The 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was organized in mid to late 1862 in the city of Milwaukee and the surrounding areas, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Herman L. Page. The regiment then went into camp at Camp Sigel, in Milwaukee. The regiment was mustered into service on 21 August, 1862. Page having resigned a day after the muster in

   Charles H. Larrabee was appointed Colonel, and on 5 September the regiment left Wisconsin bound for Kentucky.
    The 24th reached Jeffersonville, Indiana on the 7th, and stayed three days before being ordered to Cincinnati, Ohio. They crossed the Ohio on 11 September, and went into camp near Covington, Kentucky. The regiment then marched to Louisville, where they arrived on 20 September. At Louisville they were assigned to the Thirty - Seventh Brigade, under Colonel Gruesel, of the Eleventh Division, under General Phillip Sheridan.
     The 24th participated in the advance to Perryville, where they were lightly engaged. The brigade was ordered forward in the afternoon, but the 24th remained in reserve to guard an artillery battery. Later that day, the 24th was ordered forward, with which they responded with a cheer, and engaged the enemy's right. The rebels broke and the 24th gave pursuit until the rebels were finally out of range. The regiment behaved with great coolness, this being their first battle. James W. Hazel was the regiment's only casualty, he being killed.
     On 11 October, the 24th joined in the pursuit of the rebel forces, which was abandoned on the 15th. The twenty - second of November found the 24th crossing the Cumberland River and camping at Mill Creek, near Nashville. The division of Phil Sheridan was now part of the newly formed right wing under General Alexander McCook, with the army commander now being William S. Rosecrans.
     The 24th left Mill Creek on 27 December, now under the command of Major Elisha C. Hibbard, the brigade under Joshua W. Sill, and took part in the Battle of Stones River, in which they were heavily engaged on the 30th and 31st. On the 30th, the regiment advanced in support of an artillery battery, and suffered some loss due to the enemy's batterys. The regiment lay on arms all night, and, having been ordered not to build fires, suffered greatly from the cold. On the 31st, Sheridan's division found itself on the left flank of the right wing. The enemy, attacking in the early morning, had rolled up the division of Johnson, and was doing the same to Davis' division, who was formed on the right of Sheridan. The battle having now come to Sheridan, he prepared to received the rebel onslaught. The 24th was formed on the extreme right flank of the brigade. The regiment to the right of the 24th having fell back from the pressure of the attack, the 24th was left with it's flank exposed. The 1st Louisiana came charging up the hill toward the 24th. Having not been in so tight a situation before, the 24th broke and fell back. Major Hibbard tried to retire by companies, but the order was lost in the confusion. The 24th reformed next to the Blanton house, and, finally calmed, did good service in conducting a fighting withdrawal with the rest of Sheridan's division, along with other hastily assembled units trying to stop the rebel horde. The brigade now being under Gruesel (Sill having been killed) the brigade was ordered to guard the supply trains, which were being harassed by rebel cavalry. During the remainder of the battle, the 24th was not actively engaged. The regiment suffered losses of 19 killed, 57 wounded, and 98 captured or missing, for a total of 174.
     After Stones River, the regiment was placed in the First Brigade, under General Lytle, and the Third Division, under Sheridan. The division formed part of the 20th Army Corps, under McCook.
     The regiment participated in the Tullahoma campaign (23 June - 3 July), which resulted in the evacuation of Chattanooga by the Confederates. Rosecrans ordered a pursuit, and, in doing so, spread his army over a wide area. After discovering how near Bragg and his army was, he ordered a concentration around Gordon's Mill and Chickamauga Creek. The 24th, along with the rest of McCook's Corps, suffered terribly from hard marching, bad roads, and short rations.
     On 19 September, the 24th, now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Theodore S. West (Hibbard had resigned), the regiment, along with the brigade, had been left to guard the extreme right of the line. At night, the brigade fell back 200 yards.
     On 20 September, the brigade moved down the Chattanooga road to Lee's Hill, and formed to the rear of the Widow Glenn's house. The brigade then moved further down the road, and formed a line under fire from the enemy. Here the 24th fought for a half hour, before the Confederates made a push upon the left flank of the brigade. The 36th Illinois, holding that flank, fell back, in turn exposing the left flank of the 24th. The two left companies of the 24th were swung over to stop the rebels. "The pressure on the 24th Wisconsin was almost unbearable," as author Peter Cozzens puts it. After resisting against the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, the 24th finally fell back and, with their brigade, reformed 400 yards to the rear. They then joined in the retreat of the army from Chickamauga Creek. During the withdrawal, Lieutenant Colonel West was captured. The 24th suffered casualties of 8 killed, 73 wounded, and 29 captured or missing, for a total of 110.
     During the following siege of Chattanooga, the 24th, under the command of Major Carl von Baumbach, and the brigade under the command of Colonel Sherman of the 88th Illinois, took part in the famous charge up Missionary Ridge. Advancing at the double quick, the 24th, along with the rest of the brigade, succeeded in taking the first set of rifle pits from the enemy. They then continued the ascent up Missionary Ridge, taking advantage of the rough ground, and finally pushed the enemy from their works, routing and scattering them in all directions. Adjutant Arthur Macarthur later received the Medal of Honor for carrying the colors of the 24th and planting them on top of the enemy's works at a crucial time in the battle. He receives special mention in Baumbach's report. The 24th lost 4 men killed and 33 men wounded, for a total of 37.
     Baumbach resigned on 28 November, and Macarthur was appointed Major. He commanded the regiment until West's return in the Atlanta Campaign.
     After Chattanooga, the 20th and 21st Corps were disbanded, and the 4th Corps was organized. Sheridan's division was part of this newly formed Corps.
     Only three days after the victory at Chattanooga, the 24th was preparing rations again as it had been selected as one of the units to go to the relief of General Burnside in Knoxville, which was  under siege by James Longstreet's Confederates. On the afternoon of the 28th, the march commenced. After a long march of 130 miles, the 24th reached Knoxville on 7 December. The 24th pursued Longstreet's defeated rebels in East Tennessee for a time, participating in skirmishes and marching in dismal weather. Near Dandridge, the 24th was engaged when it charged upon an enemy battery and forced it to make a quick retreat. Returning to Knoxville, they marched to Loudon, where they remained until the start of General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.
     Sherman retained command of the brigade, but Sheridan, having been transferred east, was replaced by General John Newton in command of the division. The new 4th Corps commander was Oliver O. Howard. Lieutenant Colonel West had returned from captivity and had taken command of the 24th.
     On 9 May, 1864, the 24th was involved in the attack upon Rocky Face Ridge near Dalton, Georgia, and succeeded in carrying the crest. On the morning of the 13 May, it was realized that the enemy had abandoned his position and had fallen back to Resaca. The army was immediately ordered to move forward. In the Battle of Resaca, the 24th, with the rest of the brigade, advanced 300 yards to an open field, where they met the enemy. The 24th advanced admirably, gaining a position that could shield them from the enemy's fire. During the advance, the 24th had become separated from the rest of the brigade, save the 15th Missouri and the 36th Illinois. They then advanced again, this time to the crest of the ridge, where they engaged the enemy for two hours before, ammunition expended, they withdrew. Lieutenant Colonel West was wounded in this battle, and command again went to Macarthur.
     The Confederates evacuated Resaca on the night of 15 May, and the Federal army pursued. On the 17th, the 24th relieved the 36th Illinois on the skirmish line. The 24th advanced until they met the enemy near Pleasant Hill. The fire becoming very hot, the whole brigade had to be deployed. They fought until dark brought a close to hostilities. The 24th then marched to Adairsville and then Kingston, and then reaching Dallas on the night of the 25 May.
     The 24th next came before Kennesaw Mountain, and they took part in the fruitless assaults against the rebel works on 27 June. The army then evacuated it's position before Kennesaw and marched through Marietta. They eventually moved and bivouacked on the north bank of the Chattahoochee River. They crossed Peach Tree Creek on the night of the 19th., and participated in the battle of Peach Tree Creek the next day. The 24th repulsed every enemy assault that was directed against them. The 24th then moved and took up positions in front of Atlanta. On the night of 25 August, they left their works for a move to the right. On 1 September, the 24th was put to work destroying part of the Macon Railroad until the evening, when they were ordered to march to the right. The Federal force ran into the rebels north of Jonesboro, where a brisk fight ensued, with no clear victor. The next day, 2 September, the rebels evacuated Atlanta, and on the 8th, the 24th marched victoriously into the city. The casualties for the 24th during the Atlanta Campaign are, roughly, 99 total.
     After resting in Atlanta for most of September, the 24th was ordered to move to Chattanooga, where they performed guard duty until they were again called upon to prepare rations and get ready to move out. The brigade had been chosen as one of the units to go and stop Hood's rebels, who were invading Tennessee in order to try and draw Sherman and his army out of Georgia.
    The regiment was still under the command of Major Macarthur, but the brigade was now commanded by Emerson Opdyke of the 125th Ohio, and the army under John Schofield.
     On 1 November, the 24th left Chattanooga and the next day arrived in Athens, Alabama. They entered Pulaski, Tennessee on 5 November, where they were on guard duty and instructed to build fortifications. The movement northward commenced on 22 November. On the 24th, they camped at Columbia, Tennessee, and on the 25th, made a reconnaissance in which they developed the enemy's lines within two miles of town. Twenty - eight November found the 24th withdrawing across Duck River, burning a bridge to impede the rebel advance. The next day, the 24th reached the town of Spring Hill, just ahead of rebel cavalry. At 4 o'clock on the morning of 30 November, the 24th, with the rest of the brigade, took up the march toward Franklin, the brigade acting as rear guard for the army. After continued skirmishing throughout the morning, the brigade entered Franklin shortly after noon, very tired. They formed a reserve line behind the center of the Federal position.
     The Confederates attacked in overwhelming numbers around 4:30, and succeeded in routing the division under George D. Wagner, which was placed 300 yards in front of the main Federal line. The men of this division came streaming through the center of the line, carrying some of the troops in the front line with them. The assault now succeeded in breaking the center of the Federal lines. Schofield's army was now in danger of being pinned up against the Harpeth River and defeated in detail. Opdyke, resting with his brigade, saw the line in front of him break. He immediately ordered a counter charge. The 24th, with the rest of the brigade, and with two other regiments, surged forward, meeting the Confederates in ferocious hand to hand combat that centered around the Carter House. The brigade stopped the rebel charge dead in it's tracks. Close fighting continued until 11 o' clock at night, as the Confederates tried time and again to force the stubborn 24th and their comrades back, but they would not budge. The 24th, with the rest of Schofield's army, crossed the Harpeth River and retreated to Nashville. In the counter charge, Macarthur was wounded, and command came upon Captain Edwin B. Parsons. The 24th suffered casualties of 2 killed, 17 wounded, and 7 captured or missing.
     Reaching Nashville the morning of 1 December, the 24th bivouacked. On 15 December, the 24th, under Captain Charles Hartung, advanced with their comrades and carried the first set of rebel works. And on the 16th, the 24th advanced again, pushing back the enemy skirmish line but going no further. They were then relieved and went to the rear. The 24th suffered light casualties in these two days, with a total of 1 killed and 2 wounded.
     The 24th subsequently took part in the pursuit of Hood's defeated army, passing through Lexington, Alabama on 29 December. They crossed the Elk River on 3 January, and reached Huntsville, Alabama on the 5th. Here they went into winter quarters.
     On 28 March, 1865, the 24th left Huntsville by rail bound for East Tennessee to cooperate with Grant's Eastern Campaign, and arrived at Bull's Gap on 31 March. They proceeded east until the town of Blue Springs, where they were ordered to repair a railroad. On 19 April, the 24th Wisconsin returned to Bull's Gap, and from there commenced the trip to Nashville, getting there on 24 April. Here they remained until their muster out on 10 June, 1865.