Search Rosters

In May 1997, the Illinois State Archives released a database of Illinois Civil War unit rosters donated by Fred Delap. This is a fabulous resource! Searching for soldiers by name or by residence in this database is easy to do, but obtaining a list for an entire company or regiment is not as straight-forward. The form on I'm providing assists you in obtaining the list for a company or a regiment by formatting your search request for you. Just fill out the form, click the submit button, and wait for your web browser to display the results.

If you want to locate a soldier by name, please use the search form available at the web site of the Illinois State Archives.

Please read the Introductory material provided by the Illinois State Archives. This provides additional information that will be of interest to you and explains how you may obtain more information. I cannot provide the additional information, you must contact the Archives. Also, I cannot correct what you believe to be "errors" in the database. If you would like the spelling of a name corrected, you need to place your request with the Archives. If you send a request for a change in the spelling of a name in the database to me using the address at the bottom of the page, you will not receive a response.

Have other questions about the database? View some Helpful Hints.

Step 1. Enter the Regiment Number

Choices:
  Infantry:  7 through 156
  Cavalry:  1 through 17
  Artillery:  1 and 2
Note: If you choose "29", you will get both the 29th Illinois and the 29th US Colored Regiment. If you enter "29+USC" for the Regiment Number, you will get just the 29th US Colored Regiment.

Step 2. Choose One:

Headquarters (Field & Staff; Officers)
Company A
Company B
Company C
Company D
Company E
Company F
Company G
Company H
Company I
Company K
Company L *
Company M *
Entire Regiment
* Note: Not all Regiments had Companies named L & M. In general, Infantry Regiments did not. Also, no Regiments were named Company J.

Step 3. Choose One:

Infantry
Cavalry
Artillery

* Note: The majority of Illinois soldiers were in Infantry Regiments (numbered 7 - 156). Cavalry Regiments were numbered 1 - 16 and Artillery were numbered 1 - 2.

Step 4. Submit (or clear form to begin again)

Helpful Hints

1. What to the abbreviations mean in the "COMPANY & UNIT" column?

ART = Artillery
CAV = Cavalry
CON = Consolidated (e.g. 14 INF CON)
HQ = Headquarters
INF = Infantry
USC = US Colored (e.g. 29 USC INF)

2. How do I locate the residence on a map?

The residences reflect Illinois of the 1860's. Many of the residences are cities or towns which exist today. Others are names of townships or defunct communities which are difficult or impossible to locate on a current map. You should also keep in mind that the names may not have been unique. For example, there may have been several communities called Spring Creek.
Two useful resources:
a. The USGS Geographic Names Database is a helpful tool. The database includes names of towns, townships, lakes, churches, cemeteries, etc. Enter the residence in the blank "Feature Name" and enter ". The results of the search give the name of the county, as well as the type of geographic feature named.
b. Determine where your soldier's regiment was recruited. Many from the same unit resided in the same community. Search County of Recruitment

3. I know my soldier served in Illinois. Why don't I find his name?

The short answer is that many people couldn't spell. In the 1860's, many names were written by the way they sounded. And some of the soldiers could not spell or write their own names. So you should be creative. For example, if you're looking for "Looney", try "Luney". Also keep in mind that the use of middle names was common at the time. You may find the man you know as Cunningham Simpson listed under his given name of James C. Simpson.

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Last update: Wednesday, 26-Aug-1998 16:15:10 CDT