Camp Randall: Wisconsin's largest Civil War staging point

Camp Randall was a United States Army base in Madison, Wisconsin, and served as the largest staging point for Wisconsin troops entering the American Civil War. When the war broke out in April 1861, Governor Alexander Randall pledged the state's resources to the Union cause. While the first regiment organized in Milwaukee, the second organized in Madison, leading to the rapid establishment of Camp Randall. Over the course of the war, 70,000 of the 91,000 Wisconsin soldiers who served mustered at this site.

Before the war, the camp's 10-acre area hosted the Wisconsin State Fair. With the outbreak of hostilities, the Wisconsin Agricultural Society provided its fairground for training. Recruits lived in tents or in 45 barracks buildings, each housing up to 100 men. The fair's machinery exhibit building was converted into a mess hall capable of feeding 3,000 men, while the Floral Hall housed the hospital and officers' quarters. The camp was surrounded by an eight-foot fence with two manned gates, one of which is where the Memorial Arch stands today.

Recruits typically arrived in companies of 100 from various regions, including Madison, Delton, and Eau Claire. Most were young, unmarried men aged seventeen to twenty-one with no prior military experience, though some drills were led by veterans of the Mexican War or European wars. Training for a regiment lasted from a few weeks to two months or more, focusing on marching, muskets, and field cooking. After training, regiments were often celebrated with speeches, brass bands, and large crowds before departing for duty.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons