The 89th Illinois Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Railroad 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 ...

that served from August 27, 1862, to June 24, 1865 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 89th Illinois Infantry was organized at

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

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 27, 1862. The regiment was nicknamed the "Railroad Regiment" due to the important role Chicago-based railroad companies had in raising and filing the regiment's roster. The regiment's motto, "Clear the Tracks" was stitched onto the national flag. It participated in the battles of

Stones River The Stones River (properly spelled Stone's River) is a major stream of the eastern portion of Tennessee's Nashville Basin region. It is named after explorer and longhunter Uriah Stone, who navigated the river in 1767. Geography and hydrography T ...

, Liberty Gap,

Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to: Entertainment * "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce * "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe * "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne (album), Ano ...

, Orchard Knob and

Missionary Ridge Missionary Ridge is a geographic feature in Chattanooga, Tennessee, site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a battle in the American Civil War, fought on November 25, 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, a ...

, Pickett's Mill, the Atlanta Campaign, and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. Its brigade commander for most of the

was

August Willich August Willich (November 19, 1810 – January 22, 1878), born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility. He later ...

- regimental commander for most of the war was Charles Truman Hotchkiss. Major

John M. Farquhar John McCreath Farquhar (April 17, 1832 – April 24, 1918) was a United States Representative from New York and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Biography Born near Ayr, Scotland, Farquh ...

- then sergeant major- was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for heroic service at the Battle of Stones River. The regiment was mustered out on June 10, 1865, and discharged at Chicago on June 24, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

12 officers and 121 enlisted men were killed in action or died of their wounds, and 1 officer and 172 enlisted men died of disease, for a total of 306 fatalities.http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unilinf7.htm#89th The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.

References

Bibliography

* Dyer, Frederick H. (1959). ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion''. New York and London. Thomas Yoseloff, Publisher. {{LCCN, 5912963. 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

Service

Total strength and casualties

See also

References

Bibliography