128th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History
The 128th Regiment, Illinois was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, and mustered in November 4, 1862. It was attached to District of Columbus, Kentucky, 16th Army Corps, Dept. of the Tennessee. It was disbanded April 1, 1863, by order of Gen. Grant, having lost in 5 months over 700 men, principally by desertion, and the Officers having proved themselves utterly incompetent, were mustered out of service. The few remaining men were consolidated into a Detachment and consolidated with 9th Illinois Infantry April 1, 1863.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 128th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 15 June 2012).
 * The Wikipedia article, 128th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, (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 Franklin and Williamson counties - Franklin and Williamson county web sites - Roster, vol. 6, page 517.
 * Company B - many men from Williamson County - Williamson County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 518.
 * Company C - many men from Franklin and Williamson counties - Franklin and Williamson county web sites - Roster, vol. 6, page 519.
 * Company D - many men from Williamson County - Williamson County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 521.
 * Company E - many men from Williamson County - Williamson County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 522.
 * Company F - many men from Williamson County - Williamson County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 524.
 * Company G - many men from Williamson County - Williamson County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 525.
 * Company H - many men from Williamson County - Williamson County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 526.
 * Company I - many men from Grundy and Williamson counties - Grundy and Williamson county web sites - Roster, vol. 6, page 528.
 * Company K - many men from Saline County - Saline County web site - Roster, vol. 6, page 530.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 983 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.

BOOKS