16th Wisconsin Legislature

The Sixteenth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 14, 1863, to April 2, 1863, in regular session.
Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assembly members were elected to a one-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 4, 1862. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 5, 1861.
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican Edward Salomon, of Manitowoc County, serving the second year of a two-year term, having won the 1861 lieutenant gubernatorial election, then having ascended to the gubernatorial office following the death of governor Louis P. Harvey in April 1862.

Major events

January 1, 1863: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.
January 22, 1863: James R. Doolittle re-elected United States Senator by the Wisconsin Legislature in Joint Session.
April 30-May 8, 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville took place in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Six regiments of Wisconsin Volunteers participated in the battle.
May 18-July 4, 1863: Siege of Vicksburg took place in Warren County, Mississippi. Seventeen regiments of Wisconsin Volunteers participated in the siege.
July 1-3, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg took place near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Six regiments of Wisconsin Volunteers participated in the battle. Future-Governor of Wisconsin Lucius Fairchild and future State Treasurer Henry Baetz were wounded.
November 3, 1863: James T. Lewis elected Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

March 13, 1863: Joint Resolution recommending Colonels J. C. Starkweather and Geo. E. Bryant to promotion,
March 25, 1863: Joint Resolution relative to adopting state flag,
March 26, 1863: Act to provide for continuing the work on the state capitol,
March 28, 1863: Act to authorize the borrowing of money to repel invasion, suppress insurrection and defend the state in time of war,
April 1, 1863: Act authorizing the governor to take care of the sick and wounded soldiers of the Wisconsin volunteers, and appropriating money out of the treasury for that purpose,
April 1, 1863: Act to provide for compensating parties whose property may be injured or destroyed in consequence of mobs or riots,
April 1, 1863: Act to provide for the enrollment of persons liable to perform military duty, and the organization of the state militia for active service,
April 2, 1863: Act to provide for the relief of families of persons who may die in the military service of the United States or of the state of Wisconsin,

Sessions

1st Regular session: January 14, 1863 - April 2, 1863

Leaders

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: Vacant
President pro tempore: Wyman Spooner

Assembly leadership

Speaker of the Assembly: J. Allen Barber

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Sixteenth Wisconsin Legislature:

District	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Sheboygan		Sheboygan Falls	Dem.
02	Brown, Kewaunee		Green Bay	Dem.
03	Ozaukee		Ozaukee	Dem.
04	Washington		West Bend	Dem.
05	Milwaukee		Milwaukee	Dem.
06	Milwaukee		Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Racine		Whitesville	Rep.
08	Kenosha		Bristol	Rep.
09	Adams, Juneau, Waushara		Pine River	Rep.
10	Waukesha		Waukesha	Dem.
11	Dane		Windsor	Rep.
12	Walworth		Elkhorn	Rep.
13	Lafayette		Shullsburg	Dem.
14	Sauk		Prairie du Sac	Rep.
15	Iowa		Mineral Point	Dem.
16	Grant		Glen Haven	Rep.
17	Rock		Janesville	Rep.
18	Dodge		Juneau	Dem.
19	Manitowoc, Calumet		Manitowoc	Dem.
20	Fond du Lac		Ripon	Dem.
21	Winnebago		Neenah	Rep.
22	Door, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawanaw		Appleton	Dem.
23	Jefferson		Fort Atkinson	Dem.
24	Green		Monroe	Rep.
25	Columbia		Kilbourn City	Rep.
26	Dane		Madison	Rep.
27	Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Wood		Plover	Rep.
28	Ashland, Burnett, Dallas, Douglas, La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix		Hudson	Union
29	Marquette, Green Lake		Montello	Rep.
30	Bad Ax, Crawford, Richland		Viroqua	Rep.
31	La Crosse, Monroe		La Crosse	Rep.
32	Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Trempealeau		Durand	Rep.
33	Dodge		Horicon	Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Sixteenth Wisconsin Legislature:

Employees

Senate employees

Chief Clerk: Frank M. Stewart
* Assistant Clerk: J. M. Randall
* Engrossing Clerk: G. W. Campbell
* Enrolling Clerk: George W. Stoner
* Transcribing Clerk: J. J. Tschudy
Sergeant-at-Arms: Luther Basford
* Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: James L. Wilder
Postmaster: James L. Hosford
* Assistant Postmaster: John Van t'Woud
Doorkeeper: B. S. Miller
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Francis Mika
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Samuel Bachman
* Assistant Doorkeeper: Paul Halverson
Firemen:
* Alex Stilwell
* John Crowley
Messengers:
* J. E. Brown
* John Hutchins
* Albert F. Dexter
* Frank Kellogg
Porter: George E. Albee

Assembly employees

Chief Clerk: John S. Dean
* Assistant Clerk: Ephraim W. Young
** Bookkeeper: Merrick P. Wing
* Engrossing Clerk: Herbert A. Lewis
* Enrolling Clerk: S. Canning Fisher
* Transcribing Clerk: Henry C. Hadley
Sergeant-at-Arms: A. M. Thomson
* 1st Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: C. D. Lon
* 2nd Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: D. S. Hawley
Postmaster: M. B. Patchin
* 1st Assistant Postmaster: John B. Eugene
* 2nd Assistant Postmaster: Oscar Babcock
Doorkeeper: Franklin Kelly
* Assistant Doorkeeper: A. J. Fuller
* Assistant Doorkeeper: P. P. Davis
* Assistant Doorkeeper: William C. Lesure
Firemen:
* H. H. Hayward
* Philip Carey
* Iver Knudsen
Messengers:
* Adam Waltz
* James E. Dean
* Richard L. Hayward
* Edgar C. McLaughlin
* Patrick W. Lannen
* William H. Miller
* Louis Sholes
* George D. Potter
* Mark W. Bailey