23rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Illinois

Illinois Military

Illinois in the Civil War

23rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History

The 23re Regiment, Illinois Infantry was organized at Chicago, Illinois, and mustered in June 15, 1861. It was mustered out at Richmond, Virginia, July 24, and discharged at Chicago, Illinois, July 30,1865..

For more information on the history of this unit, see:

• The Civil War Archive section, 23rd Regiment Infantry "Irish Brigade", (accessed 14 June 2012).
• The Wikipedia article 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, (accessed 14 June 2012).

For additional history of this regiment, see the Adjutant General's Report. This history gave the following as additional names of this unit:

- July 1861 = Irish Brigade - May 1864 = 23rd Regiment, Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry
- August 1864 = Battalion 23rd Regiment, Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry (consolidated into 5 companies)

The Wikipedia list of Illinois units gives the name as 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment - The Irish 'Brigade' aka "The First Irish".

Companies in this Regiment with County of Origin

Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

The following counties of origin are taken from the Adjutant General's Report, found on the Illinois Civil War Rosters web site. Roster pages are from the same report found on the Internet Archives web site. The rosters show the men who served in each regiment, their residences, dates of enlistment and mustering out, and other remarks.

• Company A - many men from Detroit, Michigan (Also known as Detroit Jackson Guards) -Roster, vol. 2, pages 245-248.
• Company B - many men from Cook County (Also known as Montgomery Guards) - Cook County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 248-251.
• Company C - many men from Cook County (Also known as Jackson Guards) - Cook County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 251-254.
• Company D - many men from LaSalle County (Also known as Earlville Guards and Earl Rifles) - LaSalle County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 255-257.
• Company E - many men from Cook County (Also known as Ottawa Guards) - Cook County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 257-260.
• Company F - many men from Cook County and LaSalle County (Also known as La Salle Guards) - Cook and LaSalle county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 260-263.
• Company G - many men from Cook County (Also known as Mahoney Guards) - Cook County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 263-266.
• Company H - many men from Cook County and LaSalle County (Also known as Ottawa Guards) - Cook and LaSalle county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 266-268.
• Company I - many men from Cook County (Also known as Sheilds Guards) - Cook County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 268-271.
• Company K - many men from Cook County (Also known as Sheilds Guards) - Cook County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 271-274.
• Unassigned Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, pages 274-275.
• 23rd (Consolidated) Infantry Regiment - Roster, vol. 2, pages 281-299.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 4,037 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Regimental History and Roster

• A true story about "Willie the drummer boy of Chickamauga". By James Roberts Gilmore. n.p.: n.p., 1941. Online at:Internet Archive
• The Irish brigade and its campaigns. By David Power Conyngham. Fordham: University Press Collection , 1994. Online at:Internet Archive"
• Never were men so brave : the Irish Brigade during the Civil War. By Susan Provost Beller. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1998. Online at: Internet Archive
• he last colonel of the Irish Brigade, Count O'Connell, and old Irish life at home and abroad, 1745-1833;. By Mrs John Morgan O'Connell. London: K. Paul, Trench, Tr©bner & co., ltd., 1892. Online at: Internet Archive

Other Sources<

WEBSITES

• Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Illinois in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).

• National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.

• Illinois in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Illinois, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.

• United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.

• Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, 23rd Regiment (accessed 10 May 2011) includes rosters of all the regiments and information on the different companies in each regiment.

• Illinois State Archives - Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database (accessed 14 June 2011). Search by residence, unit, regiment, company or soldier.

BOOKS