6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry

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Brief History
The 6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois November 19, 1861. It mustered out at Selma, Alabama, November 5, and discharged at Springfield, Illnois., November 20, 1865.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 6th Regiment Cavalry, (accessed 13 June 2012).
 * The Wikipedia article, 6th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry (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 Massac County and Pope County - Massac and Pope county web sites -


 * Company B - many men from Johnson County, LaSalle County, and Pope County - Johnson, LaSalle and Pope county web sites -


 * Company C - many men from Morgan County and Cass County - Morgan and Cass county web sites -


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


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


 * Company F - many men from Saline County and Gallatin County - Saline and Gallatin county web sites -


 * Company G - many men from Pope County - Pope County web site -


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


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


 * Company K - many men from Hamilton County and Saline County - Hamilton and Saline county web sites -


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


 * Company M - many men from Alexander County and Union County - Alexander and Union county web sites -

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 4,352 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * 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, 6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry (accessed 10 May 2011) includes rosters of all the regiments and information on the different companies in each regiment.


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