They First Experienced Combat at Pea Ridge: The 36th Illinois Infantry

This is the continuation of a series highlighting twenty-three Union regiments from William F. Fox’s list of 300 fighting regiments from his Regimental Losses In The American Civil War, 1861-1865 (1898). Each of the twenty-three regiments featured suffered combat losses in the trans-Mississippi during their term of service. What follows below is the entry about the 36^th Illinois Infantry from Fox’s book, a regiment that suffered unusually high casualties during the war.

Here are some other resources about the 36^th Illinois Infantry that may be of interest:

Bennett, Lyman G. and William M. Haigh. History of the Thirty-Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, During the War of the Rebellion. Aurora, IL: Knickerbocker & Hodder, 1876. [Note: This book has been reprinted.]

State Historical Society of Missouri: The Lyman G. Bennett Collection contains diaries and other papers; some of these were incorporated into the regimental history listed above.

Illinois in the Civil War: contains a roster, a history, and a bibliography relating to the regiment

“Steedman's Brigade — Sheridan's Division--Fourth Corps.

（1) Col. Nicholas Greusel.

（2) Col. Silas Miller (Killed).

（3) Col. Benjamin F. Campbell.

companies.		killed and died of wounds.			died of disease, accidents, in Prison, &c.			Total Enrollment.
		Officers.	Men.	Total.	Officers.	Men.	Total.
Field and Staff		3		3				18
Company	A		23	23	1	10	11	155
	B		13	13		8	8	122
	C	1	25	26		24	24	145
	D	1	22	23		14	14	144
	E	1	20	21		8	8	130
	F	1	21	22		15	15	141
	G		16	16		11	11	142
	H	3	19	22		9	9	124
	I		7	7		16	16	126
	K	1	27	28		12	12	129
Totals		11	193	204	1	127	128	1,376

204 killed == 14.8 per cent.

Total killed and wounded, 739; died in Confederate prisons (previously included), 12.

battles.	K. & M. W.	battles.	K. & M. W.
Pea Ridge, Ark.	10	Dallas, Ga.	6
Chaplin Hills, Ky.	23	Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.	13
Stone’s River, Tenn.	65	Atlanta, Ga.	7
Chickamauga, Ga.	35	Franklin, Tenn.	17
Missionary Ridge, Tenn.	7	Nashville, Tenn.	6
Resaca, Ga.	7	Skirmishes and Picket Duty	3
Adairsville, Ga.	5

Present, also, at Corinth; Hoover’s Gap; Rocky Face Ridge; New Hope Church; Peach Tree Creek; Jonesboro; Lovejoy's Station; Spring Hill.

Notes.--Mustered in, September 23, 1861, proceeding immediately to Rolla, Mo., where it encamped until January 14, 1862. It then moved into Arkansas with Osterhaus's Brigade and fought at Pea Ridge, losing in that, its first action, 4 killed, 37 wounded and 27 missing. It then moved with Asboth's Division to Corinth, after which it encamped during the summer at Rienzi, Miss. In the fall it marched to Louisville, where it was assigned to Sheridan's Division in which it fought at Chaplin Hills, losing 9 killed, 64 wounded, and 4 missing. At Stone’s River, it was in Sill's (1st) Brigade, Sheridan's (3d) Division, McCook's Corps; General Sill was killed in this battle, whereupon Colonel Greusel took the command of the brigade. The regiment lost at Stone’s River, 46 killed, 15 wounded, and 15 missing; total, 212. At Chickamauga the brigade was commanded by General Lytle, the regiment losing in that action, 20 killed, 101 wounded, and 20 missing. In October, 1863, the Thirty-sixth was placed in Steedman's (1st) Brigade, Sheridan's (2d) Division, Fourth Corps, in which command it fought at Missionary Ridge. It served in the Fourth Corps during the remaining two years of its service. General Newton commanded this division on the Atlanta campaign. during which Colonel Miller was killed at Kenesaw Mountain. The brigade, under command of Colonel Emerson Opdycke (125th Ohio), achieved a brilliant success at the battle of Franklin, where it captured ten flags and rendered efficient aid at a critical period of the fight; Lieutenant-Colonel Porter C. Olson was killed in this action. The regiment was mustered out in Texas, in October, 1865” (Fox, p. 363).