The 17th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 17th Illinois Infantry was organized at Peoria, Illinois, and mustered into Federal service at Peoria, Illinois, on May 24, 1861, for three years service.Roy L. Moore, History of Woodford County: A Concise History of the Settlement and Growth of Woodford County. Eureka, IL: Woodford County Republican, 1910; pg. 124.
The 17th Illinois Volunteers fought at the bloody Battle of Shiloh in Hardin County, Tennessee, in April 1862, with 130 members of the regiment killed and wounded in the two-day battle. This unit also participated in the last phase of the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi, a protracted battle which ultimately led to the surrender of over 29,000 Confederate troops.Frances H. Kennedy (ed.), The Civil War Battlefield Guide. 2nd Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998; pg. 173.
The regiment was mustered out of service on June 4, 1864, upon expiration of its term of enlistment and its recruits and veterans were transferred to the 8th Illinois.
Total strength and casualties The regiment suffered 3 officers and 71 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 1 officer and 71 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 146 fatalities.http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unilinf2.htm#17th The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
Commanders Colonel Leonard Fulton Ross - promoted to brigadier general on April 25, 1862. Colonel Addison S. Norton - resigned July 9, 1863. Lieutenant Colonel Enos P. Wood - commanded regiment then brigade at Shiloh, resigned 19 April 186217th Illinois Infantry Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith - http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcivilw/f&s/017-fs.htm Illinois in the Civil War website after Illinois Adjutant General's muster rolls
Notable Members James Earp
See also List of Illinois Civil War Units Illinois in the American Civil War
Footnotes
External links The Civil War Archive