Research Articles

Illinois Uniforms in the Civil War

A study of the uniforms issued to the troops from Illinois from 1861 - 1865, to include State and Federal issued uniforms]materials. and accoutrements.

The Second Martyr Named Lovejoy

Wilbur Lovejoy Hurlbut, the son of an Abolitionist and close friend of Elijah P. Lovejoy, a Company D, 5th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864.

Women in the Alton Battalion

The "Alton Battalion" was the nickname of two Companies of Infantry aised in Alton to guard the prison. This battalion would become the nucleus of the 144th Illinois Volunteer infantry.

Colonel John H. Kuhn

Johannes "John" Kuhn was the Captain of the Alton Jaeger Guard in 1861, and serve in the 9th ILL Inf. Later he would attain the rank of Colonel and command the 144th ILL Inf and also the warden of the prison in Alton by 1864.

Confederate Prison in Alton

The State Penetentiary in Alton, Illinois was re-opened during the Civil War and used to house Confederate Prisoners of War. It suffered a massive outbreak of smallpox during the war.

Alton Jaeger Guards Company

The Alton Jaeger Guards were a company of Militia from Alton, Illinois made up of German and Swiss immigrants. They would also go on to serve the Union in the American Civil War.

29th Illinois U.S.C.T.

In March of 1864, Captain W.H. Flint arrived in Alton to recruit men to comprise Company E of the 29th Illinois USCT. He recruited men from Wood River, Collinsville, Alton and Rocky Fork in Godfrey.

Rocky Fork & The Underground Railroad

Rocky Fork was a community of former slaves in Godfrey, Illinois, just north of Alton. They formed a community and erected a church that still stands today in the area formerly known as Rocky Fork.

Elijah P. Lovejoy

Elijah Parish Lovejoy was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor, and abolitionist. He was shot and killed by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, and his printing press thrown in the river.

Unit Studies

9th ILL. Vol. Inf. Reg.

Organized at Springfield, Ill., and mustered in for service April 26, 1861. Ft Donelson, Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, Corinth, Central Mississippi Campaign, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, March to the Sea,  Bentonville. Alton Jaeger Guards, under Captain John Kuhn comprised Company A of this regiment.

32nd ILL Vol. Inf. Reg.

Organized at Camp Butler, Ill., and mustered in December 31, 1861. Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, Matamora, Central Mississippi Campaign, Siege of Vicksburg, Meridian Campaign, Kenesaw Mountain, March to the Sea, Bentonville. Company F under Captain George Jenks was recruited and raised in Alton, Illinois.

36th ILL Vol. Inf. Reg.

Organized at Aurora, Ill., and mustered in September 23, 1861. Pea Ridge, Perryville, Stone's River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Buzzard's Roost Gap, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek,  Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville. Company H recruited several men in Grafton, Illinois.

37th ILL Vet. Vol. Inf.

Organized at Chicago, Ill., and mustered in September 18, 1861. Pea Ridge, Operations against Vicksburg, Spanish Fort, Ft Blakely. Had many Alton men transferred into the regiment from the 97th ILL when that regiment mustered out.

97th ILL Vol. Inf. Reg.

Organized at Camp Butler, Ill., and mustered in September 16, 1862. Chickasaw Bayou, Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, Big Black River, Siege of Vicksburg, Ft Blakely. Nicknamed the "Alton Regiment" it was recruited in Alton, Illinois.

144th ILL Vol. Inf. Reg.

Organized at Alton, Ill., and mustered in on October 21, 1864. Service included guarding the Confederate Prison in Alton, Illinois, as well as other prisons and installations along the Mississippi. Nearly the entire regiment came from Alton, Illinois.