107th Illinois Infantry Regiment

Last updated
107th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
ActiveSeptember 4, 1862 – June 25, 1865
DisbandedJune 25, 1865
CountryFlag of the United States (1865-1867).svg  United States
Allegiance Union
Branch Infantry
Size Regiment
Engagements American Civil War

The 107th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was raised as part of the call for 300,000 volunteers in the summer and fall of 1862. It was organized on September 4, 1862, at Camp Butler near Springfield, Illinois, and was composed of men from DeWitt, Piatt, and Williamson Counties in central and southern Illinois. [1]

Contents

History

The 107th Illinois left Camp Butler on September 30, 1862, and arrived at Jeffersonville, Indiana, where the officers were admonished that the men were a poorly-trained lot. This resulted in the regiment being held back in camp until October 12 while it was rigidly trained and prepared to head to the front.

Crossing the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky, the regiment joined the Army of the Ohio commanded by General Don Carlos Buell. The army had just fought a tactically indecisive but strategically important action at the Battle of Perryville a week before. On October 18 the regiment was ordered to Elizabethtown, Kentucky (near the birthplace of President Abraham Lincoln) to repel a raid by Confederate cavalry under John Hunt Morgan. Here the Illinoisans received their baptism of fire, resulting in no reported casualties and the capture of several Rebels. The 107th spent the winter of 1862–1863 around Munfordville, Kentucky.

In June 1863, the 107th was attached to XXIII Corps under command of Major General Ambrose Burnside. The regiment spent much of the summer of 1863 trying to chase down John Hunt Morgan and his band of Confederate raiders and participated in the capture of approximately 700 Rebels at Buffington Island, Ohio. Then they were sent to eastern Tennessee where they patrolled the area and confronted enemy troops under James Longstreet at Loudon, Tennessee, in early November. Longstreet's troops pushed northward and directly threatened the city of Knoxville until the Federals were reinforced by troops under William T. Sherman. The 107th participated in skirmishes at Campbell's Station on November 16 and Dandridge on December 21.

On April 30, 1864, the 107th and the rest of the Army of the Ohio was attached to Sherman's command as it was beginning to push toward Atlanta. On May 14 and 15 they participated in the Battle of Resaca, suffering only minor casualties. Throughout the month of June the men participated in the fighting around Marietta, Georgia, including the bloody assaults on Kennesaw Mountain. They served in the trenches during the Battle of Atlanta in July and August and took part in the occupation of Decatur, Georgia in September.

In late September John Bell Hood led his Army of Tennessee northward, hoping to draw Sherman out of Georgia by launching an offensive into Union-occupied Tennessee. The 107th and the rest of the Army of the Ohio under General John M. Schofield started north in pursuit. They passed over their old battlefields of Kennesaw Mountain and Resaca before being carried by rail to Nashville, Tennessee, in early November 1864. On November 18 their division, commanded by Brigadier General Thomas Ruger advanced to Columbia, Tennessee, to meet Hood's army. The regiment participated in skirmishing with Hood's army along the Duck River until November 28 when the army was ordered to retreat to Franklin, Tennessee. During the retreat, they participated in skirmishing along the Columbia Pike during the night of November 29 at the Battle of Spring Hill. The following day the army was in a defensive position surrounding Franklin, with Schofield hoping to delay Hood long enough for Union strength to be concentrated at Nashville. During the Battle of Franklin the regiment was near the apex of the Confederate assault and suffered heavy casualties, including the mortal wounding of their commander, Colonel Francis H. Lowrey. The 107th captured two stands of enemy colors and briefly suffered the loss of their own regimental colors, but they were recovered. During the night after the battle, Schofield's army retreated to Nashville and the regiment took a position near Fort Negley outside of Nashville. They performed skirmish and picket during the first two weeks of December and took part in the massive Federal assault on December 15 that resulted in the destruction of Hood's army.

Remaining around Columbia, Tennessee, until late January, the regiment was then ordered to Washington, D.C. and then to Fort Fisher, North Carolina. They moved against Fort Anderson (North Carolina) and in a sharp skirmish captured the fort's colors. During March 1865 they served on guard duty in and around Wilmington, North Carolina, and rejoined Sherman's army near Goldsboro in April. After the surrender of Johnston's Confederate forces on April 26, the regiment remained on occupation duty in Salisbury, North Carolina, until June 21, 1865, when they were mustered-out. On July 2 the men arrived at Camp Butler, where they received their final pay and were discharged.

Casualties

Killed: 3 Officers and 27 Enlisted men

Died of disease: 122 Enlisted men

Total deaths: 152

Organization

Department of the Ohio: October–November 1862

District of West Kentucky: November 1862-June 1863

First Brigade, Third Division, 23rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio: June–August 1863

Second Brigade, Second Division, 23rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio: August 1863-February 1865

Department of North Carolina: February–June 1865

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bell Hood</span> Confederate Army general (1831–1879)

John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the decision to replace Johnston with Hood was probably the single largest mistake that either government made during the war." Hood's education at the United States Military Academy led to a career as a junior officer in the infantry and cavalry of the antebellum U.S. Army in California and Texas. At the start of the Civil War, he offered his services to his adopted state of Texas. He achieved his reputation for aggressive leadership as a brigade commander in the army of Robert E. Lee during the Seven Days Battles in 1862, after which he was promoted to division command. He led a division under James Longstreet in the campaigns of 1862–63. At the Battle of Gettysburg, he was severely wounded, rendering his left arm mostly useless for the rest of his life. Transferred with many of Longstreet's troops to the Western Theater, Hood led a massive assault into a gap in the U.S. line at the Battle of Chickamauga but was wounded again, requiring the amputation of his right leg.

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western theater of the American Civil War</span> American Civil War area of operations

The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states, except for Mobile Bay, are considered part of the Lower Seaboard Theater. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains are part of the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">104th Ohio Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 104th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. It played a conspicuous role at the Battle of Franklin during the 1864 Franklin–Nashville campaign, where six members later received the Medal of Honor, most for capturing enemy flags.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">78th Illinois Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 78th Illinois Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment, unofficially known as the Louisville Legion was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 16th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 80th Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">74th Indiana Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 74th Indiana Infantry Regiment, officially known as the 74th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">125th Illinois Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 125th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment from Illinois that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Soon after mustering into Federal service in September 1862, the regiment fought at Perryville. After being stationed at Nashville, Tennessee, the unit briefly fought at Chickamauga and served in the Chattanooga and Knoxville campaigns in 1863. The regiment participated in the Atlanta campaign in 1864, where it took heavy losses at Kennesaw Mountain. It also fought at Peachtree Creek and Jonesborough. At the end of 1864, it served during Sherman's March to the Sea and in 1865 the unit fought in the Carolinas campaign. The regiment participated in the Grand Review of the Armies before being mustered out of service in June 1865.

The 57th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 111th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 118th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 118th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

15th Indiana Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

23rd Indiana Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">103rd Illinois Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 103rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served for three years during the American Civil War. Organized in Peoria, Illinois, and formed from men entirely within Fulton County, Illinois, the group left Illinois, serving with Sherman through the Atlanta Campaign, March to the Sea and Carolina Campaign. Finally, the regiment participated in the troop review in Washington, D.C., before mustering out in Chicago, and traveling back to their homes.

The 63rd Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">112th Illinois Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 112th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized at Peoria in September 1862 and garrisoned places in Kentucky until Spring 1863. Beginning in April 1863, the regiment served as mounted infantry during the Knoxville campaign, before being dismounted in February 1864. Subsequently, it served in the Atlanta campaign, the Franklin-Nashville campaign, and the Carolinas campaign as part of the XXIII Corps. The regiment was mustered out on June 20, 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Texas Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 7th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of Confederate States Army infantry volunteers organized in 1861 that fought mostly in the Army of Tennessee during the American Civil War. The regiment was captured at Fort Donelson in 1862 and sent to Northern prison camps. After the survivors were exchanged and new recruits added, the regiment was reconstituted and fought at Raymond, Jackson, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Ringgold Gap in 1863. The unit served in the Atlanta Campaign and at Franklin, Nashville, Averasborough, and Bentonville in 1864–1865. The regiment's 65 survivors surrendered to William Tecumseh Sherman's Federal forces on 26 April 1865.

References

  1. "107th Illinois Infantry Regiment". Civilwar.illinoisgenweb.org. Retrieved 2024-03-08.