Illinois 1st Volunteer Light Artillery (Union)
7/16/61
Organized - Illinois 1st Volunteer Light Artillery - Illinois
2/11/62
Battle - Fort Donelson - Fort Donelson, Tennessee
Early in the war, Union commanders realized control of the major rivers would be the key to success in the Western Theater.READ MORE
4/6/62
Leadership Change - Regiment - Captain Edward McAllister
CaptainEdward McAllister
4/6/62
Leadership Change - Division - Major General John A. McClernand
Major GeneralJohn A. McClernand
4/6/62
Leadership Change - Regiment - Captain Edward McAllister
CaptainEdward McAllister
4/6/62
Battle - Shiloh - Hardin County, Tennessee
4/29/62
Battle - Siege of Corinth - Corinth, Mississippi
Union forces had captured the railroad junction and important transportation center at Corinth, Mississippi in the spring of 1862 after their victory at Shiloh. After the Battle of Iuka in September, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Confederate Army of the West marched to Ripley, Mississippi where it joined Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn's Army of West Tennessee. Van Dorn took command of the combined force numbering about 22,000 men. The Rebels marched southeast toward Corinth, hoping to recapture it and then sweep int…READ MORE
1/9/63
Leadership Change - Regiment - Captain Peter P. Wood
CaptainPeter P. Wood
1/9/63
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General David Stuart
Brigadier GeneralDavid Stuart
1/9/63
Battle - Arkansas Post - Arkansas Post, Arkansas
The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as the Battle of Fort Hindman, was a combined land-river assault by Union forces on the Confederate Fort Hindman, which loomed over a bend in the Arkansas River near the town of Arkansas Post. As the Union advance down the Mississippi River passed the mouth of the Arkansas, the presence of Fort Hindman outflanked the Federal forward positions.READ MORE
4/10/63
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel William P. Reid
ColonelWilliam P. Reid
4/10/63
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Absalom Baird
Brigadier GeneralAbsalom Baird
5/12/63
Leadership Change - Regiment - Captain Henry A. Rogers
CaptainHenry A. Rogers
5/12/63
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General John A. Logan
Brigadier GeneralJohn A. Logan
5/12/63
Battle - Raymond - Hinds County, Mississippi
On May 12th, 1863, after days of hard marching towards Jackson, Mississippi, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant fought to secure the crossings of Fourteenmile Creek southwest of Raymond, which would provide a vital water source for his men and animals and serve as a staging area for a strike on the Confederate rail supply line between Clinton and Edwards, Mississippi. Cutting the railroad here would cut off supplies to Grant's ultimate goal, the Mississippi River city of Vicksburg 30 miles to the west. At around…READ MORE
5/16/63
Leadership Change - Regiment - Captain Peter P. Wood
CaptainPeter P. Wood
5/16/63
Leadership Change - Division - Major General Francis Preston Blair Jr.
Major GeneralFrancis Preston Blair Jr.
5/16/63
Battle - Champion Hill - Hinds County, Mississippi
The Battle of Champion Hill was the largest and bloodiest action of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign.READ MORE
5/18/63
Battle - Vicksburg - Vicksburg, Mississippi
In mid-May, 1863, after six months of unsuccessful attempts, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee finally converged on Vicksburg, defended by a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton. Capture of the Mississippi River town was critical to Union control of the strategic river. Vicksburg was located on a high river bluff defended with artillery, and Pemberton's men had constructed a series of fortifications in an 8-mile arc surrounding the city on the landward side. After crossing the…READ MORE
9/19/63
Leadership Change - Regiment - Captain Mark H. Prescott
CaptainMark H. Prescott
9/19/63
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Luther Prentice Bradley, and Colonel Nathan H. Walworth
ColonelLuther Prentice Bradley
ColonelNathan H. Walworth
9/19/63
Leadership Change - Division - Major General Philip Sheridan
Major GeneralPhilip Sheridan
9/19/63
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Luther Prentice Bradley
ColonelLuther Prentice Bradley
9/19/63
Battle - Chickamauga - Catoosa County, Georgia; Walker County, Georgia
After the successful Tullahoma Campaign, Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans continued the Union offensive, aiming to force Gen. Braxton Bragg's Confederate army out of Chattanooga. Through a series of skillful marches towards the Confederate-held city, Rosecrans forced Bragg out of Chattanooga and into Georgia. Determined to reoccupy the city, Bragg followed the Federals north, brushing with Rosecrans' army at Davis' Cross Roads. While they marched on September 18th, his cavalry and infantry skirmished with Un…READ MORE
5/26/64
Leadership Change - Brigade - Captain Frances DeGress
CaptainFrances DeGress
5/26/64
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Morgan L. Smith
Brigadier GeneralMorgan L. Smith
5/27/64
Battle - Dallas - Paulding County, Georgia
During early and mid-May 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman successfully outmaneuvered the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in multiple battles in northwest Georgia. Each time, Johnston fell back to a new defensive position closer to the strategic Confederate city of Atlanta. Stopped at New Hope Church on Johnston's left on May 26th, Sherman attacked Johnston's right at Pickett's Mill on May 27th. The next day, Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps probed the Union defensive line, held by Maj. Gen. John A. Log…READ MORE
7/20/64
Battle - Peachtree Creek - Fulton County, Georgia
Weary of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's pattern of retreat through northwest Georgia in the face of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's advancing armies, President Jefferson Davis removed him from command of the Army of Tennessee, replacing him with Lieut. Gen. John B. Hood. On July 20th, Hood determined to take the fight to the enemy by setting upon an isolated portion of Sherman's forces in front of Atlanta. Hood's target would be the Union corps of Maj. Gens. Oliver O. Howard and Joseph Hooker from Maj. Gen. Geo…READ MORE
7/22/64
Leadership Change - Brigade - Captain Francis DeGress
CaptainFrancis DeGress
7/22/64
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Morgan L. SmithBG Joseph A. J. Lightburn
Brigadier GeneralMorgan L. SmithBG Joseph A. J. Lightburn
7/22/64
Battle - Atlanta - Fulton County, Georgia; DeKalb County, Georgia
Despite the defeat at Peach Tree Creek, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood still had hopes of driving Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Yankees from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow. On the night of July 21, 1864, Hood ordered Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps to make 15-mile night march and assault the Union left flank east of the city, held by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. Joining the attack with Hardee would be the corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham. Hood attac…READ MORE
8/31/64
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General William B. Hazen
Brigadier GeneralWilliam B. Hazen
8/31/64
Battle - Jonesborough - Clayton County, Georgia
By late August 1865, the city of Atlanta was not yet subdued by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's armies. A few supply lines remained open to the city supporting the army of Lieut. Gen. John B. Hood encircled there. Union cavalry raids inflicted only superficial damage, quickly repaired by the Confederates. Sherman determined that if he could destroy the Macon & Western and Atlanta & West Point Railroads to the south the Rebel army would be forced to evacuate the city. On August 25, Union infantry beg…READ MORE
12/15/64
Leadership Change - Regiment - Lieutenant Joseph A. McCarthey
LieutenantJoseph A. McCarthey
12/15/64
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Datus E. Coon
ColonelDatus E. Coon
12/15/64
Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Edward Hatch
Brigadier GeneralEdward Hatch
12/15/64
Battle - Nashville - Nashville, Tennessee
Despite a series of defeats in the closing days of November, 1864, Confederate Lieut. Gen. John Bell Hood continued to drag his bloodied Army of Tennessee, approximately 30,000 strong, north towards Nashville. The city was protected by 55,000 Union soldiers, which should have precluded further offensive operations, but Hood was determined and his situation was dire. Hood reached Nashville on December 2nd and staked out a position south of the city, hoping to draw the Union forces into a costly attack. Ulys…READ MORE
3/19/65
Battle - Bentonville - Bentonville, North Carolina
After his march to the sea, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman headed north in early 1865 to unite with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army in Virginia. Only Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston's army stood between Sherman and Grant. After briefly blocking Sherman's advance at Averasboro, North Carolina on March 16, Johnston struck Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum's wing of Sherman's army near Bentonville on March 19. The Confederates ran into stiff resistance, as Slocum established a defensive position. Johnston's assaults con…READ MORE
7/6/65
Mustered Out - Illinois 1st Volunteer Light Artillery - Illinois
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