The 125th 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...

 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 125th Illinois Infantry was organized at Danville, Illinois

Danville, Illinois

Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...

 and mustered in for three years service on September 3, 1862 under the command of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 Oscar Fitzalan Harmon.

The regiment was attached to 36th Brigade, 11th Division, Army of the Ohio

Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...

, to October 1862. 36th Brigade, 11th Division, III Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, Centre, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, to January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XIV Corps, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Reserve Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. 3rd Brigade. 2nd Division, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland and Army of Georgia

Army of Georgia

The Army of Georgia was a Union army that constituted the Left Wing of Major General William T. Sherman's Army Group during the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign.-History:...

, to June 1865.

The 125th Illinois Infantry mustered out of service on June 9, 1865.

Detailed service

Moved to Covington, Ky., September 25, 1862. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–16, 1862. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 7, and duty at Nashville until June 30, 1863. Moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn.. June 30. Return to Nashville July 18 and duty there until August 20. Moved to Chattanooga. Tenn., via Brentwood, Columbia, Huntsville, Ala.. and Bridgeport, Ala., August 20-September 16. Battle of Chickamauga, September 19–21. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Ringgold September 26. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Orchard Knob November 23. Tunnel Hill November 24–25. Missionary Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. March to relief of Knoxville, Tenn.. November 28-December 17. At Lee and Gordon's Mills until May 1864. Demonstration on Dalton, Ga., February 22–27, 1864. Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23–25. Atlanta Campaign May 1-September 8. Tunnel Hill May 6–7. Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8–11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8–9. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Rome May 17–18. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station, Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5–17. Peach Tree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5–7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Operations against Hood and Forest in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Louisville November 30. Cuyler's Plantation December 9. Siege of Savannah December 10–21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April 1865. Averysboro, Taylor's Hole Creek, N. C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19–21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 19. Grand Review May 24.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 204 men during service; 9 officers and 88 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 104 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel Oscar Fitzalan Harmon - killed in action at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain
• Colonel James Weston Langley - promoted from lieutenant colonel, but never mustered

See also

• List of Illinois Civil War units
• Illinois in the Civil War

External links

• History and rosters of the 125th Illinois Infantry from the Illinois Adjutant General's Report