26th Illinois Infantry Regiment
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The 26th Regiment 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 ...
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 ...
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 26th Illinois Infantry was organized for 3 years' service with seven companies at
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,
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 ...
and mustered into Federal service on August 31, 1861. Three more companies were raised by January 1, 1862. The 26th Illinois Infantry on January 1, 1864, had 515 men present for duty, of whom 463 re-enlisted as veterans and were granted a furlough. At the end of the furlough, the regiment returned to the field with its ranks replenished with recruits. After the
fall of Atlanta The city of Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County, was an important rail and commercial center during the American Civil War. Although relatively small in population, the city became a critical point of contention during the Atlanta Campaign in 1 ...
on September 1-2, 1864, most of the regiment's original officers mustered out on the expiration of their terms of service. The regiment participated in the
Grand Review of the Armies The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in the ...
on May 23–24, 1865, in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
; was mustered out on July 20, 1865, at
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
; and on July 28, 1865 was paid off and disbanded at
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,
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 ...
.


Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 2 officers and 88 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded, and 2 officers and 194 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 286 fatalities.


Commanders

*
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 Mason Loomis John Mason Loomis (January 5, 1825 – August 2, 1900) was a nineteenth-century American businessman and lumber tycoon from Chicago who was known for developing the city of Ludington, Michigan. He was involved with the Pere Marquette Lumber Com ...
- resigned on April 30, 1864. *
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Robert A. Gilmore - mustered out on October 27, 1864, on expiration of term of service. * Lieutenant Colonel Ira J. Bloomfield - mustered out with regiment on July 20, 1865.''Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois'', vol. 2 (Springfield, Illinois: H. W. Rokker, State Printer and Binder, 1886), p. 358.


See also

* List of Illinois Civil War Units *
Illinois in the American Civil War During the American Civil War, the state of Illinois was a major source of troops for the Union Army (particularly for those armies serving in the Western Theater of the Civil War), and of military supplies, food, and clothing. Situated near majo ...


Notes


References


The Civil War Archive
Units and formations of the Union Army from Illinois 1861 establishments in Illinois Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub