7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry

Brief History
7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, and mustered in October 13, 1861. They mustered out October 20, 1865, and discharged at Camp Butler, Illinois, November 17, 1865.It mustered out July 9, 1865.

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

The Civil War Archive section, 7th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, (accessed 13 June 2012).

The Wikipedia article, 7th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, (accessed 14 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 Edgar County - Edgar County web site -


 * Company B - many men from Carroll County and Ogle County (Also known as Rosecran's Escort) - Carroll and Ogle county web sites -


 * Company C - many men from Lee County and LaSalle County (Also known as Morgan's Escort, Palmer's Escort, Smith's Escort) - Lee and LaSalle county web sites -


 * Company D - many men from Knox County - Knox County web site -


 * Company E - many men from White County and Edwards County - White and Edwards county web sites -


 * Company F - many men from Fayette County - Fayette County web site -


 * Company G - many men from Gallatin County and White County - Gallatin and White county web sites -


 * Company H - many men from Shelby County - Shelby County web site -


 * Company I - many men from Macon County - Macon County web site -


 * Company K - many men from Fulton County and Knox County - Fulton and Knox county web sites -


 * Company L - many men from McDonough County - McDonough County web site -


 * Company M - many men from Randolph County - Randolph County web site -

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 4,518 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry (accessed 10 May 2011) includes rosters of all the regiments and information on the different companies in each regiment.


 * 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.


 * Underwood, Larry. The Butternut Guerrillas : a story of Grierson's raid. (Lincoln, Nebraska : Dageford, c1994),