Forest Hill Cemetery Confederates

An interesting aspect of Forest Hill Cemetery is that there is a well kept Confederate section. These men were captured on April 8, 1862, the day after Shiloh, at Island No. 10. They were sent north to Camp Randall which now served as a prison camp after formerly being the training ground Wisconsin's soldiers had used and is now where the University of Wisconsin Badgers play their football games.

The men who died here were buried here. At first some of the inscriptions caused me to think there were Shiloh veterans here, as some stones say 55th Tennessee. after searching rosters though I've determined that the men being credited to the 55th Tennessee here actually served in a unit that would become known as the 46th Tennessee. At the time of their capture they were listed in the 55th Tennessee but this was more of a clerical error, the extra 55th Tennessee was soon renamed the 46th Tennessee.




When touring Camp Randall years ago I saw this little building. There was no marker to explain what it was there for. Was it a hut that Confederates huddled in during their confinement in Madison? Was it a vendor stand for Badger football games from the early days of the program? As you can see its not much larger than a chicken coop (which it might be), it looks old and the shelter over it would indicate to me that someone felt it was worth preserving. But what is it?