Illinois Military Records: Difference between revisions

Illinois soldiers or veterans who came to Illinois after their military service are mentioned in military records created or maintained by federal, state, or county officials. A comprehensive description of both federal and Illinois state military records is:  

For each war listed below, additional federal sources are listed in [[Portal:United States Military Records|Portal:United States Military Records]]. It contains search strategies and information to guide you to the best records for your objective.  

An indexed source covering the nineteenth century conflicts through the Spanish-American War is:  

Delap, Fred. "''Database of Illinois’ Civil War Veterans''." In Illinois State Archives [database online]. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives, 27 April 1999– [cited 15 July 1999]. Available at:  

The Civil War sparked interest in providing for disabled or elderly veterans of various wars. Records of national soldier homes, including the one in Danville, Illinois, are found in:  

Admission registers of the state soldiers’ home at Quincy have been transcribed and indexed in:  

The Department of Veterans Affairs (833 South Spring Street, Springfield, IL 62794; telephone 217-782-6641) has files of veterans from the American Revolution through the most recent wars who are buried in the state. A copy of the file up to the Spanish-American War is:  

Names from five national cemeteries in Illinois are in:  

Original records are at the Illinois State Department of Veterans Affairs in Springfield. This source includes national cemeteries at Rock Island, Mound City, Alton, Graceland and Danville, Illinois.  

The Revolutionary War was fought long before Illinois became a territory in 1809. Many veterans, however, came to Illinois later and may be listed in:  

An earlier version has been microfilmed:  

Many patriots who came to Illinois are included in federal or national sources cited in [[United States Military Records|United States Military Records]].  

United States. General Land Office. ''Federal Land Records: 'Transcripts of the Locations of Military Warrants on Which Patents Have [Been] Issued Under the Acts of Congress Passed On and Since the Sixth of May, 1812 for&nbsp; Illinois&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; '''''<nowiki>; 1817–1819. Springfield, Illinois: Office of the Secretary of State, Record Management Division, 1966, 1968. (FHL films 882927–29 [indexes] 899785, items 1–3 [transcription of military warrants vols. 807–8, 1817 to 1819.) The warrant numbers given in the index refer to:</nowiki>''''  

=== Civil War (1861–1865)  ===

'''Service Records.''' At the Family History Library you may use indexes to federal service and pension records of Union Army soldiers. The pension indexes are cited in [[United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865|United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865]]. The index to the service records is:  

See also volumes 1–8 of the Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois, which is described earlier in this section under the subheading entitled "Records Covering More than One War."  

'''Identifying Military Units'''. Relatives and neighbors may have been in different military units even though they enlisted from the same county. A source that tells which companies were raised from each county is:  

Illinois men who served in the Navy during the war are identified in:  

'''Muster Rolls, Militia Lists and Military Censuses'''. The Illinois State Archives has a considerable collection of original muster rolls, militia lists, and military censuses for the Civil War (Record Series 301.29). Militia lists were of two types: volunteer militias and lists of males subject to military service. Volunteer lists include the each member’s name, residence, age, birthplace, occupation, and date and term of enlistment in the militia. During the war, entire units of volunteer militias were called into service, although some members enlisted individually.  

Militia lists of both types are in:  

The military census of 1862 taken by the federal government is also at the Illinois State Archives and lists men subject to military service. It gives each person’s name, age, birthplace, and occupation, and remarks about military assignments or exemptions. This collection often includes lists of volunteers and enlistment certificates.  

'''Regimental Histories'''. The Illinois State Historical Library has a sizable collection of regimental histories. Two bibliographies published in 1994 are:  

''Part II, Manuscripts''. Volume 87, no.4 (Winter 1994): 277–324. Manuscripts cited include such items as letters, diaries, personal papers of regimental officers and official correspondence.  

'''Officer Biographies'''. Biographical data on Union officers from Illinois are in:  

Confederate prisoners were held in Illinois at Camp Douglas, Camp Butler, Rock Island, and Alton. Lists of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried at various camps are at the Illinois State Archives, Record Group 301.61. Some published records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a&nbsp;Place Search under:  

'''Veterans Organizations'''. By 1890, about 40 percent of the Civil War veterans were members of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The descriptive books of each GAR post usually indicate the member’s name, age, rank, birthplace, residence, occupation, and enlistment and discharge information. A manuscript of members of GAR posts for the Department of Illinois, 1880 to 1930, and of other veterans organizations are at the Illinois State Historical Library. See the "[[Illinois Archives and Libraries|Archives and Libraries]]" section for the address. Scattered records may be found in various libraries and archives throughout Illinois. Many GAR posts are identified in:  

'''Regimental Lists.''' See a [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Category:Illinois_-_Military list of regiments ]and links to their histories.&nbsp;  

World War I draft registration cards for men ages 18–45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. For Illinois’ cards, see:  

To find a person’s draft card, it helps to know his name and residence at the time of registration, since the cards are arranged alphabetically by county, within the county by draft board, and then alphabetically by surname. Counties may have had more than one draft board.  

Large cities like Chicago, however, had several draft boards. Find a person’s street address in a city directory, then find the draft board closest to that address. Draft board addresses for Chicago can be found in:  

A street map of Chicago for this time is on:  

Polish volunteers all over the United States were recruited for the Polish Army in France, and many from Illinois are listed in United States (with some from Ontario, Canada) ''Recruits for the Polish Army in France, 1917–1919'', cited in [[Illinois Minorities]].  

A pictorial history of soldiers with brief sketches and genealogical information is:  

=== Additional Military Records  ===