLY A REENACTMENT, IT BECOMES A LIVING HISTORY. BUT THOSE OF US IN THE HOBBY DON'T CONSIDER IT A HOBBY. IT'S MORE OF A DISEASE, FOR WHICH THERE IS NO CURE. AND THE WORSE YOU GET IT, THE BETTER YOU LIKE IT. I LIKE TO READ ABOUT HISTORY, I LIKE TO EXPERIENCE IT. EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW IT'S PROBABLY ONLY A TENTH OF WHAT THEY ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH. THE EMOTION, THE FEELING STILL IS THERE. AND I CAN TELL YOU FOR A FACT THAT HIDING BEHIND THE WALL-- EVEN THOUGH IT'S A REENACTMENT-- WE KNOW THAT EVERYBODY IS FIRING BLANKS. WHEN THEY TELL US, "RISE UP AND FIRE THREE ROUNDS BEFORE YOU WITHDRAW." WHEN YOU SEE 5,000 GRAY UNIFORMS COMING AT YOU YOU ASK YOURSELF, "DO I HAVE TO FIRE ALL THREE ROUNDS BEFORE I LEAVE ?" 
( yelling and cheering )
 IT REALLY MAKES THE HAIR STAND UP ON THE BACK OF YOUR NECK AND GIVES YOU JUST A LITTLE BITTY INKLING OF WHAT IT WAS ACTUALLY LIKE. Will: IT'S NOT REAL, OF COURSE BUT IT IS AN INTERESTING FORM OF COMMUNITY THEATER. HOW ARE YOU, YOUNG MAN ? GOOD. ARE YOU REPUBLICAN ? Will: WHERE YOU CAN CHAT WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN. I'M WONDERING IF I CAN GET YOUR AUTOGRAPH. Will: OR WATCH FIELD SURGERY WITHOUT FLINCHING. I HOPE WE CAN SAVE THIS WRIST. 
( yells out in pain )
 Announcer: During the battle, watch the flag. Will: REAL WAR DOESN'T HAVE A PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER... There's a rider coming back down... AND IT WASN'T OVER IN A MERE HOUR OR TWO. BUT THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT THOSE WHO FALL IN BATTLE HERE WILL GET UP AGAIN TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY. OR, MAYBE, ON THE NEXT WEEKEND. FINE JOB OUT THERE ON THE FIELD TODAY. FINE JOB. GOOD WORK MEN. GOOD WORK. Will: BUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE MAKE GET AN INKLING ENOUGH TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE REAL THING TO READ A BOOK OR TO TALK WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS WRITTEN ONE LIKE WE DID.

I'M HERE AT THE ARGUS BAR, IN MADISON THE ORIGINAL HOME OF MADISON'S DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPER THE ARGUS. I'M WITH BRETT BARKER, WHO IS WRITING A BOOK ON THE ROLE OF THE NORTHERN HOME FRONT DURING THE CIVIL WAR. TELL ME ABOUT THE ROLE OF CAMP RANDALL IN TRAINING TROOPS. IN FACT, CAMP RANDALL WAS THE PLACE WHERE MOST WISCONSIN MEN ENTERED ARMY LIFE. DURING THE WAR OVER 75,000 OF WISCONSIN'S TROOPS FIRST ENTERED THE ARMY AT CAMP RANDALL. WERE TROOPS HAPPY TO BE STATIONED IN THESE BUILDINGS ? MANY OF THEM DID ENJOY THE EXCITEMENT OF BEING AROUND NEW PEOPLE AND A NEW ENVIRONMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, ESPECIALLY EARLY CONDITIONS WERE RATHER PRIMITIVE. IN FACT, EARLY ON, BEFORE REGULAR BARRACKS WERE BUILT THEY WERE HOUSED IN BUILDINGS THAT HAD BEEN ANIMAL PENS BEFORE THE WAR. AS A MATTER OF FACT, ONE REGIMENT TO MAKE FUN OF THIS BUT TO ALSO SHOW THAT THEY WERE ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE WENT TO BED AT NIGHT MAKING ANIMAL NOISES.

Will: MANY RECRUITS WERE FARM BOYS, IMMIGRANT BOYS. MANY VOLUNTEERS WERE, IN FACT, FROM OTHER COUNTRIES-- GERMANS, SWEDES, IRISH-- GROUPED TOGETHER TO ACCOMMODATE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND TO KEEP ETHNIC FIGHTING TO A MINIMUM. SOME NORWEGIANS LIKE THOSE OF THE FAMOUS 15th WISCONSIN INFANTRY JOINED JUST TO SERVE UNDER ONE OF THEIR OWN COLONEL HANS CHRISTIAN HEG. SOME CONSIDERED IT AN ACT OF PATRIOTISM TO SHOW THEMSELVES WILLING TO FIGHT AND PERHAPS DIE FOR THEIR NEW COUNTRY. MANY OF THEM ALSO CONSIDER ARMY SERVICE A TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE. FOR INSTANCE, ONE WISCONSIN SOLDIER LARS DOKKEN, WHO LAY WOUNDED ON THE BATTLE OF STONE'S RIVER-- WAS LEFT THERE AFTER THE BATTLE. AND CONFEDERATES WERE WALKING AROUND LOOKING. AND ONE LOOKED OVER AND SAID "THERE'S ANOTHER DAMNED YANKEE." FOR LARS, THIS WAS A TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE HE HAD BEEN CALLED A "YANKEE" IN EFFECT, AN AMERICAN, NOT A NORWEGIAN. AND FOR HIM, THAT WAS A MOMENT WHEN HE TRULY BECAME AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. Will: NOT EVERYONE WAS INCLINED TO FIGHT. AFTER THE WAR DRAGGED ON FOR OVER A YEAR THE GOVERNMENT SET UP THE FIRST MILITARY DRAFT. RIOTS ERUPTED HIGHLIGHTING CONTINUING DISAGREEMENTS OVER THE WAR. DURING THE YEARS OF WISCONSIN'S DRAFT OVER 13,000 DRAFTEES FAILED TO SHOW UP. SOME IMMIGRANTS ESPECIALLY RESENTED CONSCRIPTION HOPING FORCED MILITARY SERVICE WAS SOMETHING THEY LEFT BEHIND THEM IN EUROPE. IN THE TOWN OF PORT WASHINGTON 150 PROTESTORS WERE ARRESTED FOR ATTACKING THE DRAFT OFFICE. AND THEY ENDED UP AT CAMP RANDALL IN PRISON. PEOPLE FOLLOWED BATTLES AND POLITICAL DISAGREEMENTS CLOSELY IN THE PRESS. WITH THE BELIEF, OR PERHAPS, THE HOPE THAT DESPITE THE COST, THE WAR SERVED A PURPOSE. TO THESE PEOPLE, WHO HAD A PROVIDENTIAL VIEW OF HISTORY WHO BELIEVED THAT THERE WAS A MEANING BEHIND ALL THINGS THAT THERE COULD NOT BE SENSELESS BLOOD BATHS THERE HAD TO BE A LARGER MEANING. AND TO THEM, IT SEEMED THAT THIS WAS A TEST OF NORTHERN SOCIETY. AND IT WAS ALSO THE ONLY THING THAT COULD JUSTIFY THE SACRIFICE-- WOULD BE EVENTUAL UNION VICTORY. Will: EACH MAN WHO FOUGHT, DID SO FOR A REASON. TO PREVENT THE COUNTRY'S DIVISION FOR THE MONEY IT BROUGHT TO THEM OR THEIR FAMILIES OR FOR THE PRESIDENT'S CAUSE, TO ABOLISH SLAVERY. "Abraham Lincoln": SO, I HOPE THOSE WITH WHOM I'M HERE SURROUNDED HAVE PRINCIPLE ENOUGH TO NERVE THEMSELVES FOR THE TASK THAT LIES AHEAD AND LEAVE NOTHING UNDONE, TO BRING ABOUT A TRIUMPH OF THE RIGHT. HIP, HIP, HURRAH ! HIP, HIP, HURRAH ! HIP, HIP, HURRAH ! Kmetz: WHO VOLUNTEERED ? THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S ARCHIVES HOLDS LETTERS DIARIES, AND OTHER DONATED PERSONAL PAPERS WHICH REVEAL INSIGHTS NOT ONLY INTO THE BATTLE FRONT, BUT THE HOME FRONT, AS WELL. ONE MAN WE FOUND CONNECTED BOTH. BORN IN THE EAST, DR. CHAPMAN WAS A YANKEE A DEEPLY RELIGIOUS MAN AND AN ABOLITIONIST. SOMEONE WHO FOUND SLAVERY ABHORRENT. A PHYSICIAN LIVING IN MADISON CHAPMAN WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO VOLUNTEER. AT THE AGE OF 46, AND NOT IN GOOD HEALTH HE WROTE THIS TO GOVERNOR RANDALL ON APRIL 27, 1861. "DEAR SIR, I TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TENDER TO YOU MY SERVICES IN THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT IN ANY POSITION THAT MAY BE PROPER FOR ME TO OCCUPY REGARDING MY PARTIAL PHYSICAL IMPARITY." THESE WORDS ARE REVEALING BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW CHAPMAN'S AILMENT BUT WE KNOW HE WAS WILLING TO MATCH IT AGAINST HIS CONVICTIONS. WE SEE THIS THROUGH HIS MANY LETTERS THAT HE WROTE TO HIS WIFE, EUGENIA HIS DAUGHTER, GENIE, AND HIS SON, CHANDLER, JR.

CHAPMAN'S SERVICE LASTED FOR THREE LONG YEARS. AND IT ALL STARTED WITH HIS FIRST ASSIGNMENT AS REGIMENTAL SURGEON TO THE 6th WISCONSIN. IT WAS A PART OF THE IRON BRIGADE WHICH LATER WON A REPUTATION FOR BEING ONE OF THE TOUGHEST FIGHTING UNITS IN THE CIVIL WAR. "MY DEAR WIFE AND DAUGHTER "OUR REGIMENT SEEMS VERY MUCH LIKE OUR FAMILY. "THE MOST GRATIFYING GOOD WILL "SEEMS TO PREVAIL ALMOST EVERYWHERE IN OUR MIDST. "BUT WE ARE HERE FOR A PURPOSE WHICH I HOPE THE GOOD BEING WILL SOON REMOVE." HISTORIC LETTERS REVEAL NOT ONLY THE EVENTS OF THE TIMES BUT ALSO, THE FEELINGS OF THE WRITER. IN CHAPMAN'S LETTERS, THOSE FEELINGS REVEAL HIS STRUGGLE BETWEEN HIS HEALTH AND HIS BELIEFS. "MY CONSCIENCE APPROVES OF MY BEING WHERE I AM-- "AND HOWEVER MUCH DOMESTIC COMFORT AND PERSONAL EASE "AND THE TIES WHICH BIND ME TO OTHER PURSUITS "MIGHT INFLUENCE ONE TO LEAVE MY CONSCIENCE WOULD NOT APPROVE." CHAPMAN'S HEALTH WAS NOT EQUAL TO HIS CONVICTIONS AND THREE MONTHS LATER ON MARCH 24, 1862, DR. CHAPMAN RESIGNED. THE WAR CONTINUED, SEVERAL MONTHS PASSED AND THE UNION ARMY STILL NEEDED MEN. CHAPMAN BELIEVED HIS HEALTH HAD IMPROVED SO HE REENLISTED IN JUNE OF 1862. JUST FOUR MONTHS LATER, DETACHED FROM HIS REGIMENT CHAPMAN TAKES CHARGE OF A CONVALESCENT CAMP IN SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI. AMONG HIS DUTIES CHAPMAN TOOK CHARGE OF DECEASED SOLDIERS' EFFECTS. HERE, WITH LETTERS TO HIM WE GET AN IDEA OF THE IMPACT OF THE WAR FROM THE WISCONSIN HOME FRONT. "HAVING RECEIVED A LETTER "ANNOUNCING THE DEATH OF MY HUSBAND AND ALSO STATING THAT YOU WERE THE SURGEON..." "SIR, I'VE TAKEN THE LIBERTY OF WRITING TO YOU "ROBERT C. TAYLOR WAS IN YOUR COMPANY. "ABOUT HIM, I WOULD MAKE SOME INQUIRIES. "HE WAS A NEAR AND DEAR BROTHER AND HE WAS LOVED BY ALL THAT KNEW HIM..." "...MY HUSBAND DIED. "I TAKE THE PRIVILEGE TO ADDRESS YOU WITH A FEW LINES "TO SEE IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND AND SEND MY HUSBAND'S CLOTHES TO ME..." "...WAS ANYTHING DONE WITH HIS KNAPSACK AND ALL THAT WAS IN IT ?" "...MY SINCERE THANKS. MRS. MARGARET LULL, DECEMBER 19, 1862." "...PLEASE WRITE AND LET ME KNOW IF HIS LAST DAYS "WERE SPENT IN THE SERVICE OF HIS LORD AND MASTER. "MARY ANN TAYLOR "BOSCOBELLE, GRANT COUNTY, WISCONSIN. JANUARY, 1863." THROUGHOUT THE WAR, CHAPMAN WROTE WITH RESPECT FOR THE ORDINARY SOLDIER. THEIR ILLNESSES AND INJURIES WEIGHED UPON HIM. "MY DEAR WIFE, WE BURIED ONE MAN TODAY "THE SECOND FROM A WEEK AGO LAST MONDAY. "THAT WAS A VERY BLUE DAY, AS I WAS SICK MYSELF. "AND MY ASSISTANT "WHO HAD BEEN WITH ME ABOUT A WEEK, SKEDADDLED. "THE MAN WHO WAS BURIED TODAY WAS OF COMPANY "J". "HIS HOME WAS NEAR MAZOMANIE "WHERE HE LEAVES A WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN. POOR FELLOW, HE WAS THE MOST HOMESICK MAN I EVER SAW."

DR. CHAPMAN HAD NOT SEEN MUCH DIRECT BATTLE THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE WAR. THIS CHANGES WHEN HE GETS TO VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI. "MY DEAR WIFE, I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN HOME WITH MORE COMFORT "THAN AT THIS TIME. "AFTER A RESIDENCE OF SO MANY DAYS "WITHIN THE REACH OF DEATH-DEALING MISSILES "IT IS NOT SMALL COMFORT TO RETIRE WITH A FEELING OF SECURITY ON THEIR ACCOUNT."

CHAPMAN'S STAY IN VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI GIVES HIM A CHANCE TO OBSERVE, FIRSTHAND, THE PLIGHT OF FREED SLAVES IN ENEMY TERRITORY. HE BEFRIENDS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY NAMED WEBSTER. AND ACTING ON HIS ABOLITIONIST VIEWS, OFFERS THEM A HOME WITH HIS OWN FAMILY, BACK IN MADISON. "WHEN THEY COME, EXPECT TO INSTRUCT THEM IN EVERYTHING. "I THINK GENIE WILL LIKE TO TEACH THE LITTLE GIRL. CYRUS AND MARY ARE ANXIOUS TO LEARN TO READ WELL." WE DON'T KNOW IF THE WEBSTER FAMILY EVER MADE IT TO MADISON. WE DO KNOW THE WAR CONTINUED AND DR. CHAPMAN STAYED FOR ANOTHER YEAR. HIS PHYSICAL INFIRMITIES INCREASED AND HE FINALLY RESIGNED IN AUGUST OF 1864.

IN ALL, CHAPMAN SERVED ALMOST THREE YEARS IN THE WAR TENDING TO THE SICK AND WOUNDED AND STAYING IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH HIS FAMILY THROUGH FREQUENT LETTERS. HE VIEWED THE WAR AS A NECESSARY EVIL TO END SLAVERY. BY VIRTUE OF HIS AGE AND INFIRMITIES HE COULD HAVE STAYED HOME. INSTEAD, CHAPMAN CHOSE TO TAKE PART IN A DEFINING EVENT IN OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY.

( gunshots )
 Will: AFTER THESE BATTLES WISCONSIN REGIMENTS RECEIVED SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR THEIR VALOR AND SACRIFICE.

( cannon fires )
 OVER 91,000 WISCONSIN SOLDIERS SERVED IN THE CIVIL WAR. ONE OUT OF TEN PEOPLE IN THE YOUNG STATE. DRAWN FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES THESE MEN WERE OFTEN ORGANIZED INTO ETHNIC COMPANIES OF AMERICAN-BORN, GERMAN, NORWEGIAN, IRISH AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND NATIVE-AMERICAN TROOPS. EXPOSED TO DISEASE AND WOUNDED IN BATTLE OVER 11,000 SOLDIERS, ONE OUT OF SEVEN NEVER RETURNED TO WISCONSIN.

UNION SOLDIERS WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO DIED AND WERE BURIED IN WISCONSIN DURING THE CIVIL WAR. IN 1862, A CONFEDERATE REGIMENT DESPERATELY TRIED TO STOP UNION SOLDIERS AND SUPPLIES FROM MOVING DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DURING THE PIVOTAL BATTLE FOR ISLAND No. 10 NEAR TENNESSEE. LOCAL HISTORIAN, MARGE LIPERT RESEARCHED ACCOUNTS OF THE REBEL SOLDIERS AND THEIR ORDEALS. Marge Lipert: THESE SOLDIERS FROM ALABAMA, ARKANSAS TENNESSEE, AND LOUISIANA, I THINK. WERE STATIONED ON ISLAND NUMBER TEN IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

THE WATER WAS VERY COLD. AND ACCOUNTS SAY THAT THEY HAD TO STAND WAIST DEEP, SOMETIMES IN THIS COLD MISSISSIPPI RIVER. AND SO, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM.

Will: OVER 1,000 CAPTURED REBEL SOLDIERS WERE SENT TO PRISON IN MADISON, AT CAMP RANDALL. CURIOSITY BROUGHT MANY MADISONIANS TO SEE THE ENEMY TROOPS ARRIVE. Lipert: THEY WERE REALLY TATTERED AND HAD VERY LIGHT CLOTHING ON AND WERE OBVIOUSLY VERY COLD AND MALNOURISHED AND THIN. THEY WERE REALLY IN BAD CONDITION.

Will: MADISON FAMILIES SAW THAT THE REBELS WERE LIKE THE FATHERS, BROTHERS AND MANY YOUNG SONS THEY, THEMSELVES, SENT OFF TO WAR. BUT THESE RAGGED, REBEL SOLDIERS WERE WOUNDED, SICK AND STARVING. Lipert: THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF MADISON REALLY TOOK AN INTEREST IN THESE SOLDIERS AND BROUGHT FOOD AND CLOTHING, AND THINGS FOR THEM TO READ. THEY WERE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THEM. THE ANIMOSITY THEY MIGHT HAVE FELT FOR THESE SOLDIERS KIND OF DISAPPEARED WHEN THEY SAW THE BAD CONDITION THAT THEY WERE IN. A FEW DAYS AFTER THEY ARRIVED IN MADISON THEY STARTED DYING. AND THAT CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.

Will: WITHIN A FEW WEEKS, 140 CONFEDERATE PRISONERS DIED. THEY WERE BURIED IN A NEW MADISON CEMETERY IN UNMARKED GRAVES. THE BURIAL SITE WAS THEN VIRTUALLY FORGOTTEN UNTIL AFTER THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR. Lipert: THREE YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WAS OVER ALICE WHITING WATERMAN ARRIVED IN MADISON. SHE WAS BORN IN LOUISIANA AND STILL HAD STRONG FEELINGS FOR SOUTHERNERS. AND SHE OBVIOUSLY CAME OUT HERE AND WAS PROBABLY VERY HORRIFIED AT THE CONDITION BECAUSE IT WAS OVERRUN WITH WEEDS AND THERE WAS DEBRIS. SO, SHE TOOK IT UPON HERSELF TO MAKE THIS A WONDERFUL RESTING PLACE FOR HER BOYS.

THIS PLACE WAS SO MUCH A PART OF HER LIFE. SHE OFTEN EXPRESSED HER LOVE FOR HER BOYS. AND SHE HAD REQUESTED, BEFORE SHE DIED TO BE BURIED WITH HER BOYS. AND SO, THAT REQUEST WAS GRANTED.

Kmetz: AT JUST ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT THE FIRST GROUP OF CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS CAME TO MADISON. WISCONSIN'S NEW GOVERNOR, LOUIS HARVEY WAS DOWN SOUTH, IN TENNESSEE. WE'RE UP THE HILL FROM CONFEDERATE REST AND THIS IS LOUIS HARVEY'S GRAVE. HARVEY HAD GONE DOWN TO TENNESSEE TO VISIT WISCONSIN SOLDIERS THAT WERE WOUNDED IN THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. AND THE MISSION WAS SUCCESSFUL. HE TOOK MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND DOCTORS. BUT IT HAD A REAL TRAGIC ENDING. HE WAS GOING BETWEEN TWO BOATS AND HE SLIPPED AND FELL INTO THE RIVER. THE RIVER CURRENT WAS STRONG, AND HE WAS WASHED AWAY. HIS BODY WASN'T FOUND FOR EIGHT DAYS.

INSTEAD OF RETIRING TO PRIVATE LIFE HARVEY'S WIFE, CORDELIA, TOOK UP HIS CAUSE. SHE WAS APPOINTED SANITARY AGENT BY WISCONSIN'S NEW GOVERNOR AND INSPECTED ARMY HOSPITALS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THERE, SHE SAW SOLDIERS DYING OF TYPHOID, PNEUMONIA DIARRHEA AND SCARLET FEVER. IN THE FALL OF 1862, SHE WROTE: "A SURGEON SAID, 'STAY AWAY. "'THE AIR IS FULL OF CONTAGION. AND CONTAGION AND SYMPATHY DO NOT GO WELL TOGETHER.'" CORDELIA HARVEY WAS CONVINCED THAT WISCONSIN SOLDIERS' BEST CHANCE FOR RECOVERY WAS AT HOME IN THE CLEAN, NORTHERN AIR. IN 1862, HOWEVER, THERE WERE NO ARMY HOSPITALS IN THE NORTH. THE LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION FEARED THAT SOLDIERS RECOVERING CLOSE TO HOME WOULD NOT RETURN TO FIGHT. HARVEY WENT TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH PRESIDENT LINCOLN. AFTER THREE DAYS, HE RELENTED AND GRANTED HER WISH FOR A NORTHERN ARMY HOSPITAL. IT WOULD BE LOCATED IN MADISON AND NAMED "HARVEY HOSPITAL," IN HONOR OF HER HUSBAND.

THIS STONE, AT THE CORNER OF SPAIGHT STREET AND BREARLY STREET, ON MADISON'S NEAR EAST SIDE MARKS THE SITE OF HARVEY HOSPITAL GROUNDS. DURING THE CIVIL WAR HARVEY HOSPITAL STOOD ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THIS BLOCK. BUT THE ENTIRE BLOCK, ALL THE WAY DOWN THIS STREET AND ALL THE WAY DOWN THIS STREET BELONGED TO THE HOSPITAL.

THE FOLLOWING YEAR TWO OTHER ARMY HOSPITALS WERE ESTABLISHED IN PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AND MILWAUKEE.

WISCONSIN CITIZENS PROVIDED ARMY HOSPITALS WITH A VARIETY OF SUPPLIES EVERYTHING FROM HOSPITAL BEDDING TO HOMEMADE FOOD. MANY WERE MEMBERS OF LOCAL HOME FRONT ORGANIZATIONS VOLUNTEER SOCIETIES MADE UP MOSTLY OF WOMEN.

 WOMEN PLAYED A ROLE ON THE HOME FRONT IN ANOTHER IMPORTANT AREA, THE FARM. WITH THEIR HELP, WISCONSIN WAS ABLE TO CRANK UP PRODUCTION OF FOOD CROPS AND WOOL FOR CLOTHING WHICH HELPED PROVISION THE UNION TROOPS. THERE WERE MORE WOMEN IN THE FIELDS AT THAT TIME THAN ANY TIME BEFORE THAT, AND PROBABLY ANY TIME SINCE.

Kmetz: IN 1860, WISCONSIN WAS THE SECOND HIGHEST WHEAT PRODUCING STATE IN THE NATION. WE ALSO HAD THE MEANS TO GET THE WHEAT TO MARKET. Tom Woods: IT WAS NECESSARY, FIRST OF ALL TO HAVE A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN PLACE FOR WHEAT TO BE SO POPULAR. AND THAT WAS TAKEN CARE OF BECAUSE WISCONSIN HAD 900 MILES OF RAILWAY LAID AT THE START OF THE CIVIL WAR. THAT WAS CRITICAL FOR WISCONSIN TO BECOME A LEADER IN SUPPLYING THE TROOPS WITH GRAIN DURING THE WAR. Kmetz: WHEAT WAS KING IN WISCONSIN FOR ANOTHER IMPORTANT REASON. OUR STATE HAD ONLY RECENTLY BEEN SETTLED SO FARMING HADN'T DEPLETED THE SOIL.

FARMERS FACED ANOTHER CHANGE IN THEIR FIELDS AT THIS TIME THE EVOLUTION FROM HAND LABOR TO MACHINE LABOR. TWO OF THE INVENTORS LIVED IN WISCONSIN. GEORGE ESTERLY MADE A REAPER. AND J.I. CASE OFFERED THRESHING MACHINES. BECAUSE OF THIS CHANGE THE FACE OF FIELD ANIMALS HAD TO CHANGE, TOO. IN 1860, OXEN WERE THE MOST COMMON FORM OF DRAFT POWER IN THE STATE. BUT WITH REAPERS AND MOWERS OXEN JUST CAN'T PULL THOSE EFFECTIVELY. SO, THEY BEGAN SWITCHING VERY RAPIDLY FROM OXEN TO HORSES DURING THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL CHANGE. WITHOUT THAT CHANGE, THEY REALLY COULD NOT HAVE PRODUCED THE AMOUNT OF GRAIN THAT THEY NEEDED IN THE CIVIL WAR EFFORT. Kmetz: ANOTHER ANIMAL GREW IN IMPORTANCE IN WISCONSIN DURING THE CIVIL WAR SHEEP. BECAUSE COTTON WAS NO LONGER COMING FROM THE SOUTH THE PRICE OF WOOL-- OFTEN USED FOR SOLDIERS' UNIFORMS-- WENT UP. AS A RESULT, THE NUMBER OF SHEEP QUADRUPLED TO 1.25 MILLION. THE FAVORITE BREED WAS MERINOS. THAT'S PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE WAY MERINOS WERE BRED WITH THESE INCREDIBLE FOLDS DOUBLE CHINS, TRIPLE CHINS, QUADRUPLE CHINS. IT HAD A LARGER SURFACE AREA TO GROW WOOL ON. AND BECAUSE OF THAT THEY COULD GET MORE POUNDS OF WOOL OFF OF A SHEEP. Kmetz: THE UNION ARMY WAS BETTER PROVISIONED THAN THE SOLDIERS IN THE SOUTH IN PART, DUE TO WISCONSIN'S AGRICULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS. THIS SAD COMPARISON WAS NOTED BY A NORTHERN SOLDIER IN A LETTER HOME. "THE PRISONERS PASSED BY HERE, SO I SAW 'EM. "I HAD MADE UP MY MIND THAT WE WAS SEEING PRETTY HARD TIMES. "BUT WHEN I SAW THEM "I HAVEN'T A WORD TO SAY AGAINST OUR FARE. "THEY WAS DIRTY AS A HOG AND RAGGED. "THAT WASN'T A NAME FOR IT. "BUT MOST OF THEM WAS NEARLY NAKED. "MOST OF THEM WAS BAREFOOTED. IT IS ASTONISHING TO SEE HOW THEY HOLD OUT SO." JACKSON THOMPSON, TO HIS FRIEND, SARAH THRONE.

Will: WE'RE BACK HERE AT CAMP RANDALL. Kmetz: OF COURSE. THIS PLACE MUST HAVE BEEN A HUB OF ACTIVITY DURING THE CIVIL WAR. THINK OF THE IMMIGRANT GROUPS THAT CAME HERE AND THE MEN MEETING EACH OTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME. NOT ONLY WERE THEY NORWEGIAN OR IRISH BUT THROUGH THE WAR THEY BECAME WISCONSINITES AND AMERICANS. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE FORGET THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR AS A STATE, WISCONSIN WAS ONLY 12 YEARS OLD. BY THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, THE STATE HAD LOST 11,000 MEN. THOSE THAT RETURNED, WERE CHANGED FOREVER. THE STATE OF WISCONSIN CHANGED, AS WELL. FOR YEARS AFTERWARD, IF YOU WEREN'T A VETERAN IT WAS TOUGH TO GET ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE IN WISCONSIN. AND THE INDUSTRIES THAT WERE BUILT FOR THE WAR-- THEY LAID A FOUNDATION FOR LATER GROWTH IN MANUFACTURING. LOTS OF PLACES IN WISCONSIN HAVE CIVIL WAR MEMORIES. LIKE IF YOU GO TO A FOOTBALL GAME... HOLD THAT THOUGHT-- UNTIL NEXT TIME, WHEN WE BRING YOU MORE WISCONSIN STORIES. LET'S GO GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

MAJOR FUNDING FOR WISCONSIN STORIES IS PROVIDED BY THE MEAD WITTER FOUNDATION, INC. WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN. ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY THE HALBERT AND ALICE KADISH FOUNDATION PHILIP J. AND ELIZABETH B. HENDRICKSON AND AN ADVISED FUND OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.