ILLINOIS NINETY-FOURTH INFANTRY (Three YEARS)

Ninety-fourth Infantry. Cols., William. W. Orme, John McNulta; Lieut.-Cols., John McNulta, Rankin G. Laughlin; Majs., Rankin G. Laughlin, Alexander T. Briscoe. This regiment had its origin in the magnificent burst of enthusiasm which greeted Mr. Lincoln's call for more men in the summer of 1862. It was organized, examined, inspected, mustered in and put into the field within 10 days. It was composed entirely of residents of McLean county, and was usually called "the McLean Regiment." Largely through the exertions of Hon. Isaac Funk and Hon. Harrison Noble, the county authorities gave each enlisted man a bounty of ;50, and also presented the regiment with a magnificent stand of colors, costing ;500. Nearly all the companies had an excess of men offered, and two companies raised simultaneously for the purpose of joining the 94th, were afterward mustered into other organizations. In several instances a father and two or three son's enlisted together, and there was a generous emulation as to who should do the most for the favorite organization. The full strength at muster in was 945 and I19 recruits afterward joined, making a total of 1,094. It lost 11 men killed in battle, had 45 wounded, 157 died, and 164 were discharged. The small percentage of loss, notwithstanding the active service and severe actions in which it participated, must be attributed to the rare skill displayed by Col. McNulta in taking care of his men and preventing their unnecessary exposure in action, and to the very efficient medical staff, which was continually on the alert to secure the best sanitary regulations in camp and assiduous in the care of the sick and wounded. Leaving Bloomington on Aug. 25, 1862, it was quartered for two weeks in Benton barracks at St. Louis where it was brigaded with the 19th Ia. and 20th Wis., forming the 2nd brigade, 3d division, of what was at that time called the "Army of the Frontier," designed to operate in Missouri and Arkansas. In the engagement at Prairie Grove the regiment held the extreme left of the line and lost 1 killed and 26 wounded. In June, 1863, it was sent down the river to Vicksburg, where it was stationed below the city on the left of the Federal line and assisted in all the siege operations terminating with the capture of that stronghold, but it only sustained a loss of 1 man killed and 5 wounded. Under the policy of concentration inaugurated by Gen. Grant upon assuming chief command, the regiment was withdrawn in July, 1864, from Texas, where it had been for several months, and during the first half of August took an active part in the siege of Fort Morgan. In the siege of Spanish Fort in the spring of 1865, the regiment held the extreme left of the line, and during 13 days was constantly under fire, digging rifle-pits, trenches and mines but it went through the memorable siege with a loss of only 1 killed and 3 wounded. Participating in the final assault, it had the honor of being the first to mount the walls of Fort Alexis. After the fall of Mobile, which followed that of Spanish Fort, the regiment was sent to Ship island in charge of a large number of prisoners, after which it went into camp on the "shell road," below Mobile until June 18, when it moved to Galveston, Tex., and did garrison duty until its muster-out on July 17, 1865. It reached Bloomington on Aug. 9, and was received with a superb ovation.

Source: The Union Army, vol. 3

Illinois 94th Volunteer Infantry (Union)

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