The Marching Twelfth

A story of the 12th Wisconsin Civil War Infantry And a 15-year old Drummer Boy

Prologue

This is the story of the 12th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War, and a 15-year old boy who could not resist the call to fight for his country.

The 12th Wisconsin Infantry was made up primarily of men from and around Sauk County, Wisconsin. Many, like our young man, were also in their teens and twenties. They had heard the call and signed up to fight. It’s unlikely they really knew what they were getting into, as few had ever ventured further than their local community. It was an adventure they could not pass up. The war would be over in a few months, most thought, and they’d be back home in no time. They were, indeed, in for a rude awakening.

This story revolves around 15 year old George Inman from the LaValle-Ironton area. The story of some of his adventures has been preserved in a newspaper article, written when he was well into his 80s. His memory was clear, and he was excited to tell his story to an eager journalist.

As we have only that brief article concerning Inman’s life in the Union Army, we must rely on the exploits of the 12th Wisconsin, which was extensively covered in letters to the editors of area newspapers. There were a handful of correspondents who regularly reported on the day-to-day life of the troops as they marched to the southern lands to engage the “enemy.” Since George Inman was part of the 12th Wisconsin Infantry, Company B, it is obvious that George would have also experienced the events which it experienced.

In writing this story, I have been primarily interested in covering the everyday events that the Wisconsin 12th Infantry experienced, and not so much the battles in which they participated, of which there were many. That story has been covered by other writers in other venues. This story takes us into the camps and tags along with the men as they trek into territories strange and foreboding to these young recruits. It was a new and exciting adventure for them, and hopefully their stories will provide a look into their lives as they experienced the life and death struggle to reunite the American States.

The story begins at the outbreak of the War Between the States, as recruiters combed the country, seeking volunteers to help fight for the Union cause.

Some of the photos in this publication are used to illustrate the narrative and may not necessarily depict the actual events described. Photos that do relate to the narrative, are so labeled.