The 82nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, known as the "2nd Hecker Regiment," 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 mar ...
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 conscript ...
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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
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 ...
. It was one of the three "German" regiments furnished to the Union by Illinois. Approximately two-thirds of its members were German immigrants and most of the other third was composed of immigrants from various countries. Company C was almost entirely Jewish, and Company I all Scandinavians.
Service
The 82nd Illinois Infantry was organized at
Springfield, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on October 23, 1862,
Colonel Friedrich Hecker commanding. Attached to the XI Corps of the Army of the Potomac, it lost 155 men at Chancellorsville, including Colonel Hecker, who was badly wounded. Although just 23 men were battlefield casualties at Gettysburg, 89 were captured during the retreat through the town.
In the fall of 1863, it moved with the rest of the XI Corps to the Western Theater. Colonel Hecker had recovered from his wounds by now and was promoted to brigade command (he would ultimately resign the following winter). After seeing action at Chattanooga, the 82nd Illinois became part of the new
XX Corps and joined the rest of Sherman's army in the 1864-65 campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas.
The regiment was mustered out on June 16, 1865.
Total strength and casualties
The regiment suffered 4 officers and 98 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 60 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 162 fatalities.
Commanders
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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 o ...
Friedrich Hecker
Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker (September 28, 1811 – March 24, 1881) was a German lawyer, politician and revolutionary. He was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the 1848 Revolution. After moving to the United States, he served as ...
- resigned March 21, 1864
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Lieutenant Colonel Edward Selig Salomon - Mustered out with the regiment.
[http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcivilw/f&s/082-fs.htm Illinois in the Cvil war website after Illinois Adjutant General's muster rolls]
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Captain Emil Frey
Emil Johann Rudolf Frey (24 October 1838 – 24 December 1922) was a Swiss politician, Union Army soldier in the American Civil War and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1890–1897). He served as President of the Swiss Confederation in ...
- taken prisoner at the battle of Gettysburg on 1 July 1863 and held in Libby Prison for eighteen months before being exchanged for Captain Gordon
See also
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24th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 24th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, also known as the 1st Hecker Jaeger Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was made up almost exclusively of German, Swiss, Hungarian, C ...
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List of Illinois Civil War Units
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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 ...
Footnotes
{{reflist, 2
External links
The Civil War Archive82nd Illinois history, photos, veterans' burial locations and more
Units and formations of the Union Army from Illinois
1862 establishments in Illinois
Military units and formations established in 1862
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865