62nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

62nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Unit name	62nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Caption	Flag of Illinois (1861)
Dates	November 1861 – July 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Battles	American Civil War, Battle of Fort Donelson, Siege of Vicksburg, Chattanooga Campaign, Atlanta Campaign, March to the Sea

62nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Illinois for service with the Union during the American Civil War. Mustered in late 1861, the regiment served in multiple Western Theater campaigns, participating in major operations under commanders connected to the Army of the Tennessee, Ulysses S. Grant, and William Tecumseh Sherman. The unit's operational history reflects broader Illinois contributions to Union efforts during the conflict.

Formation and Organization

The regiment was organized at Chicago, Illinois and mustered into service in November 1861 under Governor Richard Yates, recruiting men from counties including Cook County, Kane County, and DuPage County. Officers commissioned in the initial formation included veterans of the Mexican–American War veterans and local militia leaders who had ties to Republican state politics and state militia structures. After muster the 62nd Illinois was assigned to brigades within the Army of the Tennessee, receiving logistical support from Quartermaster Department installations at Cairo, Illinois and staging through Paducah, Kentucky.

Service History

Following organization the regiment moved into Kentucky and Tennessee theaters, participating in early operations aimed at securing Cumberland River and Tennessee River lines. The unit served in campaigns under generals aligned with the Western Theater command such as Ulysses S. Grant, Don Carlos Buell, and later under elements of William T. Sherman's formations during the Atlanta Campaign. The 62nd Illinois was attached at various times to brigades and divisions in the Army of the Tennessee and took part in siege operations, riverine transports organized by the United States Navy in cooperation with army commands, and extended marches that linked actions at Fort Donelson to later operations at Vicksburg and on to Chattanooga. The regiment reenlisted as veterans in 1864 and participated in the March to the Sea and the subsequent Carolinas Campaign that contributed to strategic pressure leading to the surrender of Robert E. Lee's principal forces and the capitulation of Joseph E. Johnston in 1865.

Engagements and Battles

The 62nd Illinois saw combat at significant actions, beginning with the Battle of Fort Donelson where Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant secured a strategic victory that opened the Confederate States Army's river defenses. Later the regiment was engaged in operations during the Siege of Vicksburg that culminated in the surrender of John C. Pemberton's army, contributing to the Union strategy to control the Mississippi River. Elements of the regiment fought in the Chattanooga Campaign, including actions around Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, alongside corps commanded by leaders such as William Rosecrans and George H. Thomas. During the Atlanta Campaign the regiment faced Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and John Bell Hood in a series of battles and maneuvers that included engagements near Kennesaw Mountain and approaches to Atlanta. The unit participated in the March to the Sea under William Tecumseh Sherman and advanced through Georgia into the Carolinas Campaign, encountering Confederate remnants and participating in operations that precipitated the final Confederate surrenders.

Casualties and Losses

Like many Union regiments engaged in prolonged campaigns, the 62nd Illinois sustained losses from combat, disease, and the hardships of extended campaigning. Fatalities included those killed in action or mortally wounded in engagements such as Fort Donelson and Vicksburg, as well as deaths from diseases prevalent in 19th-century armies, including typhoid and dysentery, which afflicted soldiers during marches and camp life near riverine supply points like Memphis, Tennessee. Non-fatal casualties included wounded soldiers evacuated to field hospitals and general hospitals managed by the United States Sanitary Commission and military medical services under Army Medical Department supervision. Desertions, discharges for disability, and paroles after capture at isolated actions also affected regimental strength across campaigns.

Commanders and Notable Personnel

Commanders included colonels and field officers who previously held militia commissions or who rose from company-grade ranks during wartime promotions; among them were officers who coordinated brigade-level operations with generals from the Army of the Tennessee such as John A. Logan and James B. McPherson in higher command contexts. Notable enlisted men and junior officers from Illinois counties later held civic offices in Chicago, served in state legislatures in Springfield, Illinois, or participated in veterans' organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars-precursor groups and state Grand Army of the Republic posts. Several veterans' names appear in regimental rolls deposited in state archives at the Illinois State Archives and in postwar veterans' compilations used by historians of the American Civil War.

Regimental Legacy and Commemoration

The 62nd Illinois' service is commemorated in battlefield registers and by monuments at sites where it saw action, including markers at Fort Donelson National Battlefield and positions within Vicksburg National Military Park. Postwar veterans participated in Grand Army of the Republic reunions and helped shape Civil War veterans' memory through local memorials and regimental histories preserved in collections at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Illinois historical societies. The regiment's lineage is reflected in Illinois Civil War studies, state labor commemorations, and academic treatments housed at institutions such as the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and the Chicago History Museum.

Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Illinois Category:Military units and formations established in 1861 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1865