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Community Corner

Three Dozen Local Men Served in Company K of 24th Wisconsin Regiment

The unit fought in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama.

Editor's Note: This is the third of a five-part series on local men and their service in the Civil War. Click here to read Parts 1 and 2.

More than three dozen men from Oak Creek Township marched into the Civil War in August 1862, and more than half would be killed, wounded or die of disease. Some would be wounded more than once.

The men from modern-day Oak Creek and South Milwaukee served in Company K of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The company also included men from Milwaukee, the Town of Lake and other communities. All told, the company’s size was about 120, including some replacements who entered in 1864 or 1865.

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This is the summary of service for the 24th, from CivilWarArchive.com. The unit men fought in Kentucky, Tennessee (multiple times), Georgia and Alabama between 1862 and 1865.

The Oak Creek soldiers who became casualties in one way or another are in capitalized, bolded letters and placed at the time of their loss so that the reader can see the context. The first case of an illness that would prove fatal came only a few weeks after it left Wisconsin, and the last death was in late 1864.

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Several more men beyond this list were discharged because of disability, according to "Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865," a vintage research book that has been put online by the Wisconsin Historical Society. But that record does not say whether those cases were because of illness, non-battle injuries or something else.

The 24th Wisconsin was organized at Milwaukee, and mustered in on Aug. 15, 1862. It left the state for Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 5.

It camped at Jeffersonville, Ind., Sept. 7-10. Moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 10, and duty at Covington, Ky., until Sept. 18, when it was ordered to Louisville, Ky. Pursuit of forces of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg to Crab Orchard, Ky., Oct. 1-16. Battle of Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8. March to Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 16 to Nov. 7. GEORGE HOWES BECAME ILL AND DIED FOUR MONTHS LATER.

Duty in Nashville until Dec. 26. Advance on Murfreesboro Dec. 26-30. Battle of Stones River Dec. 30-31, 1862, and Jan. 1-3, 1863. AUGUST GAGE AND HENRY PFAFF (ALSO SPELLED PFUFF) WERE KILLED IN ACTION, AND FREDERICK FOWLE WAS WOUNDED AND DIED FIVE MONTHS LATER. AUGUST WRASE, MATTHEW STEVENS, PETER HOHNER, HORACE BALDWIN, EDWARD DAY AND JOHN GITTER ALSO WERE WOUNDED.

Duty at Murfreesboro, Tenn., until June 1863. Expedition toward Columbia, Tenn., March 4-14. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 23 to July 7. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign Aug. 16 to Sept. 22. Battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19-20. GEORGE VERHAALEN, BERNARD STOLLENWERT AND JOHN HAFER WERE WOUNDED.

Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., Sept. 24 to Nov. 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign Nov. 23-27. Orchard Knob Nov. 23-24. Mission Ridge Nov. 25. FREDERIC STEARNS WAS WOUNDED AND DIED FOUR MONTHS LATER. March to the relief of Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 28 to Dec. 8.

Operations in eastern Tennessee until February 1864. ANDREW GALAGHER DIED OF DISEASE. Duty at Division Headquarters at Loudon Jan. 18 to April 1864. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to Sept. 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton, Ga., May 8-11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8-9. Battle of Resaca, Ga., May 14-15. JOHN MOORE WAS KILLED IN ACTION AND JOHN HAFER WOUNDED AGAIN. Adairsville May 17. JOHN GITTER WOUNDED AGAIN. Near Kingston May 18-19. Near Cassville May 19.

Operations in Georgia on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles around Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25 to June 5, 1864. Operations around Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10 to July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Buckhead, Nancy's Creek, July 18.

Peach Tree Creek, Ga., July 19-20, 1864. JOHN PUFFENROTH DIED OF DISEASE. Siege of Atlanta July 22 to Aug. 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro, Ga., Aug. 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro Aug. 31 to Sept. 1. Lovejoy Station Sept. 2-6. Pursuit of Confederate forces of Gen. John B. Hood into Alabama Oct. 1-26. Nashville (Tenn.) Campaign November and December. In front of Columbia, Duck River, Nov. 24-27. Spring Hill Nov. 29. Battle of Franklin Nov. 30. BYRON KOVALT WAS KILLED IN ACTION AND SANDFORD GROVER WOUNDED; EDWARD DAY AND BERNARD STOLLENWERT WOUNDED AGAIN. Battle of Nashville Dec. 15-16. Pursuit of forces of Hood to the Tennessee River Dec. 17-28.

Moved to Huntsville, Ala., and duty there until March 1865. Operations in eastern  Tennessee March 15 to April 22. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., and duty there until June. Mustered out June 10, 1865.

Overall, the 24th Regiment lost eight officers and 103 enlisted men killed, and three officers and 87 enlisted men by disease. Total losses 201.

Next: One neighborhood and its boys in the war

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