The 136th Illinois Infantry Regiment was an

infantry regiment 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 ...

from

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 ...

that served 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 ...

between June 1 and October 30, 1864, 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 ...

Service

The regiment was organized at Centralia, Illinois, and mustered in for one-hundred day service on June 1, 1864.Reece (1900), Volume 7 p. 89.Dyer (1959), Volume 3 p. 1,101. In early June, they received marching orders to proceed by rail to

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

, from where they sailed with Fort Pillow as the boat's destination. On the regiment's arrival at Columbus, Kentucky, information that

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

would attack Fort Pillow was found to be incorrect. General Forrest's target was Columbus, an attack which didn't eventuate. The regiment remained there and performed garrison duty until September 26. While stationed at Columbus, information was received that General Forrest and his confederate troops, would attack Paducah, Kentucky, and the regiment was ordered to march out and intercept Forrest's troops. On August 12, the expedition marched to

Mayfield, Kentucky Mayfield is a home rule–class city and the county seat of Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,017 as of the 2020 United States Census. History 19th century Mayfield is in the center of the Jackson Purchase, an eig ...

, but learned the confederate troops had changed direction and captured

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Returning to Columbus, the regiment reenlisted for a further fifteen days. The regiment was ordered from Columbus to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, however, en route to Chicago, General Sterling Price's troops were in the process of raiding

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and the 136th was ordered to Missouri. Having arrived at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and camped at Benton Barracks, the regiment was divided and companies sent to various forts throughout St. Louis, until October 15. From Missouri, the regiment moved to

Camp Butler, Illinois Camp Butler National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located a few miles northeast of Springfield and a few miles southwest of Riverton, a small town nearby to Springfield, in Sangamon County, Illinois. It was named for the Illi ...

, and on October 30 was mustered out. The 136th Regiment was never in a regular battle, though performed occasional raids against guerrillas. During its service the regiment had four men killed and lost forty men to disease.

References

Bibliography

* Dyer, Frederick H. (1959). ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion''. New York and London. Thomas Yoseloff, Publisher. {{LCCN, 5912963. * Reece. Brigadier General J.N. (1900).
The Report of Illinois from Military and Naval Department of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois. Containing Reports for the Years 1861–1866
'.

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. Journal Company, Printers and Binders. Units and formations of the Union Army from Illinois Military units and formations established in 1864 1864 establishments in Illinois Military units and formations disestablished in 1864

Service

See also

References

Bibliography