12th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History
The 12th Regiment, Illinois Infantry was organized at Cairo, Illinois August 1, 1861. It mustered out July 10, 1865, and discharged at Camp Butler, Illinois July 18, 1865.

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

The Wikipedia article, 12th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Year), (accessed 15 June 2012).

Civil War Archives section,12th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Year), (accessed 20 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 LaSalle County - La Salle County web site

Company C - many men from Vermilion County - Vermilion County web site

Company D - many men from Rock Island County - Rock Island County web site

Company E - many men from Edgar County and Cook County - Edgar and Cook county web sites

Company F - many men from Jo Daviess County - Jo Daviess County web site

Company G - many men from Perry County - Perry Countyweb site

Company H - many men from Bureau County - Bureau County web site

Company I - many men from Bureau County and Cook County - Bureau and Cook county web sites

Company K - many men from Cook County - Cook County web site

Unassigned Recruits -

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,309 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.

BOOKS
 * 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.