High Tide at Gettysburg

This photographic exhibit showcases some of the treasures found in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Civil War collections. High Tide at Gettysburg consists of 10 framed historical photos and samplings of photographs of Paul Philippoteaux's famed Gettysburg Cyclorama, a 360-degree cylindrical painting that depicted Pickett's Charge, the climactic-but-failed Confederate attack on Union forces on the last day of the battle.

The framed photos depict some of the key Wisconsin players in the Battle of Gettysburg, which commemorated its 150th anniversary in July. They include former Governor Lucius Fairchild, who lost his left arm in the battle, and Lieutenant Frank Haskell of the 6th Wisconsin, whose history of Gettysburg historians regard as one of the classics of Civil War literature.

Also pictured are Jefferson Coates, one of two Wisconsin soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery at Gettysburg. Also pictured is Washington Y. Selleck, who played an important role in the creation of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. He was also Wisconsin's sole representative on the platform when Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address. Another image is a tintype portrait of Cornelius Wheeler of the 2nd Wisconsin, wearing the regiment's distinctive Iron Brigade uniform. Only a sergeant on the first day of the battle, Wheeler was the senior man in his company by the time the battle was over — a vivid testament to the losses suffered at Gettysburg.

Visitors to the Society's headquarters building in Madison can see the exhibit free of cost on the building's fourth floor through the end of 2013.