Civil War history comes to life at Camp Randall
The rich history and music of the Civil War era will revisit the grounds of historic Camp Randall on Saturday, July 25, as part of the university’s celebration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
The 1st Brigade Band, a recreation of a Wisconsin band that marched with Gen. William T. Sherman during the Civil War, will play at Camp Randall Memorial Park, near Monroe Street and Randall Avenue, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Camp Randall served both as a training camp for Union soldiers and, for a brief time, a prisoner of war camp for Confederate soldiers.
Comprised of Civil War enthusiasts, the band will play music of the era on antique instruments, all of which date to 1865.
At noon, the band will parade through the grounds with a Civil War color guard past a reviewing platform occupied by Gov. Jim Doyle, and character actors portraying Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln; Gov. Alexander Randall; and Cordelia Harvey, the widow of Gov. Louis P. Harvey. Following her husband’s death, Harvey became a caretaker of wounded and injured Wisconsin soldiers.
A one-hour program beginning at 12:15 p.m. will feature the Civil War-era figures, plus Doyle and the band. The event, organized by the Wisconsin Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, is free and open to the public.
“The program is our way of honoring and recognizing Abraham Lincoln and the role he played as commander in chief of the Union troops at the time Camp Randall was an active Civil War training camp,” says Jim Hoyt, an emeritus journalism professor who is also a member of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the 1st Brigade Band.
Camp Randall served both as a training camp for Union soldiers and, for a brief time, a prisoner of war camp for Confederate soldiers.
“Wisconsin provided more troops per capita to the Union cause than any other Union state,” Hoyt says. “Wisconsin has always been very proud of that.”
Saturday evening, the Lincolns will visit the Wisconsin Union Theater for a Lincoln bicentennial concert by the 1st Brigade Band. General admission to the evening event is $15. Children under 12 with purchased adult tickets are $5, and UW–Madison student tickets are $10.
“It is a concert dedicated largely to telling the story in music and in the words of President Lincoln,” Hoyt says.
Tickets can be purchased at the Wisconsin Union Theater box office either by phone at 608-264-2787 or online under “Buy Tickets.”
