34th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History
The 34th Regiment, Illinois Infantry was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, and mustered in September 7, 1861. It mustered out July 12 and was discharged at Chicago, Illinois, July 17, 1865.

For more information on the history of the 34th Regiment, Illinois, see the following:


 * Wikipedia (accessed 26 July 2011) An article and links for the 34th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.


 * The Civil War Archive (accessed 26 July 2011) Brief history of the 34th Regiment Infantry.

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 Achives 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 Whiteside County - Whiteside County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 655-658.


 * Company B - many men from Whiteside County - Whiteside County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 659-662.


 * Company C - many men from Lee County - Lee County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 662-665.


 * Company D - many men from Lee County -Lee County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 665-668.


 * Company E - many men from Ogle County - Ogle County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 668-671.


 * Company F - many men from Ogle County - Ogle County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 671-674.


 * Company G - many men from Morgan and Randolph counties - Morgan and Randolphcounty web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 675-677.


 * Company H - many men from Ogle County - Ogle County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 677-681.


 * Company I - many men from Carroll County - Carroll County web site - Roster, vol. 2, pages 681-684.


 * Company K - many men from Edgar and Whiteside counties - Edgar and Whiteside county web sites - Roster, vol. 2, pages 684-686.


 * Unassigned Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, pages 686-687.


 * Unassigned Drafted and Substitute Recruits - Roster, vol. 2, page 687.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,473 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources
WEB SITES


 * 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, 34th 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


 * Messmore, Francis B.Soldier of the 34th Illinois Volunteers. (Baltimore, MD (1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21202): Gateway Press, 1996).FHL FAM HIST Book 921.73 M563m. Other libraries with this book.


 * Payne, Edwin W. History of the Thirty-Fourth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry: September 7, 1861 [to] July 12, 1865. (Salem, Mass: Higginson Book Co, 1998). FS Library US/CAN Film 1490872. Other libraries with this book.


 * Widney, Lyman S., and Robert I. Girardi. Campaigning with "Uncle Billy": The Civil War Memoirs of Sgt. Lyman S. Widney, 34th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. (Victoria, BC, Canada: Trafford, 2008). Libraries with this book.