Illinois Military Records

Illinois soldiers or veterans who came to Illinois after their military service are mentioned in military records created or maintained by federal, state, or county officials. A comprehensive description of both federal and Illinois state military records is:

Neagles, James C. U. S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 1994. Ancestry is a trademark of Ancestry, Inc. (Family History Library book 973 M23nu.) This book describes federal military records, then discusses each state individually. Pages 231–37 provide details of military records housed in various archives in Illinois, many of which are not microfilmed.

For each war listed below, additional federal sources are listed in Portal:United States Military Records. It contains search strategies and information to guide you to the best records for your objective.

Records Covering More than One War
An indexed source covering the nineteenth century conflicts through the Spanish-American War is:

Illinois. Adjutant General’s Office. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois. Nine Volumes. Springfield, Illinois: Phillips Bros, 1900–1902. (Family History Library films 1001124–82 (indexes) and 978487–90 (vols. 1–9). Volumes 1–8 contain the rosters of officers and enlisted men for the Civil War (1861–1866). Volume 9 contains a record of the services of Illinois soldiers in the Black Hawk War (1831–1832), the Mexican War (1846–1848), and the Spanish-American War (1898–1899). An appendix lists the services of the Illinois militia from 1810 to 1813. The index for each war lists each soldier’s name, rank, regiment, and company. It also gives the volume and page where the entry appears in the report. The first eight volumes for the Civil War are also indexed in:

Delap, Fred. "Database of Illinois’ Civil War Veterans." In Illinois State Archives [database online]. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives, 27 April 1999– [cited 15 July 1999]. Available at:

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/datcivil.html

The index shows name, company, unit, and residence.

The Illinois State Archives has many original military records of various wars, such as muster rolls and other records of the Black Hawk War, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. The archives maintain military databases at their Internet site, consisting of the Adjutant General’s report mentioned above, for the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Regimental histories for Illinois regiments in the Civil War are also in their collection.

The Civil War sparked interest in providing for disabled or elderly veterans of various wars. Records of national soldier homes, including the one in Danville, Illinois, are found in:

United States. Veterans Administration. Registers of Veterans at National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1937. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On 282 Family History Library films beginning with 1536167.) The original records are at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The records for the home at Danville, Illinois, are on 21 films (beginning with 1548684) that cover the years 1898 to 1934. Danville, Illinois is indexed on films 1548682–3. Content varies, but the Historical Registers may list the soldier’s name, date and place of enlistment, rank, military unit, length of service, date and place of discharge, place of birth, age, physical description, religion, occupation, previous residence, marital status, nearest relative, pension, soldier home admission and discharge dates, disability, death date, or cause of death.

Admission registers of the state soldiers’ home at Quincy have been transcribed and indexed in:

Illinois Soldier’s and Sailor’s Home at Quincy, Illinois. Two Volumes. Thomson, Illinois: Heritage House, 1975; Owensboro, Kentucky: McDowell Publications, 1980. (Family History Library book 977.3 M2i; vol.1 is on fiche 6048333 [set of 2]; vol.2 is on fiche 6048334 [set of 2]) Indexed. Volume 1 contains admissions of Mexican War and Civil War veterans, 1887 to 1898. Volume 2 includes admissions of Mexican War, Civil War, and Spanish-American War veterans 1898 to 1908. The more than 8,000 entries may include name; age; company and regiment; state or country of birth; rank; hometown and county; occupation; whether married, widower, or single; and date of admission. The original case files of the Quincy Home veterans are available at the Illinois State Archives.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (833 South Spring Street, Springfield, IL 62794; telephone 217-782-6641) has files of veterans from the American Revolution through the most recent wars who are buried in the state. A copy of the file up to the Spanish-American War is:

Soldiers Burial Places in State of Illinois for Wars, 1774–1898. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1975. (Family History Library film 1001183–211.) The originals are at the Department of Veterans Affairs (formerly known as the Illinois Veterans Commission) in Springfield. The index cards give name, unit, war, next of kin, and location of grave.

Names from five national cemeteries in Illinois are in:

Illinois. Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans National Cemetery Records, Illinois. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1981. (Family History Library films 1308571–72.)

Original records are at the Illinois State Department of Veterans Affairs in Springfield. This source includes national cemeteries at Rock Island, Mound City, Alton, Graceland and Danville, Illinois.

Forts
Fort Armstrong

Fort Clark

Fort Dearborn

Fort Edwards

Fort Hamilton

Fort Massac

Fort St. Joseph

Revolutionary War (1775 –1783)
The Revolutionary War was fought long before Illinois became a territory in 1809. Many veterans, however, came to Illinois later and may be listed in:

Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Illinois: A Bicentennial Project of the Illinois State Genealogical Society. Springfield, Illinois: The Society, 1976. (Family History Library book 977.3 M2s.) The soldier’s birth date, death date, place of burial, spouse, and military service information are given for many entries.

An earlier version has been microfilmed:

Walker, Harriet J., comp. Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Illinois: From the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, April, 1912–January, 1917 Inclusive and April, 1926–January 1927. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973. (Family History Library film 908831, item3)

Many patriots who came to Illinois are included in federal or national sources cited in United States Military Records.

War of 1812 (1812–1815)
The Family History Library has indexes to the federal service and pension files for the War of 1812. See the U.S. Military Records Research Outline for details and for sources not mentioned below.

An index for War of 1812 bounty land warrants for land located in Illinois is:

United States. General Land Office. Federal Land Records: 'Transcripts of the Locations of Military Warrants on Which Patents Have [Been] Issued Under the Acts of Congress Passed On and Since the Sixth of May, 1812 for Illinois''' ; 1817–1819. Springfield, Illinois: Office of the Secretary of State, Record Management Division, 1966, 1968. (FHL films 882927–29 [indexes] 899785, items 1–3 [transcription of military warrants vols. 807–8, 1817 to 1819.) The warrant numbers given in the index refer to: 

United States. Veterans Administration. War of 1812, Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815–1858. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0848. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1971. (Family History Library films 983163–77.) In order by warrant number, the warrants were issued for land in Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri. Film 983163 includes an index to patentees under the Act of 1842.

War of 1812 Bounty Lands in Illinois. 1840. Reprint, Thomson, Illinois: Heritage House, 1977; originally published, as House Document 262, 26th Congress, 1st Session, 1840. (Family History Library book 977.3 R2w; film 1035624, item7; fiche 6051272.)

Civil War (1861–1865)
Service Records. At the Family History Library you may use indexes to federal service and pension records of Union Army soldiers. The pension indexes are cited in United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865. The index to the service records is:

United States. Adjutant General’s Office. Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Illinois. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0539. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1964. (Family History Library films 881621–721) The original federal service records and pensions are available only at the National Archives.

See also volumes 1–8 of the Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois, which is described earlier in this section under the subheading entitled "Records Covering More than One War."

Identifying Military Units. Relatives and neighbors may have been in different military units even though they enlisted from the same county. A source that tells which companies were raised from each county is:

Illinois Military Units in the Civil War. Springfield, Illinois: Civil War Centennial Commission of Illinois, 1962. (Family History Library book 977.3 M2im; fiche 6334558). The first section is arranged by county. The rest of the book is arranged by the name of the military unit, naming the counties where each company was raised.

Illinois men who served in the Navy during the war are identified in:

Roster of Men From Illinois Who Served in the United States Navy During the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1866. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974, 1975. (Family History Library film 1001182, item2 [index], and 978491, item1 [roster of men]).

Muster Rolls, Militia Lists and Military Censuses. The Illinois State Archives has a considerable collection of original muster rolls, militia lists, and military censuses for the Civil War (Record Series 301.29). Militia lists were of two types: volunteer militias and lists of males subject to military service. Volunteer lists include the each member’s name, residence, age, birthplace, occupation, and date and term of enlistment in the militia. During the war, entire units of volunteer militias were called into service, although some members enlisted individually.

Militia lists of men between the ages of 18 and 45 who were subject to military service were created by Illinois county assessors from 1861 through 1863 as a form of draft registration. These lists usually contain only the names and not their ages. Many of those listed may not have actually served.

Militia lists of both types are in:

Illinois. Assessors. Militia Rolls, 1862–1863. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977. (Family History Library films 1012406–24). These are arranged by county and town and list the names of men in rough alphabetical order.

The military census of 1862 taken by the federal government is also at the Illinois State Archives and lists men subject to military service. It gives each person’s name, age, birthplace, and occupation, and remarks about military assignments or exemptions. This collection often includes lists of volunteers and enlistment certificates.

Regimental Histories. The Illinois State Historical Library has a sizable collection of regimental histories. Two bibliographies published in 1994 are:

Tubbs, William B., comp. ''A Bibliography of Illinois Civil War Regimental Sources in the Illinois State Historical Library. Part I, Published and Printed Sources''. Illinois Historical Journal. (Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Society) vol. 87, no.3 (Spring 1994): 185–232. (Family History Library book 977.3 B2i). This is arranged by the name of the military unit and cites unit histories, reunion literature, and other published materials.

Part II, Manuscripts. Volume 87, no.4 (Winter 1994): 277–324. Manuscripts cited include such items as letters, diaries, personal papers of regimental officers and official correspondence.

Officer Biographies. Biographical data on Union officers from Illinois are in:

Wilson, James Grant. Biographical Sketches of Illinois Officers Engaged in the War Against the Rebellion of 1861. Chicago, Illinois: J. Barnet, 1862. (Family History Library book 977.3 D3w; fiche 6049393 [set of 5]).

Confederate prisoners were held in Illinois at Camp Douglas, Camp Butler, Rock Island, and Alton. Lists of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried at various camps are at the Illinois State Archives, Record Group 301.61. Some published records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS, MADISON, ALTON- MILITARY RECORDS

ILLINOIS, ROCK ISLAND, ROCK ISLAND- MILITARY RECORDS

Veterans Organizations. By 1890, about 40 percent of the Civil War veterans were members of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The descriptive books of each GAR post usually indicate the member’s name, age, rank, birthplace, residence, occupation, and enlistment and discharge information. A manuscript of members of GAR posts for the Department of Illinois, 1880 to 1930, and of other veterans organizations are at the Illinois State Historical Library. See the "Archives and Libraries" section for the address. Scattered records may be found in various libraries and archives throughout Illinois. Many GAR posts are identified in:

Hutchison, Florence. 800 Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Illinois. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978. (Family History Library film 1036109, item 6). This is a microfilm of an original typescript (10 leaves) written in 1974. This tells where each post was located.

Spanish-American War (1898–1899)
See sources listed under the subheading "Records Covering More than One War" at the end of this section.

World War I (1917–1918)
World War I draft registration cards for men ages 18–45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. For Illinois’ cards, see:

United States. Selective Service System. Illinois, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987–88. (On 288 Family History Library films beginning with 1452428).

To find a person’s draft card, it helps to know his name and residence at the time of registration, since the cards are arranged alphabetically by county, within the county by draft board, and then alphabetically by surname. Counties may have had more than one draft board.

Large cities like Chicago, however, had several draft boards. Find a person’s street address in a city directory, then find the draft board closest to that address. Draft board addresses for Chicago can be found in:

Second Report of the Provost Marshall General to the Secretary of War on the Operations of the Selective Service System to December 20, 1918. Selective Service Addresses for Major Cities. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1919. (Family History Library book 973 M2ww; fiche 6039066).

A street map of Chicago for this time is on:

United States. ''Selective Service System. List of World War One Draft Board Maps''. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. (Family History Library film 1498803.) These maps are helpful in determining which draft boards were closest to where a person lived. Maps of some cities in this collection show the actual boundaries of the draft boards. For Chicago, however, it is necessary to pinpoint the ancestor’s street address on the map, then locate the address of each draft board until the closest ones are identified.

Polish volunteers all over the United States were recruited for the Polish Army in France, and many from Illinois are listed in United States (with some from Ontario, Canada) Recruits for the Polish Army in France, 1917–1919, cited in the "Minorities" section of this outline.

A pictorial history of soldiers with brief sketches and genealogical information is:

Fighting Men of Illinois: An Illustrated Historical Biography. Chicago, Illinois: Publishers Subscription, 1918. (Family History Library film 934978, item 2).

Additional Military Records
There are other military records that are not available on microfilm at the Family History Library. Many original records are at the Illinois State Archives or one of the universities in the Illinois Regional Archives Depository System (IRAD). The Illinois State Historical Library also has many published military histories and records. See the "Archives and Libraries" section for addresses.

Soldiers’ discharge records, which contain service and discharge information, are often filed by soldiers upon completion of their service. They may be found at individual county courthouses or at regional IRAD depositories.

More military information and sources can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS- MILITARY HISTORY

ILLINOIS- MILITARY RECORDS

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- MILITARY RECORDS

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- MILITARY RECORDS