The Old 100th was a Fighting Regiment: A Short History of the 100th Illinois Infantry During the Civil War

Abstract

year 1862 brought hope, anxiety, and uncertainty to Illinois. Civil War was entering its second year after an enthusiastic response to the first call for volunteers in April 1861. Many units were quickly filled and left for points south. But as the second half of 1861 wore on, few Illinois volunteers could claim to have seen anything but small engagements and a great deal of camp life. largest engagements of 1861 in both the eastern and western theaters of war had been fought without Illinois'participation.On January 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln, frustrated by the inactivity over the fall and winter of 1861, issued General Order No. 1 commanding movement along all fronts by February 22, Washington's Birthday. Within months, Will County and other Illinois communities would know the cost of war, as engagements at Fort Donelson and the bloody two-day battle of Shiloh produced the highest numbers of dead and wounded to be reported back home up to that point in the war. While some would grieve over lost loved ones, the result of these early battles was significant. Confederate defensive line in the west was shattered, Kentucky secured, western Tennessee and its capitol, Nashville taken. Soon the Confederacy's largest port, New Orleans, would fall and Northern spirits rose as it seemed the war might be won that year. Optimism must have increased when General George B. McClellan finally launched his long awaited campaign against the Confederate capitol, Richmond, Virginia, by transporting his huge Army of the Potomac to the James peninsula and began a slow but steady advance to the outskirts of Richmond. Yet the momentum suddenly changed in a matter of weeks, triggered by McClellan's abrupt retreat back down the James peninsula and then by the quick shift of Confederate forces in the west back into eastern Tennessee at Chattanooga, threatening all that had been gained.It was against this backdrop, in the summer of 1862, that the federal government sought more volunteers and that a new regiment of infantry would be raised in one Illinois county. On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln called for 300,000 more troops to put down the rebellion. In Joliet, the recruiting drums would begin beating as they had done over a year ago when the Twentieth Illinois Infantry had been formed there at Camp Goodell. Companies began to enroll recruits across Will County and some from parts of south Cook County, and soon the idea was conceived to form an entire regiment from these communities. Township supervisors pooled funds to offer a $60 bounty to volunteers. By the end of August, the goal had been met with 893 enlisted men gathered at what was now called Camp Erwin (after William Erwin of the Twentieth Illinois who had been killed at Fort Donelson).1The man chosen to lead them was well known to them: Frederick Bartleson, then a major in the Twentieth Illinois. Bartleson was the first to enlist in Will County in April 1861 and was elected captain of one of the two companies from Joliet. At the battle of Shiloh, he had ridden out in advance of the Twentieth's position to reconnoiter, and returned with his left arm so badly wounded that it was amputated. He was at home in Joliet recuperating when the 100 th Illinois Infantry, The Will County Regiment, was being formed.On September 2,1862, the 100th would leave Joliet aboard twenty cars of the Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Railroad bound for Springfield and points south. Events then played a crucial role in diverting the regiment from Springfield through Indiana to Louisville, Kentucky, as Confederate General Braxton Bragg's invasion of Kentucky was well under way. Along the way, the people of places like Lafayette, Indiana, cheered the new regiment and provided drinks and food for the men.2 Louisville was greatly relieved to see the 100th arrive, and parts of the city welcomed the troops as they marched out immediately to the outskirts still in their civilian garb. …