“On the twentieth day of June, the entire student force of the university formed part of the throng which assembled at the railroad depot to witness the departure of that gallant regiment, which was destined, before the return of its remnant to the state, to earn the proud but sad record of losing in battle more men in proportion to its numbers than any other regiment which fought on either side among the great hosts engaged in the tremendous struggle. That twenty per cent of its entire enlistment fell dead on battlefields during three years’ service cannot, indeed, be said of any other regiment of any nation in modern times.” HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS WISCONSIN’S FIRST VERSIFIERS The first volume of verse printed in Wisconsin and written by a resident of that state, was long supposed to be a volume by Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears entitled, _Voyage of Pere Marquette and the Romance of Charles de Langlade, or the Magic Queen_. This book was published at Fond du Lac in 1860.[60] Recently, however, three different books of early Wisconsin verse have been discovered antedating Mrs. Mears’s work, and since they are without doubt the earliest attempts at versification made in the Badger State, it seems worth while to describe them. The earliest is a hitherto unknown edition of a book which is humorously described by “Nym Krinkle” in his _Chronicles of Milwaukee_. Two editions of this book were published in New York in 1848 and 1849, but the edition recently discovered was issued in Milwaukee in 1846 and, though bearing no imprint, is without doubt the production of a western press.[61] Its title is as follows: “The History/ of/ Black Hawk,/ with which is interwoven/ a Description/ of the/ Black Hawk War/ and other/ Scenes in the West/ by E. H. Smith/ Milwaukee/ 1848./ 12mo. pp. 6† 120.” This title is somewhat shorter than those of the later editions and the text varies considerably from that of the later issues. This edition has no illustrations, but the New York editions have several. The only copy that can be traced of this firstling of the “Wisconsin Muse” is in the Harris Collection of American Poetry in the library of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. The next in point of time is a curious book, or pamphlet, with title as follows: “The/ Poetical/ Geography, [cut of lyre]/ with the Rules of Arithmetic in Verse, &c. &C./ By George Van Waters/ Published for the Author by Sidney L. Rood,/ Bookseller,/ Milwaukee:/ Wilson & King,/ 1848,”/ This is a duodecimo of ninety-six pages, with green paper covers. The cover title is somewhat longer: “The/ Poetical Geography,/ made to accompany any of the/ Common School Atlases;/ to which is added/ The Rules of Arithmetic,/ and a sketch of English History,/ in Verse./ by George Van Waters./ This work is sold by subscription and cannot be obtained/ at any bookstore in the United States./ Milwaukee:/ Wilson & King./ 1848./ Price 25 cents.”/