VOLUME 19:2 2013 SPRING QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM PHILANDER B. WRIGHT REDISCOVERED THE WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM MADISON, WI WWW.WISVETSMUSEUM.COM FROM THE SECRETARY sure there was strong support Exhibit space was quickly for the museum all around the filled, as relics from those state, from veterans and non- subsequent wars vastly veterans alike. enlarged our collections and How the Wisconsin Veterans the museum became more Museum came to be on the and more popular. By the Capitol Square in its current 1980s, it was clear that our incarnation is best answered museum needed more space by the late Dr. Richard Zeitlin. for exhibits and visitors. Thus, As the former curator of the with the support of many G.A.R. Memorial Hall Museum Veterans Affairs secretaries, in the State Capitol and the Governor Thompson and Wisconsin War Museum at the many legislators, we were Wisconsin Veterans Home, he able to acquire the space and was a firsthand witness to the develop the exhibits that now history of our museum. make the Wisconsin Veterans Zeitlin pointed to a 1901 Museum a premiere historical law that mandated that state attraction in the State of officials establish a memorial Wisconsin. WDVA SECRETARY JOHN SCOCOS dedicated to commemorating The Wisconsin Department Wisconsin’s role in the Civil of Veterans Affairs is proud FROM THE SECRETARY War and any subsequent of our museum and as we Greetings! The Wisconsin war as a starting point for commemorate our 20th Veterans Museum as you the museum. After the State anniversary in its current know it today opened on Capitol was rebuilt following location, we are also working June 6, 1993. Ray Boland, a fire in 1904, the G.A.R. to hold true to our origins. who was then Secretary of Memorial Hall was dedicated I hope you will take time to the Wisconsin Department of as exhibit space, containing visit our new Civil War exhibit Veterans Affairs, pushed the mainly Civil War artifacts. It when it opens in July. project forward and made was only 2640 square feet. WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM SPECIAL PROJECTS Your membership supports the mission of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. In 2013, we have a number of special projects you may be interested in giving to: ACQUISITIONS 2013 CIVIL WAR EXHIBIT AUGMENTED REALITY • Help WVM acquire significant • Support the final exhibit • Give to the Museum’s newest objects and archival materials. installment of the Museum’s 150th interactive technology- Anniversary of the Civil War. Augmented Reality. AR provides visitors with multiple ways to interact with current exhibits using their smartphones or iPads. REMEMBER, YOUR GIFT MAKES YOUR MUSEUM STRONGER! 2 THE WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM WVM Mss 20013.38 FROM THE ARCHIVES IN THE IRON BRIGADE This recently acquired 1/4 plate tintype shows an unidentified member of the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, most likely at winter quarters near Belle Plain, Virginia in late spring 1863. The Iron Brigade soldier is wearing the famous black Army hat with I Corps, 1st Division badge and 2nd Regiment insignia, and is holding an 1854 Austrian Lorenz rifle. WWW.WISVETSMUSEUM.COM 3 FROM THE DIRECTOR As the Civil War entered in which little distinction was its mid-point, the North made between civilian and found itself at a crossroads. military assets became military A tactical stalemate at practice in places like Georgia Antietam in 1862 had and Virginia’s Shenandoah allowed Lincoln to issue his Valley. preliminary Emancipation Northern resolve to Proclamation, but a decisive give its last full measure, strategic battlefield victory coupled with industrial and had eluded the North. manpower advantages, simply The year closed out with overpowered an increasingly a disastrous defeat at diminished Southern rebellion. Fredericksburg, but in the By the time the war ended, summer of 1863, conclusive Wisconsin’s Union veterans victories at Gettysburg and had helped crush secession, Vicksburg began to turn the eliminate slavery, and usher tide of the war. in a new national concept of A politically vulnerable equality. Lincoln finally stopped the The Last Full Measure will revolving door of incompetent run from July 2013 through FROM THE DIRECTOR generals by promoting April 2015, and features Ulysses S. Grant to overall some of the Museum’s most THE LAST FULL MEASURE commander. The “victor historically significant of Vicksburg” relentlessly artifacts– many of which will “It is for us to be here committed Union forces be exhibited for the first time. dedicated to the great task to battle – often at a high As members, I hope that you remaining before us…from human cost. Radical new will join us for the Member’s these honored dead we take policies aimed at winning Reception, and as always I increased devotion to that the war quickly included the thank you for your continued arming of African American support. cause for which they gave troops and the suspension the last full measure of of the prisoner exchange devotion…” system. A policy of total war -Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address In July, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum will open its newest temporary exhibit entitled The Last Full Measure. In addition to closing out the national observance of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the exhibit dovetails nicely with our celebration of the Museum’s 20th anniversary at its current location. After all, the Museum’s origins may be traced back to the determined efforts of Civil War veterans to establish a museum dedicated to their exploits and those of subsequent veterans. It is a fitting tribute to their efforts and those of their successors Nearly 4,000 Wisconsin soldiers were held prisoner during the Civil War. Most of them were paroled or exchanged prior to who have been instrumental in April 1863, but many Badgers captured in the last two years of the war suffered for extended periods in Southern prisons as keeping that lamp burning. a result of the suspension of the parole system. Pictured above is Libby Prison, a converted Richmond warehouse that held Union officers in a cramped, unhealthy environment. (Library of Congress) 4 THE WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM FROM THE COLLECTIONS GREGORY KRUEGER CURATOR OF HISTORY HERE LIES LIEUTENANT WEMPLE At the start of the Civil War, was a major port of Union forces were under the entry for imported command of Winfield Scott. goods from Europe. Scott, an old Army veteran, Supported by Fort Fisher, outlined a plan to defeat Wilmington developed the southern states based into a stronghold for the upon the premise of a naval Confederate navy and blockade of southern ports. a hotbed of blockade Hoping to suffocate Southern running activity. trade, Scott’s plan was Consequently, it became derisively referred to as the a target for Union naval Anaconda Plan, by a skeptical and land forces. Wemple’s Northern public. Juniata was ordered to the fight. As this plan was being implemented, Wisconsin’s On Christmas Day, David Duane Wemple 1864, during a naval received an appointment barrage, one of the to the U.S. Naval Academy. Juniata’s 100 lb. Parrot Upon graduation, Lieutenant Rifle’s exploded, killing Wemple received orders to Lt. Wemple and several serve aboard the USS Juniata; other crewmembers. a steam powered Sloop of The following day, he War. was buried in Beaufort, North Carolina. Wemple’s The Juniata first launched body was later removed out of the Philadelphia Navy to Wisconsin. This Yard on March 20, 1862, temporary grave marker being commissioned there accompanied his remains the following December. as he returned to his Commanded by John M. B. home state. Today, Lt. Glitz, the Juniata carried Wemple’s body rests some eleven guns along with within Emerald Grove 160 officers and enlisted Cemetery, Rock County, men. Scheduled for service in Wisconsin, and is a the West Indies, the Juniata reminder of the sacrifices joined the North Atlantic of those who served in a Blockading Squadron. A day after he was killed aboard the USS Juniata, naval capacity during the Lt. Wemple was buried in Beaufort, South Caro- Wilmington, North Carolina, lina. His temporary grave was identified by this Civil War. simple wooden plank. INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM CIVIL WAR COLLECTIONS? VISIT WWW.WISVETSMUSEUM.COM/COLLECTIONS/ARTIFACT TO LEARN MORE AND VISIT THE LAST FULL MEASURE, A NEW CIVIL WAR EXHIBIT OPENING JULY 12, 2013 AT THE WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM. WWW.WISVETSMUSEUM.COM 5 COVER STORY- PHILANDER B. WRIGHT KEVIN HAMPTON CURATOR OF RESEARCH AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS PHILANDER B. WRIGHT REDISCOVERED When you think of Wisconsin’s contribution in the Civil War it’s almost impossible not to think of the three Wisconsin infantry regiments that were part of the famous ‘Iron Brigade of the West’ - and there is nothing more famous about the Iron Brigade than their iconic ‘Black Hats’. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum holds one of only two known surviving examples of those ‘Black Hats’. Sergeant Philander B. Wright, Color Sergeant, Company C, 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, wore this hat as he led the charge of the Iron Brigade on the morning of July 1, 1863 outside the town of Gettysburg, PA. Wright’s story gives us a glimpse into the chaos and close calls of that famous Civil War battlefield. Sgt. Wright, bearing the National Colors, charged forward into Herbst Woods on McPherson Ridge just west of Gettysburg, leading the other men of the 2nd Wisconsin. Two bullets passed through the crown of Philander Wright’s hat, barely missing the top of his head. A few steps further, a third bullet pierced the flagstaff and passed through his side. Despite his wounds, he continued the charge, deeper into the woods.