31st Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History
The 31st Regiment, Illinois Infantry was organized at Jacksonville, Illinois, and mustered in at Cairo, Illinois. It mustered out July 19 and discharged at Springfield, Illinois, July 31, 1865.

For more information on the history of the 31st Regiment, Illinois see the following:


 * Wikipedia (accessed 26 July 2011) An article and links for the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.


 * The Civil War Archive (accessed 26 July 2011) Brief history of the 31st Regiment Infantry "Dirty First."

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 ( Dresser's Battery) - many men from Perry County - Perry County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 540-543.


 * Company B - many men from Saline County - Saline County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 543-546.


 * Company C (Dollins' Cavalry Company) - many men from Williamson County- Williamson Countyweb site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 547-550.


 * Company D - many men from Johnson County - Johnson County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 550-553.


 * Company E - many men from Union and Williamson counties - Union and Williamson county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 553-556.


 * Company F - many men from Johnson and Pulaski counties- Johnson and Pulaski county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 557-560.


 * Company G - many men from Saline County- Saline County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 560-563.


 * Company H - many men from Jackson and Union counties- Jackson and Union county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 563-566.


 * Company I - many men from Franklin and Tazewell counties- Franklin and Tazewell county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 566-569.


 * Company K - many men from Marion County - Marion County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 569-572.


 * Unassigned Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, pages 572-573.


 * Unassigned Drafted and Substitute Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, page 573.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,950 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, 31st Regiment (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.


 * The ILGenWeb Civil War Scrapbook, (accessed 26 July 2011) contains links to various documents such as personal letters, military papers, articles, histories, obituaries, biographies, etc. Documents are listed by regiment, then by the soldier and his company.

BOOKS


 * Morris, W. S., L. D. Hartwell, and J. B. Kuykendall. History 31st Regiment Illinois Volunteers Organized by John A. Logan. (Carbondale, Ill: Southern Illinois University Press, 1998).FHL US/CAN Fiche 6084223. Other libraries with this book.