The Illinois Adjutant General’s Report Ninth Regiment Illinois Infantry Volunteers

Excerpted section details enlistment to Battle of Shiloh.

On the 26th day of April 1861, the Ninth Illinois Infantry Volunteers was mustered into the service at Springfield for the term of three months. It was one of the six regiments organized under the first call of the President, at the commencement of the war of the rebellion. Six companies -- A, B, C, D, E and F -- were from St. Clair county; G, I and K, from Madison, and H from Montgomery. The regiment was ordered to Cairo, where it was stationed, doing garrison duty until the close of the term of service, July 26th, 1861, when it mustered out. During that time the garrison at Cairo was composed of 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th Infantry. The brigade was composed of these regiments and the 7th and 11th Infantry, the latter being stationed at Bird's Point MO., and the 7th a part of the time at Cairo, and a part of the time at Mound City. The brigade was commanded by General Prentiss. During the three months' service the work of the soldier was made up of fatigue duty, building barracks, clearing off parade grounds, building fort defenses and the redan earthwork where the Ohio river is wedded to the Mississippi, and which guarded the confluence of these rivers from the possible advance of rebel gunboats. The monotonous work of this period was broken only by one incident, a march into the swamps of Missouri, back of Commerce, after Jefferson Thompson. The marching column was composed of battalions from several regiments, including one from the Ninth.

At the expiration of the term of service of the regiment herein named there was no force to take their place as a garrison, which placed Cairo and the vast government stores almost at the mercy of the enemy, but this difficulty was happily overcome by volunteer response from the officers and mend of the disbanded regiments to do garrison duty until their places could be filled by soldier who had enlisted in the three years' service, which was from four to six days. Some two hundred and fifty of this volunteer garrison was composed of the Ninth Infantry, who proposed to re-enlist. In this way the enlistment for the three years' service began with the Ninth. On this mere skeleton of a regiment of officers and men recruiting began in earnest, and in less that thirty days it was again a full regiment. It was organized at Cairo with companies B, C, D and F from St. Clair county; A and I from Madison; H from Montgomery; G from Pulaski; K from Alexander, and E from St. Clair and Mercer.

On the night of September 5th, 1861, General Grant moved with the Ninth and Twelfth Infantry from Cairo to Paducah, taking possession of that city early on the morning of the 6th, thus defeating a similar movement on the part of the rebels only five or six hours. The ninth was ordered to move out and tear up railroad track and destroy a bridge which was about twelve miles out from Paducah. This being accomplished, the regiment returned to Paducah, where it was stationed until early in February 1862. The brigade to which the Ninth belonged was directed to make a feint on Columbus, on the day of the battle at Belmont, which occurred November 7th, 1861. The regiment made several reconnaissance’s during the time it was stationed at Paducah, but the chief duty was the constant drill and picket duty with the steady demand for fatigue parties for the construction of fortifications, which prepared the soldiers for duty in the field.

On October 15, 1861, about three hundred men of the Ninth moved up the Cumberland river on a steamboat, convoyed by the gunboat "Conestoga," and landed at night a few miles north of Eddyville, Kentucky, and marching out in the night, attacked at sunrise next morning about two hundred rebels at Saratoga, killing and wounding from ten to fifteen and capturing about thirty-six prisoners. In this engagement, the only loss of casualties sustained by the Ninth was in having three wounded. Subsequently the detachment returned to Paducah.

On the 5th of February 1862, all the regiments, save Company H, which was left as provost guard at Paducah, embarked on steamboats to a point five miles below Fort Henry, landing on the left back of the Tennessee river, and moving with the column to attack Fort Heiman, opposite Fort Henry, whilst the latter place was attacked by the gunboats of and First Division. The regiment composed a part of the Second Brigade, Second Division of the Army of the Tennessee in that movement, and was a part of the column that moved on Ford Donelson. The Second Brigade, Second Division, commanded by Colonel John McArthur, was ordered to support the First Division, commanded by General McClernand, on the 13th, and on the night of the 14th was moved to the extreme right of the Union Army; the position of the Ninth being the left of the Brigade the Twelfth was on the right and the Fortieth and Forty-first in the center. The position of the Ninth placed them across the road over which the Confederate forces attempted to break out on the 15th. But eight companies were in position, Company H being left at Paducah and Company A detached as skirmishers to cover the front of a battery. Second Division met the first attack of the enemy. About six hundred men of the eight companies of the Ninth reported for duty, and they sustained a loss of thirty-five killed, one hundred and sixty wounded and six prisoners.

On February 22nd the regiment moved up the Cumberland to Fort Sevier, near Clarksville, and on the 27th marched to Nashville; thence from Nashville, March 1st to Clarksville, and March 6th, embarked for Pittsburg Landing as a part of the Army of the Tennessee. The regiment was at Shiloh, and here again the Second Brigade, Second Division was detached and ordered to the left of General Hurlbutm to fill the gap between the Brigade of Colonel Stuart and the left of General Hurlbut, which was wide enough to require more than a large division to fill. On this part of the line a regiment was engaged until driven back about two o'clock by the enemy, being unable to flank them because of the wide gap to the left. After procuring a new supply of ammunition, the regiment was again engaged until night on the first day of the battle. The regiment went into the field with 578 present for duty, and sustained a loss of sixty-one killed, three hundred wounded and five prisoners, and of those prisoners three were wounded, thus showing a loss of killed and wounded unparalleled by the history of any regiment during the war, which sufficiently attests its gallantry.