MPL Digital Collections

Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry Collection

Jump to: More Information - Order Information

The Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry collection is made up primarily of photos from Colonel Horace M. Seaman’s service with the Wisconsin National Guard. The majority of the photos come from his service with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry in the Spanish-American War of 1898.

View this Collection
Back to all Digital Collections

More Information

The Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry collection is made up primarily of photos from Colonel Horace M. Seaman’s service with the Wisconsin National Guard. The majority of the photos come from his service with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry in the Spanish-American War of 1898.

The photos in the collection include many portraits of individuals with whom Colonel Seaman served throughout his years with the Wisconsin National Guard and in his service in the Spanish-American War.

Also included are group portraits of the various battalion officers and photos of camps in Wisconsin and Alabama. Photos of a non-military nature include images of Galen Seaman and images from some of the places where Horace Seaman worked.

Colonel Horace Martin Seaman

Horace M. Seaman was born in Milwaukee on October 1st, 1864. He was the son of Galen and Harriet Seaman. After working in the offices of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad and managing the local office of the Washington Life Insurance Company, he started work with the Seaman Abstract Company that his father ran. In 1893, he earned a law degree from Marquette University and was admitted to the bar. At this time he became an executive for the Seaman Abstract Company. He left the company in 1902 to become the secretary of the Milwaukee Title Company. In October of 1903, he effected the organization of the Security Abstract and title Company and became the President and Counsel of that company.

In 1886, Horace Seaman enlisted as a private in the Wisconsin National Guard, specifically with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry, Company A. He served with the infantry during the labor riots in Bay View that very same year. He moved up through the ranks over the years and in October 1897 he became the colonel of the 4th Wisconsin.

In July of 1898 he mustered out of state service and later that month he mustered into the United States service as the colonel of the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry regiment which enlisted for service in the Spanish-American War. The regiment never left the United States but went first to Camp Douglas and later to Camp Shipp in Anniston, Alabama. The 4th Wisconsin was assigned respectively to the 3rd, 4th, and 2nd Army Corps until the regiment was mustered out of service in February of 1899.
Not all photos from this collection have been digitized and made available here. A number of the photographs were too large to be easily scanned and they have not yet been included.

If you have questions about the Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry collection, or would like to view photographs from the collection that are not yet available, please contact the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Department at the Central Library. While materials may not be removed from the Humanities Department, reproductions may be available. Contact Humanities at (414) 286-3061 if you have questions.

Special Thanks

A special thanks to Morgan Sawicki and Ashley Von Ruden for all the work they did on this project. Without their work, this collection would not exist.