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16th Illinois Cavalry
in the American Civil War
| Regimental History |
| Sixteenth Cavalry.— Col., Christian Thielemann;
Lieut.-Cols., Robert W. Smith, Nathan C. Goodenow ; Majs., Christian
Thielemann, Friedrich Schambeck, Charles H. Beers, Milo Thielemann,
Hiram S. Hanchett, John Hoffman, Francis Jackson. This regiment was
composed principally of Chicago men, Thielemann's and Schambeck's
cavalry companies, raised at the outset of the war, forming the nucleus
of the organization. The former company served as Gen. Sherman's body
guard for some time. On June 11, 1863, the regimental organization was
completed, and mustered in for three years, and in October the regiment
was ordered to Knoxville, Tenn., where a portion of it participated in
the defense of that place in November and December. On Jan. 3, 1864, a
detachment under Maj. Beers was attacked by three of Longstreet's
brigades and after maintaining its ground for 10 hours against five
times its own number, losing heavily in killed and wounded, its
ammunition gave out and it was compelled to surrender. The loss of the
regiment upon this occasion was 356 men and 56 officers. The remainder
of the regiment arrived at Red Clay, Ga., May 10, and on the 12th was
engaged in the battle of Varnell's station, where it lost 1 officer
wounded and captured, and 12 men. It was then on duty almost every day
from that time until after the fall of Atlanta — a period of nearly four
months — during which it participated in the battles of Rocky Face
ridge, Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Kingston, Cassville, Cartersville,
Allatoona, Kennesaw and Lost mountains, Powder springs, Chattahoochee
river, and various engagements in front of Atlanta and Jonesboro. On the
retreat before Hood from Florence, it kept up a running fight with the
enemy for three days and nights, until it reached Columbia. In a 6
hours' engagement at Duck river the regiment held its position
triumphantly against a vastly superior force of the Confederates until
dusk. It next participated in the battle of Franklin and in various
skirmishes between there and Nashville. It engaged in the two days'
battle at the latter place, and in the pursuit of the enemy to the
Tennessee river. It remained in Tennessee and Alabama on scouting duty
until July 2, when it was ordered to Franklin, Tenn., where it remained
scouring the country in all directions until ordered to Nashville for
muster out. It arrived in Chicago on Aug. 23, 1865, for final payment
and discharge. The original force of the regiment was 1,200 men. It
received 100 recruits, and at its discharge could muster only 285 men,
showing a casualty list of nearly 1,000. |
Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing
Company, 1908 - Volume 3
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