Ulysses S. Grant’s Civil War career began in the trans-Mississippi, where he campaigned in Missouri for a few months. His first command was the 21st Illinois Infantry, a high spirited group nicknamed "Governor Yates's Hellions," because they "had mutinied over bad bread and had burned the guardhouse....the men robbed hen roosts for miles around and stayed out all night in the saloons of Mattoon" (p. 417), according to Bruce Catton in Captain Sam Grant. I wonder…did any of these soldiers detect any signs of greatness in their colonel? After serving in Missouri, Grant’s former regiment went on to compile a fine fighting record in Tennessee and Georgia. The short history below is from the “Three Hundred Fighting Regiments” chapter of William F. Fox’s Regimental Losses In The American Civil War, 1861-1865 (1898).
For more information about the regiment, see the following:
Illinois GenWeb: a roster and short histories of the unit are on this website
Civil War Flags of Illinois: three battle flags of the 21st are shown
“Cruft's Brigade — Stanley's Division--Fourth Corps.
| （1) Col. Ulysses S. Grant. W. P., R. A.; General, U. S. A. | （3) Col. James E. Calloway. |
| （2) Col. John W. Alexander (Killed). | （4) Col. William H. Jamison. |
| Companies. | killed and died of wounds. | died of disease, accidents, in Prison, &c. | Total Enrollment. | |||||
| Officers. | Men. | Total. | Officers. | Men. | Total. | |||
| Field and Staff | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | | 1 | 18 | |
| Company | A | 1 | 14 | 15 | | 10 | 10 | 146 |
| | B | | 11 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 146 |
| | C | 1 | 8 | 9 | | 8 | 8 | 132 |
| | D | 1 | 11 | 12 | | 24 | 24 | 142 |
| | E | | 11 | 11 | | 10 | 10 | 139 |
| | F | | 15 | 15 | | 17 | 17 | 146 |
| | G | 1 | 10 | 11 | | 18 | 18 | 140 |
| | H | | 16 | 16 | | 20 | 20 | 157 |
| | I | | 18 | 18 | | 7 | 7 | 138 |
| | K | 1 | 9 | 10 | | 12 | 12 | 148 |
| Totals | 6 | 124 | 130 | 2 | 140 | 142 | 1,452 | |
Original enrollment, 923; killed, 113; percentage, 12.2
Total of killed and wounded, 374; died in Confederate prisons (previously included), 53.
| Battles. | K. & M. W. | Battles. | K. & M. W. |
| Stone’s River, Tenn. | 78 | Kenesaw, Ga. | 1 |
| Chickamauga, Ga. | 45 | Atlanta, Ga. | 1 |
| Gay's Gap, Tenn. | 1 | Franklin, Tenn. | 1 |
| Iuka, Miss., August 21, 1862 | 1 | Nashville, Tenn. | 1 |
| Chattahoochie, Ga. | 1 | | |
Present, also, at Fredericktown; Siege of Corinth; Chaplin Hills; Knob Gap; Liberty Gap; peach Tree Creek; Jonesboro; Lovejoy's Station.
Notes.--A peculiar interest attaches itself to the Twenty-first, because it was Grant’s old regiment. The men in that command little thought that the stranger assigned to them as their colonel was destined to become the grandest figure in the war. The recruits rendezvoused at Mattoon, where they were mustered into the State service, May 15, 1861, by “Captain” Grant, and on the 24th of June, the regiment was mustered into the United States service by Captain Pitcher, U. S. A., with U. S. Grant as colonel. Grant continued in command of his regiment until the 7th of August, when he was promoted, and entered on the career which was to culminate in grandeur at Appomattox. The regiment served in Missouri until May, 1862, and then it joined Buell's Army. It was engaged at the battle of Perryville, Ky., but with only a slight loss in wounded. At Stone’s River, it participated in the hardest of the fighting, losing in that battle, and in the preliminary skirmish at Knob Gab, 57 killed, 187 wounded and 59 missing; total 303. The regiment was then in Carlin's (2d) Brigade, Davis's (1st) Division, McCook's Corps, and sustained the heaviest loss of any regiment on that field. Four color-bearers were shot down, but the colors were carried safely through the fight. At Chickamauga it lost 22 killed, 70 wounded, and 146 captured or missing; Colonel Alexander, an officer of rare merit, was killed there. After this battle the Twenty-first was assigned to Cruft's (1st) Brigade, Stanley's (1st) Division, Fourth Corps. The regiment reenlisted in March, 1864, upon which it returned to Illinois on a veteran furlough. It rejoined the Army while at the front, near Kenesaw Mountain, the men who did not reenlist having been attached during the meanwhile to the One Hundred and First Ohio. After participating in the Atlanta and Nashville campaigns of 1864, it accompanied its corps to Texas, where it was mustered out in December, 1865” (Fox, 358).
Dear Ms Johansson; I have just read your article on the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment with a great deal of interest. Briefly, my wife and I are on an extended vacation to California to avoid the miserable midwest winter and are presently staying with friends in the San Francisco Bay area. Our friend Linda is a descendant of one Captain Richard L. Smith who was the commanding officer of Company "G" of the 21st Illinois Infantry Regiment. She possesses, in my opinion, valuable relics of his Civil War Service consisting of a Company Descriptive Book, a Diary, two small photographic albums of C.D.V.'s, the majority of which are individually identified, two original watercolor views of Civil War subjects, and other interesting objects. Would you care to give us your opinion of these objects and the best way to preserve them and possibly make them available for study? Your consideration in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Yours sincerely David L. Gordon
ReplyDeleteHi David, I agree with you that the documents, photographs, and watercolors owned by your friend are indeed valuable. Civil War items can command some substantial prices--just look at some of the appraised Civil War items on Antiques Roadshow! If she has an interest in making them available for researchers, and, as a historian, I hope that she does, then the best option may be to donate them to a University's Special Collections or a historical society. Probably, some institution in Illinois would be the most interested in the items, however, there are certainly places in California that would probably accept her items. Just as an example of how to go about doing this, my dad collected railroad timetables from the 1940s-1960s. My mom was unsure of what to do with them, but I discovered in an online search that the Western History Collection at the University of Oklahoma collected transportation items. I emailed an inventory of the collection to one of the librarians who worked in the Western History Collection, and she readily agreed to accept the materials. They are currently processing the materials, and they will be available for researchers to use. These types of facilities make available listings of the collections that they own with a description so researchers can find them and make use of them. Some facilities are digitizing their collections as well. And, another plus is that they properly preserve the materials and safeguard them. I hope that this helps answer your questions.
ReplyDeleteHi, I was driving west on us 36 from Tuscola, il to Decatur on my way to bloomington il. Stopped at a small cemetery in the middle of nowhere. Saw the grave marker of Pvt. John Wilson of K company of the 21st. Looked him up on the Internet and ended up here. He was discharged for disability in 1863. Standard military headstone of the era. Said a prayer for him. Hope he was an honorable soldier.
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