mag:az]iinie ' ,„ i, kM 'INTER 2002-2003 •j^ y ^^^^ ^'-"^Q^j v^ Where Justice Makes Its Ho iiT WisconsmSuprei W«J* Court's Fi jy* 50 Yea Wisconsin Historic Contraband barricade. Come and get your property. Collection of The New-York Historical Society n September 1862, upon issuing his Preliminary Emancipation Procla­ mation, President Lincoln purposely excluded the slaves held in Ken­ tucky, a border state whose neutrality was of strategic importance to the Union's military success, especially during the early years of the ICivil War. The arrival of the Wisconsin Twenty-second Infantry, better known as the Abolition Regiment, generated anything but support for the Union cause. Like the soldiers depicted on this Civil War envelope detail, the men of the Twenty-second went beyond protecting fugitive slaves and threat­ ened anyone—including Kentucky's chief justice—with deadly harm if they made any attempt to retrieve their "contraband property." In this issue, William M. Fliss tells the story of the Abolition Regiment's journey through the Bluegrass State. m Editor J. KentCalder Managing Editor Kathryn A. Thompson Associate Editor Margaret T. Dwyer Production Manager Deborah T. Johnson Reviews Editor Masarah Van Eyck Research and Editorial Assistants Joel Heiman John Nondorf Naomi Patton Tim Thering John Zimm Designer Kfe.i.- ... ••eijSi^JePrj^-^^. ^••^^•,-^^:--^^7:, •.-..i«-./-^ Kenneth A. Miller Wisconsin's "Abolition Regiment" Z THE WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY, published quarterly, is one of the many benefits of membership in the The Twenty-second Volunteer Infantry Wisconsin Historical Society. Individual memberships are in Kentucky, 1862-1863 $37.50 per year; senior citizen individual, $27.50; family, $47.50; senior citizen family, $37.50; institutional, $55; By William M. Fliss supporting, $100; sustaining, $250; patron, $500; life (one person), $1,000. To receive the Wisconsin Magazine of History, join the Society! To join or to give a gift membership, send a check Gerald L. K. Smith 18 to Membership, Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State From Wisconsin Roots to National Street, Madison, Wl 53706-1482, or call the Membership Office at 888-748-7479. You can also join via e-mail, Notoriety [email protected], or at the Society's Web site, www.wisconsinhistory.org (click on "Become a Member"). By Glen Jeansonne The WMH has been published quarterly since 1917 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Phone 608-264-6400). Judge James Duane Doty and 32 Copyright © 2003 by the State Historical Society of Wis­ consin. Permission to quote or otherwise reproduce por­ Wisconsin's First Court tions of this copyrighted work may be sought in writing from the publisher at the address above. Communication, The Additional Court of Michigan inquiries, and manuscript submissions may also be Territory, 1823-1836 addressed to [email protected]. Information about the magazine, including contributor's guidelines, sample arti­ By Patrick J. Jung cles, and an index of volume 84 can also be found at the Society's Web site by following the "Publications" link from A Tradition of Independence 42 the home page. Photographs identified with PH, WHi, or WHS are from The Wisconsin Supreme Court's the Society's collections; address inquiries about such photos to the Visual Materials Archivist, 816 State Street, First 150 Years Madison, Wl 53706-1482. Many WHS photos are available By Ann Walsh Bradley through the Wisconsin Historical Images digital service available on the Web site. (From the home page, click and Joseph A. Ranney "Archives.") The Wisconsin Historical Society does not assume responsibility for statements made by contributors. ISSN Where Justice Makes Its Home 50 0043-6543. Periodicals postage paid at Madison, Wl 53706-1482. Back issues, if available, are $10 plus Captions by Jonathan Kasparek postage (888-748-7479). On the front cover: This closeup of the capitol facade illustrates the elaborate carving required by architect Editors' Choice 58 George Post's design. The wing ends feature six colos­ sal Corinthian columns (lower right) supporting a classi­ Letters from Our Readers 62 cal entablature. (Nels Akerlund photo) Back Matters 64 VOLUME 86, NUMBER 2 / WINTER 2002-2003 Bill Gladstone Collection at U.S. Army Military History institute WISCONSIN'S "ABOLITION REGIMENT" The Twenty-second Volunteer Infantry in Kentucky, 1862-1863 By William M. Fliss n early November 1862 a the Twenty-second Wisconsin young runaway slave sought Infantry and the fugitive slaves of refuge with the Twenty-second Kentucky, The Bluegrass State Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry became a major battleground between Iat its encampment three miles north North and South in the Civil War, It of Lexington, Kentucky, Recently never joined the Confederacy, but sold to a new master, the eighteen- many of its people sympathized with year-old woman said she was fleeing the Southern cause, and they vehe­ impending servitude in one of the mently opposed any meddling with city's brothels.' Though certainly not the state's quarter-million slaves. Rec­ the first Kentucky slave to seek refuge ognizing the state's strategic impor­ with the advancing Union Army, she tance. President Lincoln took pains to appears to have been one of few keep Kentucky from joining the Con­ women to take that risk. During the federate ranks. He purposely excluded early years of the war, runaway its slaves from his Preliminary Eman­ slaves, like their colonial and antebel­ cipation Proclamation of September lum counterparts, were overwhelm­ 22, 1862, This document proclaimed ingly young men,2 Her presence WHS Archives, Name File, WHi(X3)2380 that all slaves living in rebel territories Colonel William L. Utley, commander of the created a dilemma for Colonel would be freed on January 1, 1863, Abolition Regiment, proved a tenacious leader William L, Utley, commander of the on the moral battleground regarding slavery Because Kentucky had not joined the Twenty-second Wisconsin, Unlike the and freedom. In actual battle, he experienced rebellion, however, its slaves would several male fugitives who had joined less success. remain in bondage. the regiment, an attractive young woman could hardly be During the fall and winter of 1862-1863, many of Ken­ expected to move freely among the soldiers, providing assis­ tucky's slaves sought refuge with the advancing Union army. tance with cooking and odd jobs. Unwilling to turn her out of The Twenty-second Wisconsin Infantry harbored several of the camp. Colonel Utley decided to send her north to free­ them, and although it was not the only midwestern regiment dom. Disguised as a Union soldier, the woman traveled safe­ to do so, its absolute refusal to return the slaves to bondage ly to Ohio in a wagon driven by two men from the regiment. when pressured by civil and military authorities set the unit This episode is one of several fascinating stories involving apart from most other Union formations,^ By the time it arrived outside Lexington in November, the unit was widely Despite the impression that the angle of the gun held by Sergeant known as "the Abolition Regiment" through newspaper Jesse Berch (left) might give, the unnamed woman in this 1862 accounts and word of mouth. Why these Wisconsin men daguerreotype was far from being a hostage. Berch, the quarter­ master of the Wisconsin Twenty-second Volunteer Infantry would take such an uncompromising stance toward slavery in Regiment, and Frank Rockwell (right), the regiment's postmaster, Kentucky is a question worthy of exploration. escorted the fugitive slave from Kentucky to Cincinnati, where the three posed for the cafnera. The fnen returned to their comrades in Mustered into service on September 2, 1862, the Twenty- Kentucky; the woman fled to Racine—and freedom. second Wisconsin was among the dozens of Northern regi- WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY ments recruited that sum­ at the beginning of 1862 mer in response to Presi­ and remained there until dent Lincoln's request for July, when he accepted 300,000 additional volun­ command of the Twenty- teers. The federal govern­ second Regiment. ment expected each state to The details of Colonel provide a portion of this Utley's early life are total, and Wisconsin's sketchy, but we know he quota amounted to five was born in Massachusetts regiments of approximately in 1814. When Utiey was one thousand men each. four years old, his family The flood of volunteers moved to Ohio where he that swept the state's remained until he was recruiting ofiices in 1861 twenty-one. Seeking educa­ Kentucky Historical Society WHS Arcliives, Name File, WHi(X3)18315 had slackened by this time, Left: George Robertson, chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court in tional opportunities, Utley forcing Governor Edward 1862, whose legal conflict with the Abolition Regiment took over left home and moved to Salomon to divide the state a decade to resolve. Right: Caleb D. Pillsbury, chaplain of the New York State. He Twenty-second Wisconsin. into five districts by popula­ appears to have led a wan­ tion, making each district responsible for providing one of the dering life in New York, never settling down into a permanent regiments. The Twenty-second Regiment originated in the career. He married Louisa Wing of Alexander, New York, in southeasternmost district, comprising Racine, Kenosha, Wal­ July 1840, and, after a brief return to Ohio in 1844, the cou­ worth, Waukesha, Jefferson, Rock, and Green Counties. Ulti­ ple moved westward with their son, Hamilton. They settled in mately, Rock and Racine Counties each recruited three of the Racine, and Utley began supporting his family through a regiment's ten companies, and Green and Walworth Coun­ variety of professions: as a portrait painter, a tavern keeper, ties provided two companies each.* and the manager of a daguerreotype gallery.^ Utley appears Working through the Wisconsin adjutant general.