20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History
The 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry was organized at Joliet, Illinois, and mustered in June 13, 1861. It mustered out July 16 and discharged at Chicago, Illinois, July 24, 1865.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Civil War Archive section, 20th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 14 June 2012).
 * The Wikipedia article, 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, (accessed 15 June 2012).

Companies in this Regiment with County of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

The following counties of origin are taken from the Adjutant General's Report, found on the Illinois Civil War Rosters web site. Roster pages are from the same report found on the Internet Archives web site. The rosters show the men who served in each regiment, their residences, dates of enlistment and mustering out, and other remarks.


 * Company A - many men from Champaign County - Champaign County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 151-152.
 * New Company A - many men from Will County - Will County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 153-154.
 * Company B - many men from Will County - Will County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 154-157.
 * Company C - many men from McLean County - McLean County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 157-160.
 * Company D - many men from Livingston County - Livingston County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 160-162.
 * Company E - many men from DeWitt County - DeWitt County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 162-165.
 * Company F - many men from Will County - Will County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 165-168.
 * Company G - many men from Kankakee County - Kankakee County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 168-171.
 * Company H - many men from LaSalle County and Putnam County - LaSalle and Putnam county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 171-174.
 * Company I - many men from Iroquois County - Iroquois County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 174-177.
 * Company K - many men from Kendall County and Will County - Kendall and Will county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 177-180.
 * Unassigned Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, page 180.
 * Unassigned, Drafted and Substitue Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, pages 180-181.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,729 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Regimental History and Roster

 * Dignity of Duty : the Journals of Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath, 1861-1898 : a personal odyssey of service from the Civil War to the Spanish-American War. By Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath . Chicago, Illinois : Pritzker Military Museum & Library, 2015. Online at: Internet Archive

Other Sources
WEBSITES


 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Illinois in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Illinois in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Illinois, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * 20th Regiment on Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, (accessed 10 May 2011) includes rosters of all the regiments and information on the different companies in each regiment.


 * Illinois State Archives - Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database (accessed 14 June 2011). Search by residence, unit, regiment, company or soldier.

BOOKS