Illinois 56th Infantry (Union)
27/02/1862
Organized - Illinois 56th Infantry - Illinois
29/04/1862
Battle - Siege of Corinth - Corinth, Mississippi
Union forces had captured the railroad junction and important transportation center at Corinth, Mississippi in the spring of 1862 after their victory at Shiloh. After the Battle of Iuka in September, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Confederate Army of the West marched to Ripley, Mississippi where it joined Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn's Army of West Tennessee. Van Dorn took command of the combined force numbering about 22,000 men. The Rebels marched southeast toward Corinth, hoping to recapture it and then sweep int…READ MORE
03/10/1862
Leadership Change - Brigade - Brigadier General Jeremiah C. Sullivan
Brigadier GeneralJeremiah C. Sullivan
03/10/1862
Battle - Battle of Corinth - Corinth, Mississippi
Not to be confused with Siege of Corinth. Also known as Second Battle of Corinth.READ MORE
16/05/1863
Battle - Champion Hill - Hinds County, Mississippi
The Battle of Champion Hill was the largest and bloodiest action of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign.READ MORE
17/05/1863
Battle - Big Black River Bridge - Hinds County, Mississippi
Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill and heading west toward Vicksburg, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, the night of May 16-17th. Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton ordered Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen, with three brigades, to man the fortifications on the east bank of the river and impede any Union pursuit. Three divisions of Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand's Thirteenth Corps moved out from Edwards Station on the morning of the 17th. They encountered the Confederates behind breastworks and took co…READ MORE
18/05/1863
Leadership Change - Regiment - Colonel Green B. Raum, and Captain Pinckney J. Welsh
ColonelGreen B. Raum
CaptainPinckney J. Welsh
18/05/1863
Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Green B. Raum, and Colonel Samuel A. Holmes
ColonelGreen B. Raum
ColonelSamuel A. Holmes
18/05/1863
Leadership Change - Division - undefined 4th Missouri Cavalry Company F: Lt Alexander Mueller, Brigadier General Isaac Quinby, Brigadier General John E. Smith, and undefined Escort
4th Missouri Cavalry Company F: Lt Alexander Mueller
Brigadier GeneralIsaac Quinby
Brigadier GeneralJohn E. Smith
18/05/1863
Battle - Vicksburg - Vicksburg, Mississippi
In mid-May, 1863, after six months of unsuccessful attempts, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee finally converged on Vicksburg, defended by a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton. Capture of the Mississippi River town was critical to Union control of the strategic river. Vicksburg was located on a high river bluff defended with artillery, and Pemberton's men had constructed a series of fortifications in an 8-mile arc surrounding the city on the landward side. After crossing the…READ MORE
19/03/1865
Battle - Bentonville - Bentonville, North Carolina
After his march to the sea, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman headed north in early 1865 to unite with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army in Virginia. Only Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston's army stood between Sherman and Grant. After briefly blocking Sherman's advance at Averasboro, North Carolina on March 16, Johnston struck Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum's wing of Sherman's army near Bentonville on March 19. The Confederates ran into stiff resistance, as Slocum established a defensive position. Johnston's assaults con…READ MORE
12/08/1865
Mustered Out - Illinois 56th Infantry - Illinois
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