Charles Campbell
Database Record Change Request
| Name at Enlist | Charles Campbell |
| Birth Name | |
| Lived | ca. 1817 – |
| Birth Place | Vermont |
| Birth Country | USA |
| Resident of Muster-In | Waupun, Fond du Lac County, WI |
| Company at Enlistment | D |
| Rank at Enlistment | Captain |
| Muster Date | 15 Jan 1862 |
| Spouse | Electa |
Charles Campbell was born about 1817 in VT. His father was born in CT and his mother in England. Campbell was married to Electa Rutty. In 1850, they were living with their daughter, Anna (1848) in Ferrisburg, Addison, VT. They had three additional children born in VT, including Lucy (1852), William (1855), and Clara (1859). Between 1859 and 1860, they moved to WI.
At the recommendation of the 15th’s first commander, Colonel Hans C. Heg, Charles Campbell was commissioned as the Captain (Kaptein) of Company D by WI Governor Alexander Randall. The commission was dated January 15, 1862, with his rank to be effective from January 14, 1862, for a 3-year term of service. The men of Company D called themselves the “Norway Wolf Hunters.” They were also known as the “Waupun Company” because a number of its members were residents of that WI town.
Captain Campbell was mustered into Federal service at that rank on February 13, 1862 at Camp Randall near Madison, Dane County, WI. At the time he was listed as 45 years old and married. His residence was recorded as Waupun, Fond Du Lac County, WI. Captain Campbell was the commanding officer of Company D. His second-in-command was 1st Lieutenant Albert Skofstad and his third-in-command was 2nd Lieutenant Christian E. Tandberg.
After only a few weeks at Camp Randall learning to be an officer and getting his company organized and trained, Captain Campbell left there on March 2, 1862, with his company and regiment to join the war. Starting March 30, 1862, Captain Campbell was granted a 30-day leave of absence, which he spent at home in Waupun, WI. While on leave Campbell submitted a letter dated March 27, 1862 asking to be allowed to resign his commission and leave the Army. His request was approved under General Order #46 issued in the name of Major General Henry Halleck on April 20, 1862, to be effective as of March 28, 1862. 1st Lieutenant Skofstad was commissioned as the new Captain of Company D on April 30, 1862, to rank from April 20, 1862.
Buslett’s 1895 history of the 15th WI states that Captain Campbell “was not with the 15th after their operations actually began.”
After the war, Campbell and his family remained in WI. They had an additional child, Eddie in 1863. In 1870, they were living in Chester Dodge, WI; in 1880 they lived in Waupun, Fond du Lac, WI. Campbell worked as both a farmer and laborer.
Sources: Series 1200: Records of Civil War Regiments, 1861-1900, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, box 76-6; Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls, 1861-1865, Wisconsin Adjutant General’s Office, vol.20, p.56; Det Femtende Regiment, Wisconsin Frivillige [The Fifteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers], Ole A. Buslett, Decorah, IA, 1894, p.433; The Military History of Wisconsin in the War for the Union, Edwin B. Quiner, 1866, Clarke & Co., Chicago, p.613; 1850 Census, Roll: M432_920, Page: 301A, Image: 599; 1860 Census, Roll: M653_1407, Page: 163, Image: 170, Family History Library Film: 805407; 1870 Census, Roll: M593_1710, Page: 123A, Image: 250, Family History Library Film: 553209; 1880 Census, Roll: 1426, Family History Film: 1255426, Page: 511A, Enumeration District: 061; Connecticut, Church Abstracts, 1630-1920, Vol. 56, p.18.