| If this website has been useful to you, please consider
making a Donation.
Your support will help keep this website free for everyone, and will allow us to do
more research. Thank you for your support! |
103rd Illinois Infantry
in the American Civil War
Online Books:
103rd Illinois Infantry Soldier Roster - Report of the Adjutant
General of the State of Illinois, Volume 5, Revised by Brigadier General J.N.
Reece, Adjutant General, 1900
View
Entire Book
| Regimental History |
| One Hundred and Third Illinois Infantry. — Col., Willard A. Dickerman; Lieut. -Cols., George W. Wright, Asias Willison; Majs.,
George W. Wright, Asias Willison, Charles Wills. About Aug. 6, 1862,
Hon. A. C. Babcock, Capt. G. W. Wright, Mr. Peterson and other
influential men of the county, concluded that it was possible to form an
entire regiment from Fulton county. On Sept. 6 nine companies arrived at
Peoria, went into camp, and organized as the 103d regiment. It had been
understood with Gov. Yates that in case Fulton county could not furnish
a sufficient number of men to form a regiment by Oct. 1 he would send a
company from some other county, but on Sept. 27 it was found there were
men enough to muster ten companies and on Oct. 2 the regiment was
mustered into the U. S. service. On Oct. 24 it received orders to be
ready to move at a moment's warning and on the 30th orders came to move
by the Illinois Central railroad to Cairo. At the latter place it took
boat for Columbus, Ky., where it was again placed on cars and at night
arrived at Bolivar, Tenn., having made the trip from Peoria in 52 hours.
The first year's service of the regiment was devoted to marching, guard
duty, etc., in northern Mississippi and Tennessee, but in Nov., 1863, it
participated in the battle of Missionary ridge. Eight companies of the
regiment were in the engagement, mustering 237 men, and of this number 1
commissioned officer and 19 enlisted men were killed on the field, and
68 were wounded, 5 or 6 of whom died of their wounds. The regiment began
its part of the Atlanta campaign at Resaca, where it lost 1 man killed
and several wounded. At Dallas it had quite a lively skirmish, but with
no loss to the regiment, though in the battle of the following day it
lost 2 killed and 35 wounded. On June 15 it moved to the extreme left of
the army, and by a rapid movement of the brigade captured some 470 of
the enemy, the loss of the regiment being 4 killed and 18 wounded. In
the assault on Kennesaw mountain, of 12 officers of the regiment who
went into the action, 3 were killed and 4 wounded, and of the enlisted
men 19 were killed, the number of wounded not being reported. During the
battle of Atlanta on July 22 the regiment captured about 300 prisoners
and suffered a comparatively small loss, 4 men being killed. It started
on the march to the sea with Sherman and in the battle of Griswoldsville
lost 3 killed and 2 who later died of wounds. During the campaign of the
Carolinas it participated in all the skirmishes and battles in which the
1st division of the 15th corps was engaged. After the surrender of
Johnston it marched to Washington and participated in the grand review,
then camped 3 or 4 miles north of the city, until ordered to Louisville,
where, on June 14, 1865, the order for muster out was received by
telegraph, and on the 21st, the necessary rolls having been prepared,
the regiment was mustered out, having been in the service 2 years, 8
months and 20 days. The number originally mustered in was 808; recruits,
84; making a total enrollment of 892, which, with the addition of 33
field, staff and line officers made the aggregate 925. But of the 84
recruits, 9 never joined the regiment, and the record of the 916 men was
as follows: Killed in battle and died of wounds, 89; killed by accident,
2; died in the field and at home, 130; died in Andersonville, 7; making
the total killed and died, 228. There were discharged on account of
wounds and disease, 134; transferred to 40th Ill., 30; transferred to
veteran reserve and invalid corps, 45; officers resigned, 23;
dishonorably discharged, 4; honorably discharged, 2; mustered out, 450. |
Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing
Company, 1908 - Volume 3
|
Whats New
Bibliography
About Us
|