82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

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82nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry "2nd Hecker Regt"

Flag of Illinois.svg

Illinois state flag
Active October 23, 1862, to June 16, 1865
Country United States
Allegiance Union
Branch Infantry
Engagements

American Civil War

Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Wauhatchie
Battle of Missionary Ridge
Battle of Resaca
March to the Sea
Battle of Bentonville

The 82nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, known as the "2nd Hecker Regiment," was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the three "German" regiments furnished to the Union by Illinois. Approximately two-thirds of its members were German immigrants and most of the other third was composed of immigrants from various countries. Company C was almost entirely Jewish, and Company I all Scandinavians.

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.

Regiment Military unit

A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country and the arm of service.

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.

Contents

Service

The 82nd Illinois Infantry was organized at Springfield, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on October 23, 1862, Colonel Friedrich Hecker commanding. Attached to the XI Corps of the Army of the Potomac, it lost 155 men at Chancellorsville, including Colonel Hecker, who was badly wounded. Although just 23 men were battlefield casualties at Gettysburg, 89 were captured during the retreat through the town.

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.

Friedrich Hecker Union United States Army officer

Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker was a German lawyer, politician and revolutionary. He was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the 1848 Revolution. After moving to the United States, he served as a brigade commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

In the fall of 1863, it moved with the rest of the XI Corps to the Western Theater. Colonel Hecker had recovered from his wounds by now and was promoted to brigade command (he would ultimately resign the following winter). After seeing action at Chattanooga, the 82nd Illinois became part of the new XX Corps and joined the rest of Sherman's army in the 1864-65 campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas.

XX Corps (Union Army)

Two corps of the Union Army were called XX Corps during the American Civil War. Though both served in the Union Army of the Cumberland, they were distinct units and should be recognized as such.

The regiment was mustered out on June 16, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 4 officers and 98 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 60 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 162 fatalities. [1]

Commanders

Colonel (United States) Military rank of the United States

In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, colonel is the most senior field grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and immediately below the rank of brigadier general. It is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.

Lieutenant colonel (United States) U.S. military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel

In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force, a lieutenant colonel is a field-grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.

Edward S. Salomon Union Army general

Edward Selig Salomon was a German Jew who immigrated to the United States and served as a lieutenant colonel in Union in the American Civil War. After nomination for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, by President Andrew Johnson on January 13, 1866, the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866. Salomon later became governor of Washington Territory and a California legislator.

See also

The 24th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, also known as the 1st Hecker Jaeger Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was made up almost exclusively of German, Hungarian, Czech and Slovak immigrants. It was the first unit mobilised for the war in Chicago, and was composed of many Forty-Eighters, veterans of the revolutions of 1848 in Germany and the Austrian Empire.

Illinois in the American Civil War

The U.S. state of Illinois during the American Civil War was a major source of troops for the Union Army, and of military supplies, food, and clothing. Situated near major rivers and railroads, Illinois became a major jumping off place early in the war for Ulysses S. Grant's efforts to seize control of the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers. Statewide, public support for the Union was high despite Copperhead sentiment.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unilinf7.htm#82nd The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
  2. ↑ http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcivilw/f&s/082-fs.htm Illinois in the Cvil war website after Illinois Adjutant General's muster rolls
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