2nd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry

Brief History
The 2nd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry was organized at Camp Butler, Ill., and mustered in August 12, 1861. They mustered out November 22, 1865, and were discharged at Springfield, Ill., January 3, 1866.

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

The Civil War Archive section, 2nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, (accessed 13 June 2012).

The Wikipedia article,2nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry [1] accessed 15 June 2012).

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties 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 DeWitt County and Ogle County (Also Known as Logan's Escort, Ord's Escort, Stevenson's Escort) - DeWitt and Ogle county web sites - Roster, vol. 7, pages 488-490.

Company B - many men from Logan County (Also Known as Quinby's Escort) - Logan County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 490-493.

Company C - many men from Mason County - Mason County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 494-496.

Company D - many men from Madison County - Madison County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 496-499.

Company E - many men from St. Clair County (Also Known as Quinby's Escort) - St. Clair County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 499-502.

Company F - many men from Piatt County - Piatt County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 502-506.

Company G - many men from Hancock County - Hancock County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 506-509.

Company H - many men from McDonough County and Schuyler County - McDonough and Schuyler county web sites - Roster, vol. 7, pages 509-512.

Company I - many men from Champaign County - Champaign County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 512-516.

Company K - many men from Pike County - Pike County web site - Roster, vol. 7, pages 516-519.

Company L - many men from Adams County and Hancock County (Also Known as Adams County Cavaly) - Adams and Hancock county web sites - Roster, vol. 7, pages 519-522.

Company M - many men from Mason County (Also Known as McKean's Escort) - Mason County web site -  Roster, vol. 7, pages 522-524.

Unassigned Recruits - Roster, vol. 7, pages 524-525.

Second (Consolidated) Cavalry Regiment - Roster, vol. 7, pages 533-542.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 3,173 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Source Material
WEB SITES


 * Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, 2nd 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.

BOOKS AND FILMS


 * United States. War Department. Record and Pension Office. ILLINOIS 1st-6th Cavalry. (Washington, District of Columbia : The National Archives, 1964),.