The 11th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 11th Illinois Infantry was mustered into Federal service for a three year enlistment on July 30, 1861 at Cairo, Illinois

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

. It saw service at the Battle of Fort Donelson

Battle of Fort Donelson

The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...

, where over 60% of those engaged were wounded, missing or killed; the Battle of Shiloh

Battle of Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...

; the Battle of Vicksburg

Battle of Vicksburg

The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...

; and the Yazoo River Expedition, among other operations.

The regiment was mustered out on July 14, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

When the regiment was re-mustered in as a three-year regiment aggregate strength was 288, raised to 801 by November through recruiting. On April 23, 1863 the 109th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was incorporated into the 11th, adding 589 men. The regiment suffered 7 officers and 179 enlisted men killed in action or mortally wounded and 1 officer and 284 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 471 fatalities.

Commanders

• Colonel
  Colonel
  Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
  
   W.H.L. Wallace
  W.H.L. Wallace
  William Hervey Lamme Wallace , more commonly known as W.H.L. Wallace, was a lawyer and a Union general in the American Civil War, considered by Ulysses S. Grant to be one of the Union's greatest generals....
  
   - promoted to brigadier general
  Brigadier General
  Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
  
   on July 30, 1861.
• Colonel Thomas E.G. Ransom  - promoted to brigadier general
  Brigadier General
  Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
  
   on April 2, 1862.
• Colonel Garrett Nevins - killed in action near Vicksburg on April 23, 1863.
• Colonel James H. Coates - mustered out with the regiment.

Soldiers in the Regiment

William Copple Co. C (Wounded at Battle of Fort Donelson)

Peter Norrix Co. B

James Wilson Co. B (Died of diease At Vicksburg)

Sgt. Charles Worbes Co. B

Moses Jordan, Co. G (Died of injuries in Hospital #2, Vickburg)

Alexander Jordan, Co. G