1865

End of the Civil War

By the end of the war, 171 soldiers from Madison had lost their lives in the fighting. In 1865, the wife of Wisconsin Governor Harvey was responsible for the transformation of the home of Ex-Governor L.J. Farwell into a Home for Soldiers' Orphans. This was the first such institution in the nation. Mrs. Harvey received a commission from President Abraham Lincoln for the project, which cared for and educated the children of soldiers who had been killed in the war. The census from this year showed Madison's population to be 9,191.

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War casualties - 103kb (Click image to enlarge.)

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