Private George Frederick Hillman fought in the last several months of the Civil War, serving in Sherman's March to the Sea and Carolinas Campaign, and capped his service by marching in the massive Grand Review of soldiers in Washington, D.C., several weeks after the war ended.

Hillman served in Company K, 17th Infantry. He was from Raymond in Racine County, and enlisted at age 17 on Oct. 17, 1864. He served to July 14, 1865, when the entire regiment was mustered out in Louisville, Ky.

He died on May 9, 1940.

The first day of the Grand Review was May 23, 1865, when Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, the leader at Gettysburg, led an estimated 80,000 men of Army of the Potomac down the streets of Washington from Capitol Hill down Pennsylvania Avenue.

The next day was Hillman's turn. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led the 65,000 men of the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of Georgia down the same route.

In Hillman's time, the 17th Wisconsin was in the March to the Sea Nov. 15 to Dec. 10, 1864, and the siege of Savannah, Ga., Dec. 10 to 21.

Sherman's Carolinas Campaign ran from January to April 1865. Noteworthy spots for Hillman's regiment included Pocotaligo, S.C., Jan. 14; Barker's Mills and Whippy Swamp, Feb, 1; Columbia Feb. 16-17 and the Battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 19 to 21.

The regiment was at Bennett's Place April 26, site of the surrender of Gen. Joseph Johnston and his army.

Sources:
Civil War Archive, 17th Wisconsin Infantry, accessed 29 Nov 2022
American Battlefield Trust, "Bennett Place Surrender," accessed 29 Nov 2022
National Park Service, "The Final March: Grand Review of the Armies," accessed 29 Nov 2022
Wikipedia, "Grand Review of the Armies," accessed 29 Nov 2022
Find-a-Grave Memorial #87683736

Researched and submitted by Tom Mueller, PCC and Department GRO

Last Updated: 29 Nov 2022