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94th Illinois Infantry
in the American Civil War
Online Books:
94th 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
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Entire Book
| Regimental History |
| Ninety-fourth Infantry. — Cols., William W. Orme, John
McNulta; Lieut. -Cols., John McNulta, Rankin G. Laughlin; Majs., Rankin
G. Laughlin, Alexander T. Briscoe. This regiment had its origin in the
magnificent burst of enthusiasm which greeted Mr. Lincoln's call for
more men in the summer of 1862. It was organized, examined, inspected,
mustered in and put into the field within 10 days. It was composed
entirely of residents of McLean county, and was usually called "the
McLean Regiment." Largely through the exertions of Hon. Isaac Funk and
Hon. Harrison Noble, the county authorities gave each enlisted man a
bounty of $50, and also presented the regiment with a magnificent stand
of colors, costing $500. Nearly all the companies had an excess of men
offered, and two companies raised simultaneously for the purpose of
joining the 94th, were afterward mustered into other organizations. In
several instances a father and two or three sons enlisted together, and
there was a generous emulation as to who should do the most for the
favorite organization. The full strength at muster in was 945 and 149
recruits afterward joined, making a total of 1,094. It lost 11 men
killed in battle, had 45 wounded, 157 died, and 164 were discharged. The
small percentage of loss, notwithstanding the active service and severe
actions in which it participated, must be attributed to the rare skill
displayed by Col. McNulta in taking care of his men and preventing their
unnecessary exposure in action, and to the very efficient medical staff,
which was continually on the alert to secure the best sanitary
regulations in camp and assiduous in the care of the sick and wounded.
Leaving Bloomington on Aug. 25, 1862, it was quartered for two weeks in
Benton barracks at St. Louis, where it was brigaded with the 19th Ia.
and 20th Wis., forming the 2nd brigade, 3d division, of what was at that
time called the "Army of the Frontier," designed to operate in Missouri
and Arkansas. In the engagement at Prairie Grove the regiment held the
extreme left of the line and lost 1 killed and 26 wounded. In June,
1863, it was sent down the river to Vicksburg, where it was stationed
below the city on the left of the Federal line and assisted in all the
siege operations terminating with the capture of that stronghold, but it
only sustained a loss of 1 man killed and 5 wounded. Under the policy of
concentration inaugurated by Gen. Grant upon assuming chief command, the
regiment was withdrawn in July, 1864, from Texas, where it had been for
several months, and during the first half of August took an active part
in the siege of Fort Morgan. In the siege of Spanish Fort in the spring
of 1865, the regiment held the extreme left of the line, and during 13
days was constantly under fire, digging rifle-pits, trenches and mines;
but it went through the memorable siege with a loss of only 1 killed and
3 wounded. Participating in the final assault, it had the honor of being
the first to mount the walls of Fort Alexis. After the fall of Mobile,
which followed that of Spanish Fort, the regiment was sent to Ship
island in charge of a large number of prisoners, after which it went
into camp on the "shell road" below Mobile until June 18, when it moved
to Galveston, Tex., and did garrison duty until its muster-out on July
17, 1865. It reached Bloomington on Aug. 9, and was received with a
superb ovation. |
Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing
Company, 1908 - Volume 3
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