Illinois 26th Infantry (Union)
8/31/61
Organized - Illinois 26th Infantry - Illinois
2/28/62
Battle - Island Number Ten - New Madrid, Missouri; Lake County, Tennessee
In addition to prosecuting the coastal blockade and pursuing Confederate commerce raiders, the U.S. Navy's other main role in the Civil War, and arguably its most important one, was seizing and controlling the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In this effort, the main obstacle was not the tiny Confederate navy, but rather the formidable shore fortifications erected by the Confederates along the banks of the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers. This war, therefore, was less often a matter of s…READ MORE
4/29/62
Battle - Siege of Corinth - Corinth, Mississippi
Union forces had captured the railroad junction and important transportation center at Corinth, Mississippi in the spring of 1862 after their victory at Shiloh. After the Battle of Iuka in September, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Confederate Army of the West marched to Ripley, Mississippi where it joined Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn's Army of West Tennessee. Van Dorn took command of the combined force numbering about 22,000 men. The Rebels marched southeast toward Corinth, hoping to recapture it and then sweep int…READ MORE
5/28/62
Battle - Corinth, Mississippi
9/19/62
Leadership Change - Regiment - Major Robert A. Gillmore
MajorRobert A. Gillmore
9/19/62
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Joseph A. Mower
ColonelJoseph A. Mower
9/19/62
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General David S. Stanley
Brigadier GeneralDavid S. Stanley
9/19/62
Battle - Iuka - Tishomingo County, Mississippi
Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Army of the West main column marched into Iuka, Mississippi, on September 14th. Price's superior, Gen. Braxton Bragg, had ordered Price to prevent Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Mississippi from moving into Tennessee and reinforcing Nashville. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commanding the Army of the Tennessee, feared that Price intended to go north to join Bragg. Grant devised a plan for his left wing commander, Maj. Gen. E.O.C. Ord, to advance on Iuka from the west;…READ MORE
10/3/62
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Joseph A. Mower
ColonelJoseph A. Mower
10/3/62
Battle - Battle of Corinth - Corinth, Mississippi
Not to be confused with Siege of Corinth. Also known as Second Battle of Corinth.READ MORE
5/18/63
Leadership Change - Regiment - Major John B. Harris
MajorJohn B. Harris
5/18/63
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel John M. Loomis, and Colonel Sanford J. Stoughton
ColonelJohn M. Loomis
ColonelSanford J. Stoughton
5/18/63
Leadership Change - Division - undefined 7th Illinois Cavalry Company B: Cpt Henry C. Forbes, Brigadier General William Sooy Smith, and undefined Escort
5/18/63
Battle - Vicksburg - Vicksburg, Mississippi
In mid-May, 1863, after six months of unsuccessful attempts, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee finally converged on Vicksburg, defended by a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton. Capture of the Mississippi River town was critical to Union control of the strategic river. Vicksburg was located on a high river bluff defended with artillery, and Pemberton's men had constructed a series of fortifications in an 8-mile arc surrounding the city on the landward side. After crossing the…READ MORE
5/20/63
Battle - Colliersville, Tennessee
5/13/64
Battle - Resaca - Gordon County, Georgia; Whitfield County, Georgia
Following his withdrawal from Rocky Face Ridge, the first battle in Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's campaign against Atlanta, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston established a four-mile defensive position protecting the Western & Atlantic Railroad west and north of Resaca, where the railroad crossed the Oostanaula River. On May 13th, Sherman tested the Rebel lines, sending forward divisions to skirmish with the Confederates, with little substantive result. On the 14th, the fighting erupted into a full-…READ MORE
5/26/64
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Reuben Williams
ColonelReuben Williams
5/26/64
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General William Harrow
Brigadier GeneralWilliam Harrow
5/27/64
Battle - Dallas - Paulding County, Georgia
During early and mid-May 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman successfully outmaneuvered the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in multiple battles in northwest Georgia. Each time, Johnston fell back to a new defensive position closer to the strategic Confederate city of Atlanta. Stopped at New Hope Church on Johnston's left on May 26th, Sherman attacked Johnston's right at Pickett's Mill on May 27th. The next day, Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps probed the Union defensive line, held by Maj. Gen. John A. Log…READ MORE
7/22/64
Battle - Atlanta - Fulton County, Georgia; DeKalb County, Georgia
Despite the defeat at Peach Tree Creek, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood still had hopes of driving Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Yankees from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow. On the night of July 21, 1864, Hood ordered Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps to make 15-mile night march and assault the Union left flank east of the city, held by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. Joining the attack with Hardee would be the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham. Hood attac…READ MORE
8/31/64
Leadership Change - Brigade - Brigadier General Charles C. Walcutt
Brigadier GeneralCharles C. Walcutt
8/31/64
Battle - Jonesborough - Clayton County, Georgia
By late August 1865, the city of Atlanta was not yet subdued by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's armies. A few supply lines remained open to the city supporting the army of Lieut. Gen. John B. Hood encircled there. Union cavalry raids inflicted only superficial damage, quickly repaired by the Confederates. Sherman determined that if he could destroy the Macon & Western and Atlanta & West Point Railroads to the south the Rebel army would be forced to evacuate the city. On August 25, Union infantry beg…READ MORE
3/19/65
Battle - Bentonville - Bentonville, North Carolina
After his march to the sea, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman headed north in early 1865 to unite with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army in Virginia. Only Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston's army stood between Sherman and Grant. After briefly blocking Sherman's advance at Averasboro, North Carolina on March 16, Johnston struck Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum's wing of Sherman's army near Bentonville on March 19. The Confederates ran into stiff resistance, as Slocum established a defensive position. Johnston's assaults con…READ MORE
7/20/65
Mustered Out - Illinois 26th Infantry - Illinois
Related Records
Search for related service records