Philip Fox in Civil War Uniform

Ninety seven residents of Fitchburg entered military service during the Civil War, 95 of them joining Wisconsin regiments and two joining the regular army as sharpshooters. Of the 28366 Wisconsin residents that joined a Wisconsin regiment, there were 3556 deaths (12.5%) of which 2230 (63%) were due to disease. Four Fitchburg soldiers were killed in action (one of which died 6 days after discharge due to wounds), 7 died of disease and 2 drowned (apparently accidents). These statistics are similar to the Wisconsin deaths as a whole. It should be noted that Fitchburg had a population of about 1200 people in both 1860 and 1870 (Federal Census records). Thus, a large percentage of eligible Fitchburg residents fought in the war.

CW Soldiers

The above link will bring up a searchable pdf file containing a compilation of personal and military information obtained from a variety of sources including the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, the Wisconsin Historical Society, National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865, Find A Grave, and several military and personal records obtained on Ancestry.com. The blue text in the pdf file has links to websites containing additional information.

The 1861 Fitchburg plat map below contains red numbers indicating the approximate location where 40% (39/97) of the future Fitchburg Civil War soldiers lived in 1860. The other 60% must have moved to Fitchburg after this census was taken or were missed by the census takers. Consult the ID numbers in the Civil War Vets pdf file to determine the name associated with each red number. It is instructive to note that of the future soldiers we identified in the 1860 Fitchburg census, 60% lived with a parent or were the head of the household while 40% were laborers living with another family. Many of these later individuals appear to have no family members living in Fitchburg. However, a few had parents living in Fitchburg but for one reason or another they were living and working on a neighbor’s farm.

1860 Residence of Future Fitchburg Civil War Soldiers On an 1861 Plat Map.