28th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment

28th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment
Unit name	28th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment
Dates	November 14, 1862 – July 11, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Battles	see below

28th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Organized at Racine, Wisconsin, the regiment mustered into service under the authority of Abraham Lincoln and served in several operations across the Western Theater, including assignments in Tennessee, Alabama, and along the Mississippi River. Veterans of the regiment interacted with major figures and units such as Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and the Army of the Tennessee.

Formation and Organization

The 28th was organized at Racine, Wisconsin and mustered on November 14, 1862, under the state regimental system instituted by Edward Salomon and the Wisconsin State Militia. Men enlisted from counties including Racine County, Wisconsin, Walworth County, Wisconsin, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Recruitment occurred under the auspices of state agents who coordinated with federal recruiters operating from Camp Randall and other muster sites established after the Enrollment Act controversy. The regiment's organization followed the standard ten-company pattern used by regiments raised for service in the American Civil War.

Service History

After mustering, the regiment was ordered to the Western Theater where it joined forces operating in the Department of the Tennessee under commanders aligned with Henry Halleck and later Ulysses S. Grant. The 28th was attached at different times to brigades and divisions participating in operations around Memphis, Tennessee, Jackson, Tennessee, and the Vicksburg Campaign. The regiment served on garrison and expeditionary duty, conducting patrols, escort duties, and occupation tasks tied to logistics routes on the Mississippi River and rail lines linking Nashville, Tennessee and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its movements reflected strategic priorities set by the lg of the Western Theater, including efforts to secure supply lines for the Atlanta Campaign and later support for Sherman's March to the Sea logistical needs.

Engagements and Campaigns

Companies of the regiment were involved in a sequence of engagements and expeditions associated with major campaigns. The 28th took part in actions around Vicksburg, Mississippi during the campaign that culminated in the Siege of Vicksburg, and later operations in the vicinity of Jackson, Mississippi. Elements were engaged in expeditions to control river approaches, including skirmishes near Yazoo City, Mississippi and operations protecting transports along the Mississippi River. The regiment also operated in Alabama during Federal efforts to suppress Confederate raiders and secure lines toward Mobile, Alabama, participating in local encounters tied to the wider Mobile Campaign. Tactical engagements saw the regiment confronting Confederate formations associated with leaders such as John Bell Hood and Nathan Bedford Forrest in cavalry-driven conflicts along supply routes.

Casualties and Losses

Throughout its service the 28th incurred casualties from combat, disease, and hardships of garrison duty that were common to regiments in the Western Theater. The regiment reported killed or mortally wounded in actions during sieges and skirmishes, while a larger number were lost to diseases such as dysentery, typhoid fever, and other illnesses rampant in military camps of the era. Additionally, losses occurred during prisoner exchanges and captures in isolated actions involving cavalry raids. The human toll reflected broader mortality patterns experienced by units serving under commanders like William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant, where disease often exceeded battlefield fatalities.

Commanders

Command leadership of the 28th included field officers appointed under Wisconsin state authority and confirmed by War Department processes. Key commanding figures served at regimental level and coordinated with brigade commanders within formations under generals such as James B. McPherson and John A. Logan. Company officers were often community leaders from Racine and surrounding counties who had prior militia experience or civic standing, and they implemented tactical directives during expeditions and garrison operations.

Units and Attachments

The regiment was assigned to a succession of brigades and divisions in the Department of the Tennessee, attaching at times to corps-level organizations within the Army of the Tennessee. It served alongside units such as the 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, 37th Illinois Infantry Regiment, 15th Iowa Infantry Regiment, and other Western regiments coordinated under corps commanders like John McClernand and William T. Sherman. The 28th’s companies performed duties ranging from front-line skirmishing with Confederate brigades to guard details for supply trains moving between river ports and rail depots.

Legacy and Commemoration

After mustering out on July 11, 1865, veterans of the 28th participated in Grand Army of the Republic posts, veteran reunions, and local commemorations in Wisconsin towns such as Racine, Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Monuments and memorial tablets erected in county courthouses and at local cemeteries commemorate members who fell during campaigns linked to Vicksburg National Military Park and other battlefield shrines. Regimental histories and muster rolls preserved in the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society contribute to scholarship on Western Theater operations and inform modern Civil War studies conducted by institutions like Civil War Trust and university history departments.

Category:Military units and formations of the American Civil War Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Wisconsin