Cairo and Mound City in Illinois' southern tip became major military depots as well. These facilities housed most Illinois troops before they departed for the South, as well as a growing list of Confederate prisoners. Black soldiers also faced discrimination when many Union commanders opted to use them for heavy labor rather than combat.Ĭamp Butler and Camp Douglas, huge new military installations, opened outside of Springfield and Chicago, respectively. In 1863 the War Department organized a new black regiment at Quincy, but failed to provide the recruits with the same enlistment bounties and pay as white soldiers. African-Americans also served in regiments from Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Illinois' first regiment of black troops hailed from Galesburg. Units made up of railroad men, schoolteachers and ministers joined a "Temperance Regiment" in service. Illinois sent regiments of Germans, Irish, Scots, and other ethnicities, as well as units comprised solely of Jews.
The 45th Illinois, hailing from Galena, became known as the "Lead Mine Regiment." The 34th Illinois, raised in Dixon, dubbed itself the "Rock River Rifles." Troops often organized themselves in outfits comprised of specific ethnic groups or occupations.
Illinois troops, like most other Union soldiers, organized in units linked to their state and locality rather than the regular Army. Despite its early secessionist proclivities, southern Illinois counties led the way in the enlistment of troops, providing nearly 50% more than their quota. By the summer of 1862 Illinois had sent over 130,000 men to war.
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