124th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

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124th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry "Excelsiors"

Flag of Illinois.svg

Illinois state flag
Active September 10, 1862 - August 16, 1865
Country United States
Allegiance Union
Branch Infantry
Nickname(s) Excelsior Regiment
Engagements Operations against Vicksburg
Central Mississippi Campaign
Battle of Port Gibson
Battle of Raymond
Battle of Jackson, Mississippi
Battle of Champion Hill
Siege of Vicksburg
Mobile Campaign
Battle of Spanish Fort
Battle of Fort Blakely

The 124th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the Excelsior Regiment, was an exemplary infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. [1]

Infantry military service branch that specializes in combat by individuals on foot

Infantry is the branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalry, artillery, and tank forces. Also known as foot soldiers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mounts, military vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress.

Union Army Land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Contents

Background

On August 7, 1862, in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for troops to fight in the American Civil War, a muster roll was begun in the office of Judge John H. Howe in Kewanee, in Henry County, Illinois. Company A and Company F were from the village of Kewanee.

Abraham Lincoln 16th president of the United States

Abraham Lincoln was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. He preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy.

Kewanee, Illinois Place in Illinois, United States

Kewanee is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,916 at the 2010 census, down from 12,944 in 2000.

Henry County, Illinois county in Illinois, United States

Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2010 United States Census, listed its population at 50,486. Its county seat is Cambridge.

Company B was recruited in Batavia and Lodi, in Kane county.

Batavia, Illinois City in Illinois, United States

Batavia is a city in DuPage and Kane Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. During the latter part of the 19th century, Batavia, home to six American-style windmill manufacturing companies, became known as "The Windmill City." Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a federal government-sponsored high-energy physics laboratory, where both the bottom quark and the top quark were first detected, is located in the city.

Maple Park, Illinois Village in Illinois, United States

Maple Park is a village in DeKalb and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 1,310 at the 2010 census, up from 765 in 2000. Maple Park was formerly known as Lodi.

Kane County, Illinois county in Illinois

Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 515,269, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora.

Company C, known as the Springfield Company, was raised in Springfield, Illinois and in Jersey county.

Springfield, Illinois Capital of Illinois

Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The city's population of 116,250 as of the 2010 U.S. Census makes it the state's sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois. As of 2013, the city's population was estimated to have increased to 117,006, with just over 211,700 residents living in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and the adjacent Menard County.

Jersey County, Illinois county in Illinois, United States

Jersey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,985. The county seat is Jerseyville.

Company D was raised from Colchester and Tennessee townships in the Illinois county of McDonough. It was consolidated with a band of Good Templars from Chicago and Dundee, Illinois.

Colchester, Illinois City in Illinois, United States

Colchester is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,493 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the town of Colchester, England.

Tennessee, Illinois Village in Illinois, United States

Tennessee is a village in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 144 at the 2000 census.

Illinois State of the United States of America

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It has the 5th largest Gross Domestic Product by state, is the 6th-most populous U.S. state and 25th-largest state in terms of land area. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in northern and central Illinois, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, contains over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports around the world from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway on the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

Campaigns

After being mustered into federal service, the regiment moved south to begin its service in the Western Theatre. Upon reaching the front at Jackson, Tennessee, it became part of Grant's operations which culminated in the Siege of Vicksburg.

Western Theater of the American Civil War

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 Mississippi are part of the Eastern Theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.

Jackson, Tennessee City in Tennessee, United States

Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee. Located 70 miles (110 km) east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census and 67,265 in the 2012 Census estimate.

Following duties in the Vicksburg area, the regiment was sent via New Orleans to participate in action against the defenses of Mobile after the Battle of Mobile Bay.

See also

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References

(From pages 1 – 5 of "History of the 124th Regiment Illinois Infantry Volunteers, Otherwise Known as the "Hundred and Two Dozen," from August 1862 to August 1865," by R L Howard, Chaplain. Springfield, Illinois; printed and bound by H W Rokker. 1880.)

  1. "124th Illinois Infantry Regiment" . Retrieved 2010-10-11.