The 118th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. On June 10, 1863, the regiment was converted to

mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially m ...

Service

The 118th Illinois Infantry was organized at Camp Butler in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, August through October 1862 and mustered in for three years service on November 7, 1862, under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

John G. Fonda. The regiment was attached to 1st Brigade, 9th Division, Right Wing, XIII Corps,

Department of the Tennessee Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, December 1862. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 9th Division, XIII Corps,

Army of the Tennessee An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, to July 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to August 1863, and

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

to September 1863. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, Department of the Gulf, to November 1863. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Department of the Gulf, to July 1864. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, Department of the Gulf, to September 1864. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Department of the Gulf, to February 1865. Cavalry Brigade, District of Baton Rouge, Department of the Gulf, to July 1865. Department of Texas to October 1865. The 118th Illinois Infantry mustered out of service on October 1, 1865, returned to Camp Butler, October 2–10, and was discharged October 13, 1865.

Detailed service

Duty at Camp Butler and guarding prisoners until December. Left Illinois for Memphis, Tennessee, December 1, 1862. Sherman's Yazoo Expedition December 20, 1862, to January 2, 1863. Chickasaw Bayou December 26–28, 1862. Chickasaw Bluffs December 29. Yazoo River January 2, 1863. Expedition to Arkansas Post, Arkansas, January 3–10. Assault and capture of Fort Hindman January 10–11. Moved to Young's Point, Louisiana, January 17–23, and duty there until March 9. Moved to Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 9. Operations from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage March 31-April 17. Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25–30. Thompson's Hill, Port Gibson, May 1. Champion Hill May 16. Big Black River May 17. Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. At Black River Bridge May 24-July 6. Regiment mounted June 10. Edwards' Ferry July 1 (detachment). Advance on Jackson, Mississippi, July 6–10. Near Clinton July 8 (detachment). Near Jackson July 9. Siege of Jackson July 10–17. Raid to Brookhaven July 17–20. Brookhaven July 18. At Vicksburg July 25-August 8. Moved to Port Hudson August 8–9, then to Carrollton, Louisiana, August 15–16, and to Bayou Boeuf September 5–7. To Brashear City September 16. Western Louisiana Campaign October 3-November 30. Regiment mounted October 11, 1863. Vermillionville October 15. Carrion Crow Bayou October 16–20. Grand Coteau October 19. Reconnaissance toward Opelousas October 20. Barrie's Landing, Opelousas, October 21. Scouting and skirmishing about Opelousas October 22–30. Washington October 24. Bayou Bourbeaux November 2. Carrion Crow Bayou November 3. Bayou Sara November 9. Near Vermillionville November 11. At New Iberia November 15-December 18. Camp Pratt November 20. Scout to Vermillion Bayou November 22–23. Scout to St. Martinsville December 2–3. Moved to Donaldsonville December 18–23, then to Port Hudson January 3–7, and duty there until July 3, 1864. On scout January 12. Capture of Jackson, Mississippi, February 10. Skirmish February 16. Raid to Bayou Sara and skirmish February 22. Raid to Jackson March 3. Skirmishes March 26–28, April 1 and 5, May 15, June 13 and 17. Bayou Grosse Tete March 30 and April 2. Plains Store April 7. Redwood Bayou May 3. Moved to Baton Rouge July 3. Operations about Baton Rouge July 3–25. Expedition to Davidson's Ford, near Clinton, July 17–18. Olive Branch August 5. Lee's Expedition to Clinton August 23–29. Comite River and Clinton August 25. Hodge's Plantation September 11. Expedition to Amite River, New River and Bayou Manchac October 2–8. Expedition to Clinton, Greensburg, etc., October 5–9. Lee's Expedition to Brookhaven, Mississippi, November 14–21. Liberty November 18. Davidson's Expedition to West Pascagoula against Mobile & Ohio Railroad November 27-December 13. Outpost duty at Baton Rouge until May 22, 1865. Expedition west of Mississippi River February 2–3. Expedition to Olive Branch, Louisiana, March 1–10. Provost duty at Baton Rouge until October. Expedition to Clinton and Comite River March 30-April 2.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 207 men during service; 3 officers and 21 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 182 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel John G. Fonda

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Mix, Thomas E. ''Civil War Journal of Thomas E. Mix, Company B, 118th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers'' (Kenosha, WI: E. M. Earley), 1992. ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links