17th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry

Brief History
The 17th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry was organized at St. Charles, Ills., and 8 Companies mustered in January 28, 1864. Four Companies mustered in February 12, 1864. It mustered out Companies "C," "E," "I" and "M," November 23, and the rest of Regiment December 15 to 22, 1865 probably Kansas. .

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 17th Regiment Cavalry, (accessed 14 June 2012).
 * The Wikipedia article, 17th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, (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 Cook County - Cook County web site -
 * Company B - many men from Cook County and Kane County - Cook and Kane county web sites -
 * Company C - many men from Cook County and DeKalb County - Cook and De Kalb county web sites -
 * Company D - men from Assorted Counties
 * Company E - men from Assorted Counties
 * Company F - many men from Jo Daviess County - Jo Daviess County web site -
 * Company G - many men from McHenry County - McHenry County web site -
 * Company H - many men from Cook County and DuPage County - Cook and Du Page county web sites -
 * Company I - many men from Lake County - Lake County web site -
 * Company K - many men from Cook County and Winnebago County - Cook and Winnebago county web sites -
 * Company L - many men from Cook County and Rock Island County - Cook and Rock Islandcounty web sites -
 * Company M - many men from Ogle County - Ogle County web site -

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,380 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

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.


 * Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, 17th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry (accessed 10 May 2011) includes rosters of all the regiments and information on the different companies in each regiment.

BOOKS

Regimental History and Roster

 * History of the 17th Illinois Cavalry Volunteers, by Edwin A Carpenter, n.p., n.p., 1886, Online at: