37th Illinois Infantry Regiment explained

Unit Name:	37th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry"Fremont Rifles"
Dates:	September 18, 1861, to May 15, 1866
Country:	United States
Allegiance:	Union
Branch:	Infantry
Battles:	Battle of Pea Ridge Battle of Prairie Grove Siege of Vicksburg

The 37th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, nicknamed the "Fremont Rifles" and "Illinois Greyhounds", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.^[1]

Organization

The 37th Illinois Infantry was organized at Chicago, Illinois, and mustered into Federal service on September 18, 1861.

Action

Battle of Elkhorn Tavern / Pea Ridge

The Regiment suffered casualties of the 54 members of Company A: 5 killed, 4 mortally wounded and 24 wounded.^[2]

Disbanding

The regiment was mustered out on May 15, 1866.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 7 officers and 91 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 5 officers and 164 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 267 fatalities.

Commanders

• Colonel Julius White – mustered on September 18, 1861; promoted to brigadier general on June 9, 1862.^[3]
• Colonel Myron S. Barnes – dismissed on disability on November 20, 1862.
• Colonel John C. Black – resigned August 15, 1866 (as brigadier general).
• Colonel Ransom Kennicott – mustered out with the regiment (as lieutenant colonel).

See also

• List of Illinois Civil War Units
• Illinois in the American Civil War

External links

• Arnold, Bruce Makoto. "A Horse to Live and a Greyhound to Die: Early Civil War Experiences of Robert and James Thompson." Details the lives of two brothers, one of whom served in the 37th Illinois.https://www.academia.edu/5461775/A_Horse_to_Live_and_a_Greyhound_to_Die_Early_Civil_War_Experiences_of_Robert_and_James_Thompson

Notes and References

1. Book: A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion . Dyer, Frederick H. . 1908 . The Dyper Publishing Company . Des Moines, IA . 1062 . Organized at Decatur, 111., July 3, 1861, and accepted by the Secretary of War as G. A. Smith's Independent Regiment July 23, 1861. Moved to Jefferson Barracks, Mo., August 4–5. Mustered In at St. Louis, Mo., August 28, 1861. Moved to Jefferson City, Mo., September 15, thence to Ottervllle September 25, and to Sod alia October 15. Fremont's Campaign against Springfield, Mo., October 15-November 8. Attached to Dept. of Missouri to January, 1862. 1st Brigade, Army of Southwest Missouri, to March, 1862. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Southwest Missouri, to June, 1862. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Army of Mississippi, to September, 1862. 32nd Brigade, 9th Division, Army of the Ohio, to October, 1862. 32nd Brigade, 9th Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Ohio, to November, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Right Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 20th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, to September, 1864..
2. Web site: Diary of Henry Ketzle, Company A, 37th Illinois Volunteer Infantry . March 14, 2011 . Ketzle, Henry . Civil War Diary of Henry Carl Ketzle.
3. Book: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois . 1867 . Baker, Bailhache & Company . Springfield, IL . 599 . 1.