15th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry

Brief History
The 15th regiment, Illinois Cavalry was organized December 25, 1862, in the field and at Camp Butler, Illinois, by assignment of the following:

Companies A, B, C, D, E and F = Stewart's Independent Cavalry Battalion, organized at Jackson, Tennessee, July, 1862.

Company G = Gilbert's Independent Cavalry Company, 52nd Illinois, organized at Geneva October 25, 1861.

Company H = Kane County Independent Cavalry Company, organized September 1, 1861.

Company I = Jenks' Company Dragoons, 36th Illinois, organized at Camp Hammond, Illinois, September 23, 1861.

Company K = Sherer's Company Dragoons, 36th Illinois, organized at Camp Hamilton, Illinois, September 23, 1861.

Company L = Ford's Cavalry Company, 53rd Illinois, organized at Ottawa, Illinois, January 1, 1862.

Company M = 1st Illinois Cavalry, Company K, but mustered out December 27, 1862.

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


 * The Wikipedia article, 15th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, (accessed 15 June 2012).


 * The Civil War Archive, 15th Regiment Cavalry.

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 Alexander County (Also known as Stewart's Independent Cavalry Company, Stewart's Independent Battalion Cavalry - 15th Illinois Cavalry, Companies A - F) - Alexander County web site


 * Company B - many men from Massac County (Also known as Carmichael's Cavalry Company) - Massac County web site


 * Company C - many men from Franklin County (Also known as Dollins' Cavalry Company) - Franklin County web site


 * Company D - many men from Clinton County (Also known as Clinton County Cavalry, O'Harnett's Cavalry Company) Clinton County web site


 * Company E - many men from Jackson County (Also known as Hutchens' Cavalry Company) - Jackson County Jackson County web site


 * Company F - many men from Franklin County - Franklin County web site


 * Company G - many men from Kane County (Also known as Gilbert's Cavalry Company) - Kane Countyweb site


 * Company H - many men from Kane County (Also known as Wilder's Cavalry Company, Steele's Escort, Kane County Cavalry) - Kane County web site


 * Company I - many men from Kane County and Kendall County (Also known as Jenks' Cavalry Company or Dragoons, Hamilton's Escort, Rosecrans' Escort, Willis' Cavalry Company) - Kane and Kendall county web sites


 * Company K - many men from Kane County (Also known as Slocum's Escort, Dodson's Cavalry Company, Hooker's Escort, Davis' Escort, Sherer's Cavalry Company Dragoons, Smith's Cavalry Company, Williams' Escort) - Kane County web site


 * Company L - many men from LaSalle County and Bureau County (Also known as Ford's Cavalry Company, Grant's Escort) - LaSalle and Bureau county web sites


 * Company M - many men from Winnebago County - Winnebago County county web site

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,314 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.
 * Illinois Civil War Rosters from the Adjutant General's Report, and the 16th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry (accessed 10 May 2011) includes rosters of all the regiments and information on the different companies in each regiment.

BOOKS

Regimental History and Roster

 * This was Andersonville : the true story of Andersonville Military Prison as told in the personal recollections of John McElroy, sometime private, Co. L, 16th Illinois Cavalry, by John McElroy, Publisher New York : McDowell, Obolensky, 1957, Online at: