Last month, we began the series Iron Brigade and Beyond: Wisconsin in the Civil War. In honor of the sesquicentennial of the war between the states, we’re commemorating the role and sacrifice of the 91-thousand Wisconsin men and women who fought in some of the biggest battles of the war; yet received marginal attention.
To remedy that, and bring the battles alive, we’re drawing on the expertise of Pewaukee writer, teacher, and independent Civil War historian Thomas Martin Sobottke. Today, Sobottke tells us about the first Wisconsin regiments to form, who fought mostly in the war's Western theater.
Sobottke is the author of the new book, Across That Dark River: The Civil War Memory, published by Moving Train Books LLC, which he also founded. Lake Effect’s Stephanie Lecci produces our series, Iron Brigade and Beyond: Wisconsin in the Civil War. We’ll hear another installment later this month. If you missed it, you can hear the first of our Civil War segments here.
Check out our link below to the text of Old Abe, The 8th Wisconsin War Eagle, written by Frank Abial Flower and published in 1885.
