FROM THE COLLECTION
While Civil War veteran Stanley E. Lathrop was born in New York and spent much of his life engaged in ministerial work across Wisconsin and the south, many of his 84 years were spent in the Madison area where he was well known as a Civil War historian, Grand Army of the Republic chaplain, and State Capitol tour guide. Lathrop’s family moved to the central Wisconsin town of New London during his childhood, but he was living in Westfield in Marquette County and attending Beloit College at the time he enlisted in Company M, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment at the age of 18 in December 1861. Less than a year later, while camped at L’Anguille Ferry, Arkansas, Corporal Lathrop found himself in a precarious position in the early morning hours of August 3, 1862. His regiment was transporting a supply train across the northern part of the state when Lathrop, having awoken early to feed his horse, realized they were being ambushed by Confederate troops. Caught off guard and largely defenseless, he and 56 other soldiers of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry were forced to surrender.
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By: Andrea Hoffman Collections Manager
The group of prisoners were immediately led on a two-day march to the prison camp in Little Rock, but learned upon arrival the camp was already at capacity. Their captors then made the hasty decision to instead put Lathrop, along with several other men, in reinforced rooms in the warden’s house. The spaces were dingy and airless with barely enough room for everyone to sit. While the cramped conditions and poorquality food were difficult to bear, the prisoners learned they would soon be paroled which motivated them to maintain their physical stamina ahead of their return journey. In October, Lathrop boarded a steamer in St. Louis for old Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, then traveled by train to Madison. From there, Lathrop walked the remaining 60 miles home to Westfield where he spent the next several months recovering. Although he was discharged due to disability in January 1863, he reenlisted that December and continued to serve for the duration of the war, which included participation in the Atlanta campaign and the capture of Confederate president Jefferson Davis in May 1865. Before mustering out, he was promoted to company commissary sergeant.