See how Lincoln's state was home to Camp Douglas and both Confederate and Union soldiers fighting major battles
Learn about the major roles played in the American Civil War by Illinoisans, including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and John A. Logan.
© Civil War Trust (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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Transcript
I'm Garry Adelman from the Civil War Trust. I'm from Illinois. Illinois was just bound to play an important role in the Civil War. It's not only the land of Lincoln, but you got the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers bounding part of the state. You've got a growing population. And ultimately more than 250,000 soldiers from Illinois would serve in the Civil War-- the fourth most of any state in the Civil War.
You've got all the branches of service represented by Illinois troops. And they're not all Union soldiers. There are some Confederate troops, including at least one company of the 15th Tennessee. Illinois soldiers fought in all the major battles of the Civil War, but they're going to be most notable on Western battlefields.
They're going to be at the hornets nest at Shiloh. They're going to be everywhere in Vicksburg. They're going to be some of the last troops to leave the field at Chickamauga. They're at Perryville. They're at Pea Ridge. They're at Stones River. They march to the sea with Sherman. They fire the first shots here at the Battle of Gettysburg, amassing an impressive record.
And ultimately 100 soldiers from Illinois will be awarded the Medal of Honor for their service. You have many notable Civil War names associated with the state of Illinois. It's not just Abraham Lincoln. Of course, you have Benjamin Prentiss, John Logan. You have U.S. Grant connected with Illinois, John Scofield, and many others.
There are no major battles, of course, fought in Illinois. But it is an important staging point, and you are going to have numerous prisons in Illinois housing Confederate soldiers. Of course, Alton, Illinois, at Springfield, at Rock Island, and most famously and notoriously, at Camp Douglas in Chicago.
You also have numerous cemeteries where soldiers North and South were buried in Chicago, throughout the state, and still rest to this day. Illinois is marked on Civil War battlefields all over the country. There's one here at Gettysburg. There's a really tall one on Missionary Ridge. And there's a huge one on the battlefield of Vicksburg, so big that it consumed one-fifth of the state of Illinois budget for that year.
So remember the sacrifice. Remember the boys from Illinois while you learn about the Civil War.
You've got all the branches of service represented by Illinois troops. And they're not all Union soldiers. There are some Confederate troops, including at least one company of the 15th Tennessee. Illinois soldiers fought in all the major battles of the Civil War, but they're going to be most notable on Western battlefields.
They're going to be at the hornets nest at Shiloh. They're going to be everywhere in Vicksburg. They're going to be some of the last troops to leave the field at Chickamauga. They're at Perryville. They're at Pea Ridge. They're at Stones River. They march to the sea with Sherman. They fire the first shots here at the Battle of Gettysburg, amassing an impressive record.
And ultimately 100 soldiers from Illinois will be awarded the Medal of Honor for their service. You have many notable Civil War names associated with the state of Illinois. It's not just Abraham Lincoln. Of course, you have Benjamin Prentiss, John Logan. You have U.S. Grant connected with Illinois, John Scofield, and many others.
There are no major battles, of course, fought in Illinois. But it is an important staging point, and you are going to have numerous prisons in Illinois housing Confederate soldiers. Of course, Alton, Illinois, at Springfield, at Rock Island, and most famously and notoriously, at Camp Douglas in Chicago.
You also have numerous cemeteries where soldiers North and South were buried in Chicago, throughout the state, and still rest to this day. Illinois is marked on Civil War battlefields all over the country. There's one here at Gettysburg. There's a really tall one on Missionary Ridge. And there's a huge one on the battlefield of Vicksburg, so big that it consumed one-fifth of the state of Illinois budget for that year.
So remember the sacrifice. Remember the boys from Illinois while you learn about the Civil War.
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