38th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Brief History
The 38th Regiment, Illinois Infantry was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, and mustered in August 15, 1861. It moved to Houston July 17 and mustered out December 31, 1865.

For more information on the history of the 38th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, see the following:


 * Wikipedia (accessed 26 July 2011) An article and links for the 38th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.


 * The Civil War Archive (accessed 26 July 2011) Brief history of the 38th 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 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 Sangamon County - Sangamon County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 75-77.


 * Company B - many men from Effingham County - Effingham County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 78-80.


 * Company C - many men from Champaign and Fayette counties - Champaign and Fayette county web sites - Roster, vol. 3, pages 80-82.


 * Company D - many men from Crawford County - Crawford County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 83-84.


 * Company E - many men from Coles County - Coles County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 85-87.


 * Company F - many men from Logan County - Logan County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 87-89.


 * Company G - many men from Mason County - Mason County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 89-92.


 * Company H - many men from Jasper County - Jasper County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 92-94.


 * Company I - many men from Edwards County - Edwards County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 94-96.


 * Company K - many men from Jasper County - Jasper County web site - Roster, vol. 3, pages 97-99.


 * Unassigned Recruits - Roster, vol. 3, page 99.
 * Unassigned Drafted and Substitute Recruits - Roster, vol. 3, page 100.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,069 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources
WEBSITES


 * Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, 38th 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.


 * 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


 * Patterson, William Elwood and Lowell Wayne Patterson. Jasper County Yankee: Campaigns of the 38th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company K. (Westminister, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc. c2011). ISBN: 0788453068  The diary of William E Patterson and his experiences with the 38th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Co. K. Some entries were made on the battlefield, after the battle. Includes a full name index. Information on this book can be found at Heritage Books, Inc. (accessed 26 July 2011).