114th Illinois Infantry Regiment

The 114th Illinois Infantry sustained 5 casualties at the Battle of Jackson, shown here.

The 114th Illinois Infantry left Camp Butler and moved to Memphis, Tennessee on 8–16 November 1862.[4] The regiment was assigned to the 5th Brigade, 5th Division, Right Wing, XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee in November.[5] The unit remained on picket duty until 26 November when it embarked on Grant's Central Mississippi campaign.[4] The unit transferred to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps in December 1862.[5] Brigadier General Ralph Pomeroy Buckland led the 3rd Brigade and Brigadier General James W. Denver commanded the 1st Division.[6] The regiment was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 8th Division, XVI Corps in January–April 1863.[5] The 114th Illinois reached College Hill, Mississippi (north of Oxford) on 4 December. It stayed there until 23 December when it retreated to Jackson, Tennessee, arriving on 8 January 1863 after a hard march.[4] Buckland led the 3rd Brigade, Brigadier Generals Leonard Fulton Ross and (later) John E. Smith led the 8th Division, and Major General Stephen A. Hurlbut commanded the XVI Corps. Colonel Judy was in temporary command of the brigade from 12 February to 3 April.[7]

After being on duty in Jackson until 9 February 1863, the 114th Illinois moved to Memphis where it guarded the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. On 17 March, the regiment boarded river transports at Memphis and traveled down the Mississippi River to Young's Point, Louisiana, arriving on 2 April. The unit camped at Duckport, Louisiana, until 2 May when it joined the Vicksburg campaign.[4] During the campaign, the 114th Illinois under Colonel Judy was in Brigadier General Ralph Pomeroy Buckland's and (later) Colonel William L. McMillen's 1st Brigade, Brigadier General James M. Tuttle's 3rd Division, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's XV Corps, Grant's Army of the Tennessee.[8] The regiment marched from Grand Gulf to Jackson, Mississippi on 2–14 May.[5] It fought in the Battle of Jackson on 14 May, sustaining losses of 5 men killed and wounded. The Siege of Vicksburg cost the unit 20 men killed and wounded.[4] During the successful siege, which ended on 4 July, the regiment participated in an expedition to Mechanicsburg from 26 May to 4 June.[5]

The 114th Illinois participated in the Jackson Expedition from 4–19 July 1863. There was a skirmish at Birdsong Ferry on the Big Black River on 4–6 July. The siege of Jackson on 10–17 July ended with the retreat and pursuit of Joseph Johnston's Confederate forces which ended at Brandon Station on 19 July.[5] The regiment lost 7 men killed and wounded during the expedition. The unit returned to Vicksburg where it performed picket duty. On 3 September, the regiment was ordered to Oak Ridge where Confederate partisans captured 2 enlisted men[4] and killed Second Lieutenant Joseph A. McClure on 2 October.[9] On 14–20 October, the 114th Illinois participated in an expedition in the direction of Canton including an action at Bogue Chitto Creek on 17 October.[5] The regiment boarded river transports on 20 November to travel upriver to Memphis. From 26 November 1862 to 5 February 1864, the unit performed provost duty at Memphis.[4]

From January to June 1864, the 114th Illinois was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XVI Corps. The regiment participated in an expedition to the Tallahatchie River on 5–19 February. There were skirmishes at Coldwater Ferry on 8 February, Senatobia on 8–9 February, and Wyatt's on the Tallahatchie on 13 February.[5] This expedition enabled Brigadier General William Sooy Smith's cavalry command to cross the Tallahatchie upstream at New Albany. This was followed by provost duty at Memphis. On 30 April, the regiment went on a hard-marching expedition led by Brigadier General Samuel D. Sturgis[4] from Memphis to Ripley, Mississippi that lasted until 9 May.[5]

The 114th Illinois formed part of the 1st Brigade in Sturgis' expedition to Guntown, Mississippi on 1–13 June 1864.[5] Sherman knew the success of his Atlanta campaign depended on keeping Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry from disrupting the Union-controlled railroad between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. In fact, Forrest's cavalry was headed into Tennessee for a raid at the beginning of June when he was called back to oppose Sturgis. The Union column consisted of 4,800 infantry, 3,300 cavalry, 400 gunners, and 22 cannons.[10] Forrest calculated that his forces could defeat the Union cavalry before it could be supported by the later-arriving infantry. Forrest believed that his cavalry would then beat the Union infantry after it arrived exhausted by a forced march in the summer heat. The Confederate general assumed that the wooded country would hide his inferior numbers from his enemies.[11] The Battle of Brices Cross Roads on 10 June unfolded as Forrest had planned and Sturgis' troops were routed. Union casualties numbered 2,612 men, 18 cannons, and 250 wagons while the Confederates counted 493 killed and wounded.[12] The 114th Illinois went into battle with 397 men and lost 205 men killed, wounded, and missing. Three officers were wounded and two were captured, and the assistant surgeon was killed.[13]

1st Brigade, 1st Division, 16th Army Corps, to December, 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Detachment Army of the Tennessee, Dept. of the Cumberland, to February, 1865. Pontoneers 16th Army Corps (New), Military Division West Mississippi, to August, 1865.

Smith's Expedition to Tupelo, Miss., July 5-21. Camargo's Cross Roads, near Harrisburg, July 13. Harrisburg, near Tupelo, July 14-15. Old Town (or Tishamingo Creek) July 15. Smith's Expedition to Oxford, Miss., August 1-30. Tallahatchie River August 7-9. Abbeville August 23. Moved to Duvall's Bluff, Ark., September 2. March through Arkansas and Missouri in pursuit of Price September 24-November 16. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., November 24-30. Battle of Nashville December 15-16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. Moved to Eastport, Miss., and duty there until February, 1865. Moved to New Orleans, La.; thence to Dauphin Island, Ala., February 9-March 3. Campaign against Mobile and its defenses March 3-April 12. Siege of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely March 26-April 9. Fort Blakely April 9. Occupation of Mobile April 12. March to Montgomery, Ala., April 13-24. and duty there until July. Moved to Vicksburg, Miss., July 17. Mustered out August 3 and discharged August 15, 1865. Regiment lost during service 2 Officers and 45 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 4 Officers and 159 Enlisted men by disease. Total 210.