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     The People of Cumberland County were noted for their fighting qualities, from a very early day up to the date subsequent to the war of the rebellion, and had that great contest been decided by a resort to fists, this region of the country would have contributed some of hte most noted champions in the field.  It was not until the era of the war that weapons began to be freely used here, in personal encounters, and hence, while Cumberland County contributed her quota to the armies of the North during the years 1860-65, there was nothing to distinguish this section from the great mass of the loyal North.  The people here were largely "Douglas Democrats," and intimately acquainted with Lincoln.  He had practiced law in the County Courts, a large number of his relatives were residents here and in the adjoining County of Coles, and he numbered among the leading men of Cumberland some of his most intimate friends.  The political events, therefore, that led to the fatal issue of the war, were full of interest to the people of Cumberland, and, while their sympathies were principally with the "Little Giant," their belief in "State sovereignty" and the constitution as the supreme law of the land, made them supporters of the result of the election of 1860.  The menacing attitude taken by the South up to the commission of overt acts of rebellion was not generally condemned, as there was a strong opposition to anything like abolition or coercion; but when the echoes of the attack on Sumter reached here, the rallying to the support of the Union was practically unanimous.  Prejudices in regard to negroes, in regard to candidates, or any of the agitating questions of the hour, were forgotten, and every man and party was for the Union.  Political lines, however, were strictly maintained, and Seymour and McClellan received the full party vote, notwithstanding the significance of their election.  As the war progressed, other elements entered into the situation here, and embittered the feeling between the political parties.  Hot-headed men of both political elements came together at public meetings, with furloughed or returned soldiers on one side, and deserters on the other, and a number of fatal encounters occurred.  There is no evidence that

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desertions were encouraged by the people here, but there was no effort made to give them up, when once here, to the authorities.  A natural suggestion of the reason would be, that these persons were not likely to submit quietly to arrest, and the people had not the courage of their convictions sufficiently to feel prepared to shoot old acquaintances, or be shot by them.  The county gained a somewhat unenviable reputation on this account, and rumors of a premeditated attack on the county-seat by returned soldiers were common.   After the unfortunate riot at Charleston, in Coles County, the citizens here were in a fever of expectation, and several times the people came rushing in from the country around to defend the county-seat from an imagined assault.
     On the call of the Governor for the organization of six regiments, there was not the spontaneous enthusiasm evinced here as in many sections.  While generally in favor of the maintenance of the Union, the prevailing sentiment was opposed to the war as a specific means to that end, and many who were moved otherwise went to other places to offer their services to the General Government, and some 250 men enlisted in various organizations and were credited elsewhere than Cumberland County.  In 1862, Hon. Thos. Brewer became (as his Democratic colleagues express it)  "rather shaky in his Democracy under this strain," and took an active part in encouraging the enlistments, making speeches in all parts of the county.  It was about this time that the larger number of volunteers began to be enrolled, the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Infantry being raised at this time.  The Twenty-First Infantry, raised in 1861, however, received a full company from Cumberland.
     In June, 1861, the Board of Supervisors appointed a committee of one from each township "to see to the wants and procure such necessaries as, in their judgment, shall conduce to the sustenance and support of the families of the absent volunteers."  This provision, generous in its terms and boundless in its limits, suggests an appreciative regard for the soldier nad his sacrifices, but the recordsof the county and State nowhere show that this provision went further than the records of the county, and, as a matter of fact, in the judgment of the larger part of this committee, nothing was necessary" to conduce to the sustenance and support of the families of absent volunteers."  In February, 1865, the Board offered a bounty of $400 for each person "that may volunteer in the United States service to fill the quota of Cumberland County in the draft now ordered by the President of the United States, and that for that

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purpose the Board issue county orders sufficient for the purpose of procuring volunteers to fill the quota of the several towns in said county, and that this Board levy a tax of $1 upon each $100 of valuation of taxable property in said county, and $1 capitation tax on all males between the ages of twenty-one and sixty."  It was further provided that bonds should be specially issued to meet the orders issued for this purpose.  But all this elaborate machinery was destined to be brought to naught.  The public sentiment rebelled, and it is said that threats of hanging the members were made with sufficient earnestness to secure the rescinding of the order at the next meeting.  No bounty was paid by the county, but under this call Union Township sent sixteen substitutes to the field at a cost of $6,500, and Sumpter Township sent two at a cost of $800.  The Adjutant General's report gives the total expenditure of the county for the procurement of volunteers at $8,151.25.  The same report gives the summary of the quotas and credits of the county as follows:  Population in 1860, 8,309.  First and second class enrollment in 1863, 903; in 1864, 985; in 1865, 906.  Quotas in1861, 233; in 1862, 159; under call of February 1 and March 14, 1864, 203; under the call of July 18, 1864, 154; a total of 749.  The total credits, prior to December 31, 1864, were 880 men, which made an excess of credit of 131 men.  In December, 1865, the quota of the county was 169, but diminished by the excess of credit, the actual assigned quota was only 38.  The credit under this last report was 40, leaving an excess of 2 of credit, in a total quota during the war, of 918, and credit of 920; so that it appears that Cumberland County contributed something more than a full regiment to the Union armies during the years 1861-65.
     These men cannot all  be traced through the records, but in numbers of from 5 to 20, they are found in Company E, Twenty-Fifth Infantry; Company E, Thirty-Eighth Infantry; Company G, Fifty-Fourth Infantry; Companies F and H, Sixty-First Infantry; Company C, Sixty-Second Infantry; in the Sixty-Third Infantry, in several companies; Company E, Sixty-Sixth Infantry; Company C, Sixty-Eighth Infantry; Company E, Seventy-First Infantry; Company B, Eighty-Eighth Infantry; Companies I and E, Ninety-Eighth Infantry; Company K, One Hundred and Forty-Third Infantry, and Company G, One Hundred and Fifty-Second Infantry; beside in larger numbers in the Twenty-First, Fifty-Ninth, Ninety-Seventh, One Hundred and Twenty-Third, One Hundred and Thirty-Fifth Illinois Infantry Regiments and the Fifth and Tenth Illinois Cavalry Regiments.

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Gershom Monohon

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     Twenty-First Illinois Infantry - Company B. of this regiment, was principally made up from Cumberland County volunteers, a few members only coming from Coles County.  The officers of the Company were: 
Captain, J. P. H. Stevenson, till 1863;
P. Wolsheimer, till March, 1865;
Austin Blake, fill mustered out.
First Lieutenant, P. Olsheimer, till promoted;
C. L. Smeidell, till 1863;
Austin Blake, from April to August, 1863;
H. A. Ashmore, till mustered out.
Second Lieutenant, C. L. Smeidell, May, 1861, till March, 1863;
Austin Blake, from March 19 till April 27, 1863;
A. Y. Hart, April, 1863, to September 1864;
O. Goodin, till mustered out.
The regiment was organized in the Seventh Congressional District, and rendezvoused at Mattoon.  On the 15th of May it was mustered into the State service, for thirty days, but on the 28th of June it was mustered into the United States service for three years, with U. S. Grant as Colonel.  August 6, 1861, Col. Grant was commissioned Brigadier-General, and was succeeded in command of the regiment by Lieut.-Col. J. W. S. Alexander, who was killed at Chickamauga.
     On the 4th of July, 1861, the regiment marched for Missouri, an innovation in the usual plan of moving troops out of the State.  Arriving at Mexico, Mo., after various experiences which savored of war, but without meeting an enemy, the regiment rested for two weeks, when it proceeded by rail to Ironton, Mo.  Here the Twenty-First remained until October 20, when it marched out and participated in the fight at Fredericktown, returning after the engagement to Ironton, where the regiment remained until the latter part of January, 1862.  At this time it formed a part of Gen. Steele's force, which marched on Jacksonport, Ark., but here it was ordered to Corinth, via Cape Girardeau, and reached Hamburg Landing May 24, 1862.  On the evacuation of Corinth, the Twenty-First was placed in pursuit of the retreating enemy, whom it followed as far as Booneville, Miss., when it returned and formed a part of the expedition to Holly Springs.  On the 14th of August, 1862, the regiment was ordered to join Gen. Buell's army in Tennessee, and, marching via Eastport, Miss., Columbia, Tenn., Florence, Ala., Franklin, Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tenn., it arrived at Louisville, Ky., Twenty-First bore an honorable part, engaging in the battles of Perryville and Champlin Hill, Company F being the first to enter Perryville.  From thence the regiment marched to Crab Tree Orchard, and Bowling Green, in Kentucky, and thence to Nashville, Tenn.
     On the movement of the army from Nashville, in December

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1862, this regiment formed a part of the Second Brigade, First Division, Twentieth Army Corps, and was in the skirmish at Knob Gap.  On the 30th of the month, the Twenty-Sixth, in company with the Fifteenth Wisconsin, Thirty-Eighth Illinois, and One Hundred and First Ohio, had a severe engagement with the enemy near Murfreesboro, where it charged the famous rebel "Washington Light Artillery," twelve Parrott guns, and succeeded in driving every man from the battery, when it was compelled to fall back by the advance of a division of infantry.  During this battle this regiment had a fierce struggle and did gallant duty, losing more men than any other regiment engaged.  From Murfreesboro to Chattanooga, the Twenty-First was with Rosecrans' army, and took part in the skirmish at Liberty Gap, and subsequently in the great battle of Chickamauga, where it lost 238 officers and men.  After the latter fight, the regiment was attached to the First Brigade, Fourth Division, Fourth Army Corps, and remained at Bridgeport, Ala., till the latter part of 1863.  The regiment was subsequently ordered to Texas, where it was mustered out of the service, and finally discharged at Camp butler, Jan. 18, 1866.
     From the publication of the society of the regiment, in 1881, the casualties of Company B are given, as follows: 

     The surviving members were reported at the same time, as follows:

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     Fifty-Ninth Illinois Infantry. - Of this regiment, Company F was enlisted from Cumberland County.  Its first officers were Missourians, and the regiment, as first organized, was known as the Ninth Missouri.  The company officers were:
Captains -
     S. W. Kelley, till April, 1862;
     H. W. Hall, till September, 1864;
     H. C. Baughman, till mustered out.
Second Lieutenants -
     J. H. Maynard, till March, 1862;
     H. C. Baughman, till October, 1862;
     George P. Ayres, rank to date, from Dec. 8, 1865.

The regiment was organized at Saint Louis, Mo., Sept. 18, 1861.  The companies composing the regiment had been raised in the State of Illinois, and mustered in at sundry times, in July, August and September.  Three days after their organization as a regiment moved to Boonesville, via Syracuse to Otterville; via Warsaw and Humansville, to Springfield, it arrived on the 3d of November.  The brigade of which this regiment formed a part marched and countermarched about Springfield, first towards Syracuse, then Lamine Bridge, thence to Tipton, Lebanon, Cassville, Sugar Creek, Osage Springs, and thence to Cross Hollows on the 22d of February.  On the 12th of this moth, the title of the regiment, which had hitherto been known as the Ninth Missouri, was changed by order of the War Department to the Fifty-Ninth Illinois Infantry.
     On March 6, the Fifty-Ninth moved to Pea Ridge, and on the following day was engaged with the enemy in that fierce fight, which lasted all day.  On the 8th, the regiment was a part of the force that moved to reinforce Carr and Ashboth, who had been forced to fall back, and were again soon engaged.  The regiment lost severely in officers and men.  From this time to the last of April, the Fifty-Ninth retraced much of its previous steps, marching to Sugar Creek, Cross Timbers, and Cassville; thence to Forsythe, Bull Creek and West Plains on April 28.  Capt. Ellett, three lieutenants and fifty men were ordered to report to the Rum Fleet.  The regiment, forming

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a part of Jeff. C. Davis' division was then ordered to Tennessee, where it arrived, and was placed in reserve, on the left of Gen. Pope's army, at Corinth.  After the evacuation, the regiment took part in the pursuit as far as Booneville, when it returned to Clear Creek, near Corinth.  On June 27, 1862, the Fifty-Ninth started on a long tramp, marching and countermarching through portions of Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky.  It visited Holly Springs, Ripley, Jacinto, Bay Springs, where it had a skirmish with some rebel cavalry, and Iuka, in Mississippi; thence to Eastport, Waterloo and Florence, Alabama; thence via Lawrenceburg, Mount Pleasant, Columbia, Franklin, Murfreesboro, and thence northward with Buell's army, to Louisville, Ky., where it arrived Sept. 26, 1862.  October 1, the Fifty-Ninth was brigaded with the Seventy-Fourth and Seventy-Fifth Illinois Infantry, and the Twenty-Second Indiana, forming the Thirtieth Brigade of the Army of the Ohio.  In the advance, in pursuit of Bragg, the Fifty-Ninth moved by way of Bardstown, and met the enemy near Perryville, at Champlin Hills, and in the battle of October 8, was heavily engaged, losing 113 killed and wounded, out of 361 going into the action.  The regiment followed in the pursuit, and on the 14th had a severe skirmish at Lancaster, Ky.  Thence the regiment moved forward, via Crab Orchard, to Edgefield, near Nashville, Tenn.
     While here, the brigade received the addition of the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, and, subsequently, the Twenty-First Illinois. On Christmas, of 1862, the brigade made a reconnaissance toward Franklin, and skirmished with the enemy all day.  The Fifty-Ninth pressed down the road from Brentwood towards Nolensville.  On the 26th, the Army of the Cumberland was put in motion for the Stone River campaign, this brigade, under command of Col. Post, taking the advance towards Nolensville.  The Fifty-Ninth was deployed as skirmishers, and drove the enemy nine miles, until found in force at Nolensville.  The regiment took part in the attack upon Nolensville, from which the enemy was driven in confusion.  The regiment was engaged in the actions at Knob Gap, and pressed the enemy closely from Triune to Murfreesboro, where he was found strongly intrenched.  An unsuccessful attempt was made during the night of the 30th to drive him from his position, and the regiment lay during the night within a few hundred yards of the enemy's works.  Early on the morning of the 31st, the enemy turned the right flank of the Twentieth Corps.  The Fifth-Ninth changed from to the rear, and, supporting the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, for a long time held the

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enemy in check, and when withdrawn brought with it the guns of the battery, from which the horses had all been killed.  It was then put in position on the Murfreesboro pike, which it held until January 2, when the brigade crossed Stone River, the Fifty-Ninth fording the river, swollen by recent rains, and took position on the extreme left of the army, where it assisted in driving back the triumphant enemy.  On January 4, the enemy evacuated Murfreesboro, and the campaign ended.
     June 23, 1863, the Tullahoma campaign was begun.  Col. Post's brigade moved to Liberty Gap, and engaged the enemy, from the 24th to the 27th, and thence pressed the enemy to Winchester.  Here it remained till the 17th of August, when it was engaged in hauling 200 wagons up the Cumberland Mountains.  The brigade then made a march to Stevenson, Sand Mountain, Lookout Valley, Steven's Gap, Crawfish Springs, and thence to Chattanooga, a distance of 122 miles from Stevenson, where it arrived on the 22d of November.  During the siege of Chattanooga, the Fifty-Ninth was constantly under the fire of the enemy's batteries.  Nov. 23, the regiment started on the Lookout campaign.  On the 25th, the regiment led its brigade in the assault on Mission Ridge, from which the enemy was driven in confusion, the regiment taking part in the pursuit so far as Ringgold, where it again attacked him and drove him from his position.  On the 30th, the regiment was sent on to the battle-field of Chickamauga to bury the dead of the battle of September 19 and 20.  In the latter part of December, the regiment went to Whitesides, where, on Jan. 12, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted and was mustered as a veteran organization.  The latter part of January, it marched to Chattanooga, and on the 6th of February, started for Springfield on veteran furlough, arriving on the 10th.
     March 19th, the Fifty-Ninth re-organization left Springfield, via Nashville and Chattanooga, for Cleveland, Tenn.  May 3, the Atlanta campaign began, the regiment taking part in the attack on Tunnel Hill and on Rock Faced Ridge, which the enemy abandoned on the 13th; on the 14th and 15th, the regiment was warmly engaged at Resaca, and thence to July 12 was engaged in the various actions and skirmishes at Kingston, Dallas, Ackworth, Pine Top, Kenesaw Mountain, Smyrna, Camp-Meeting Ground, etc.  On the 12th, the Fifty-Ninth crossed the Chattahoochie and took position before Atlanta, and from that time until the 25th of August was under fire night and day.  With the army, the regiment marched around

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Atlanta in the direction of Jonesboro, and did its share in the fighting which followed this movement.  The regiment, with its brigade, took part in the movement to head off Hood from Nashville, coming into the presence of the enemy at Pine Top.  Thence, with the army, it retraced its route to Chattanooga, and on the 30th of October left for Athens, Tenn., thence to Pulaski, where it remained until November 23.  Evacuating the entrenchments here, it retired to Columbia; crossed Duck River and attacked the rebel army in the flank as it was marching towards Spring Hill.  The fight continued all day, and at night the Fifty-Ninth marched twenty miles to Spring Hill.  Resting here only an hour, the regiment proceeded to Franklin, and, during the afternoon, took part in the battle fought here.  On December 1, the regiment reached Nashville, and commenced throwing up earthworks in its front.  December 15, the battle of Nashville began.  Col. Post's brigade assaulted Montgomery Hill, and in the language of Gen. Thomas.  "took the initiative in the brilliant deeds of the day."  The Fifty-Ninth was in the first line of the assaulting column, and planted the first colors on the captured works.  In the afternoon, it assaulted and carried the enemy's works, near the Hillsboro pike.  December 16, Col. Post's brigade made a memorable assault on Overton's Hill.  In this battle, the regiment lost, in killed and wounded, one-third of its number engaged.  On the 17th, the regiment started in pursuit of the retreating enemy, and continued to the Tennessee River.  From January, 1865, until the middle part of June, the regiment made Nashville its base of operations, participating in various expeditions.  On the 16th of this month, the Fifty-Ninth left for New Orleans, and thence to Indianola, Texas.  From thence it marched to San Antonio, and was stationed at New Braunfels, Tex., until Dec. 8, 1865, when it was mustered out of the service and ordered home.

     Ninety-Seventh Illinois Infantry -  Of this regiment Company B was almost wholly drawn from Cumberland County, a few men only being drawn from the adjoining counties of Coles and Jasper.  The officers in this Company are:
Captains -
     J. G. Buchanan, till October, 1864;
     G. D. Armstrong, till mustered out;
First Lieutenants -
     J. A. Goodell, till June, 1863;
     Alfred Miller, till October, 1863;
     G. D. Armstrong, till October, 1864;
     Jaes Rollins, till mustered out;
Second Lieutenants -
     Alfred Miller, till June, 1863;
     G. D. Armstrong, till October, 1863;
     Christopher Bradman, rank dated from August, 1865.
The regiment was organized at Camp Butler in September, 1862, and mustered o the 16th of that month.  On the 3d of October the

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regiment moved for Cincinnati, and on the 17th marched to Nicholasville, where it remained until the 10th of November.  It was then assigned to Gen. A. J. Smith's division and moved to Louisville, where it arrived on the 15th of the month.  Two days later the regiment embarked for Memphis, where it went into camp until the middle of December.  On the 20th of this month the Ninety-Seventh left Memphis to take part in the campaign against Vicksburg, and taking transports down the river landed near Walnut Hill o the Yazoo River, occupying a position on the extreme right of the liens operating against Vicksburg.  On the 1st of January, 1863, it was moved towards Arkansas Post and participated in the battle which took place there on the 11th of the month.  On the 15th the regiment was moved down the river to Young's Point, where it remained till March moving then on the 6th to Milliken's Bend.  Thence on the 15th of April, the regiment marched to Grand Gulf;  took part in the engagement at Port Gibson on May 1, and at Champion Hills on the 16th, arriving in the rear of Vicksburg on the 19th of May.  From this time forward to the surrender of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, the Ninety-Seventh was actively engaged in the work and danger of the siege.  The regiment subsequently took part in Gen. Sherman's expedition to Jackson, and then returned to Vicksburg where iit remained until the 15th of August.  At this date the regiment embarked for New Orleans and went into camp at Carrollton on the 27th.  This closed the active part of the regiment's service. It transferred from one point to another and found its way to Galveston, Texas, where it was mustered out of the service July 29, 1865.

     One Hundred and Twenty-Third Illinois Infantry - To this regiment Cumberland County contributed more men than to any other one in the service, save, perhaps, the Fifth Cavalry.  Company B was the one in the service, save, perhaps, the Fifth Cavalry.  Company B was the one formed entirely in this county, and was enlisted by Capt. Talbott in the latter part of June, 1862.  Mr. Talbott, while a democrat and sympathizer to some extent with the general sentiment opposed to the war at stake in the issue, and deemed this the paramount interest.  HE was deeply engaged in business which commanded his whole time and attention and had no thought of going to the war.  Enlistments were languid; recruiting officers were drumming up a man here and there, but there was no general disposition to join the army.  But during this time, men frequently said to Mr. Talbott, "If you would take out a company I would enlist."  So frequently

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was this said that the Captain one Sunday gave out that if a company could be organized promptly he would undertake it and go to the field.  On the Sunday following he reached camp at Mattoon with 101 men, and all were mustered.  This became Company B of the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Infantry.  The officers of the company were: 
Captains -
     Edward Talbott, till April, 1864;
     Mahlon Votaw, till mustered out;
First Lieutenants -
     Lemuel Leggett, till August, 1863;
     Mahlon Votaw, till April, 1864;
     B. C. Talbott, till mustered out;
Second Lieutenants -
     Charles Conzet, till September, 1864.
This regiment was enlisted principally in Coles, Cumberland and Clark counties, and was mustered into service Sept. 6, 1862.  At this time Bragg was making his famous raid through Kentucky to reach Indiana, and the Illinois regiments were hurried to Louisville as fast as practicable.  The One Hundred and Twenty-Third was ordered to this point as soon as mustered in, and was assigned to the Thirty-Third Brigade, Tenth Division, Army of the Ohio, Gen. Terrell commanding the brigade, Jackson the division, and McCook the corps.  Here the regiment remained until Gen. Buell, on the 1st of October, began the pursuit of Bragg, who began to retire after being foiled of his main object.  In the operations thus begun the regiment marched through Taylorville, Bloomfield and Mackville, and engaged in the battle of Perryville.  The One Hundred and Twenty-Third virtually opened the fight.  McCook, supposing from certain movements of the rebel cavalry that the enemy was retreating and did not mean to fight, instructed Gen. Terrell to move his brigade cautiously toward the creek, and if no enemy was found to allow the men to stack arms and supply themselves with water, for the want of which they were suffering greatly.  The One Hundred and Twenty-Third was then in the lead, but, deploying line of battle with bayonets fixed, the brigade cautiously advanced, only to discover that the cavalry movement was only a ruse on the part of the enemy, and to be met by a terrible destructive fire from the heavy line of the enemy's infantry.  Gen. Terrell was riding near the left of this regiment, and near by a new battery advancing with the general line.  The first fire demoralized the battery, slaughtering the horses and stampeding the men.  Terrell feeling the emergency, but forgetting the duties of his position, dismounted from his horse, and with the aid of one or two batterymen and six men detailed from Company B, seized one of the abandoned guns and brought it into position, the General sighting and firing the gun some four rounds over the prostrate Company B.  At this point the

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General ordered a charge, and Companies B and D sprang forward to obey the command.  The right of the regiment failed to get the word, and Company D noticing the failure halted before reaching the enemy and retired.  Company B, however, rushed right on over the intervening space of some 200 yards, cleared the fence of the enemy and pushed some thirty yards beyond before it delivered its first fire.  Here, finding itself enfiladed by the enemy's fire and unsupported, the company rapidly retired, preserving its order, however.  Arriving at its original position it found the brigade some other troops and did not see much further engagement in that fight, but losing in this short fight twenty-one men in killed, wounded and missing.  Here Gens. Terrell and Jackson were both killed.  From this point the regiment moved with the army, passing through Danville.  Lebanon and New Market to Mumfordsville, where it remained several weeks guarding the construction of a bridge which had been destroyed.  The regiment then proceeded to the Cumberland River, going into camp at Ludlow Creek, about eight miles above Nashville.  In December, under the command of Gen. Reynolds, the One Hundred and Twenty-Third took part in the expedition after Gen. Morgan, returning to within a short distance of Mumfordsville when the pursuit was abandoned, and a return was made by forced marches to Nashville, arriving in the early part of January, 1863.  The regiment was at once move to the front, a little south and east of Murfreesboro, where it remained until the general advance in June.  In the meanwhile the One Hundred and Twenty-Third was mounted and armed with Spencer rifles, and scarcely an interval of ten days elapsed between the various expeditions in which the regiment was engaged.  These lead to the towns of Lebanon, McMinnville, Liberty, Alexandria, etc., and involved heavy skirmishes.  The One Hundred and Twenty-Third was here assigned to Gen. Wilder's Brigade of Thomas' Corps, and in the general advance of the army in the latter part of June, led the advance of its brigade.  A light force of the enemy was driven rapidly back to Hoover's Gap, where followed a brisk skirmish, and pressing on, the regiment captured a company of the rear guard of the enemy at Manchester.  From June 24 to 28, the brigade moved on the flank of the Fourth Division, cutting the railroad at Dechard, and driving the enemy from the stockade.  In this vicinity the brigade remained until August 16, engaged in collecting horses and mules.  Company B was detached on one occasion, and found one hundred miles gathered,

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which they captured and brought in with safety.  On another raid towards Columbia the Seventeenth Indiana and the One Hundred and Twenty-Third captured 1100 head of horses.
     On the 16th of August the regiment with its brigade crossed the Cumberland Mountains and Waldron's Ridge to Poe's tavern, forded the Tennessee River, and moved in advance of Crittenden's Corps towards Ringgold; on the 11th struck the enemy at Tunnel Hill and on the following day moved back towards Gordon's Mills.  Two days of light skirmishing were followed by two days of quiet, and on the 17th the enemy began to feel the line of the Union forces.  On the 18th the One Hundred and Twenty-Third was engaged at times pretty heavily.  By the flank movement of the army the regiment was placed on the extreme right and was pretty severely handled.  On the 19th and 20th though placed in reserve it was brought into the fight several times and heavily engaged.  On the retreat of the army toward Chattanooga, the One Hundred and Twenty-Third made a halt in the gorge of the mountain commanding the valley and Company B picketed the point that night.  After this fight the One Hundred and Twenty-Third with Wilder's Brigade proceeded to Friar's Ford.  On October 1, in company with the First and Second Brigades of Cavalry, the One Hundred and Twenty-Third and its brigade, under command of Gen. Crook, started in pursuit of Wheeler.  Crossing Walden's Bridge the regiment moved through Sequatchie to the summit of the Cumberland Mountains on to McMinnville and Farmington.  Here the One Hundred and Twenty-Third came upon the enemy strongly posted and had a determined fight, driving the enemy fro the field at last.  From this point the expedition pursued Wheeler until he crossed the Tennessee River, when the pursuit was abandoned.  The regiment then went into camp at Maysville, and remained several weeks.  From this point, the regiment moved to Pulaski, Tenn., and thnce to Moresville, where it served the army in collecting stores for the army at Chattanooga.  In the last of March, 1864, the regiment was ordered to Columbia, Tenn., to get the advantage of the fine grazing in that country for their horses, Captain Talbott, commanding the regiment while there.
     In April, the regiment rejoined the army at the front and took part in the Atlanta campaign.  The regiment proceeded to Lafayette, Ga., thence through a series of movements and skirmishes to Dallas; thence to Marietta, on July 3, to Cross Keys on the 17th, to Decatur, and Atlanta.  In September, it took part in the cavalry

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movements about Atlanta, and in October, was engaged in watching the movements of Hood.  In the spring of 1865, the regiment was assigned to Gen. Wilson's command, and, on the 2d of April, took part in the capture of Selma, Ala.; on the 9th, crossed the Alabama River and marched through Montgomery, Columbus, and entered Macon, Ga.  In the latter part of May, it was ordered to Chattanooga, and thence to Nashville, and on June 28, 1865, was mustered out of the service.

     One Hundred and Thirty-Fifth Illinois Infantry. - Company I of this regiment was composed principally of men from Cumberland County.  Its officers were:
     M. A. Ewing, Captain;
     J. T. Ewing, First Lieutenant;
     T. J. Matthews, Second Lieutenant;
This regiment was mustered into the service for one hundred days on June 6, 1864, and was mustered out Sept. 28, 1864.  This regiment was ordered to Little Rock, Ark., and served its term on duty there.

     Fifth Illinois Cavalry. - Of this regiment, Companies A and I were enlisted in Cumberland County.  The officers were:
Captains -
     E. W. Pierson, till January, 1863;
     J. M. Cullers, till January, 1865;
     Gordon Webster, till March, 1865;
     Joshua Tuthill, rank dated from October, 1865.
First Lieutenants -
     Chas. Nicewanger, till July, 1862;
     Gordon Webster, till January, 1865;
     John D. Rawlins, till mustered out.
Second Lieutenants -
     Gordon Webster, till July, 1862;
     J. M. Cullers, till January, 1863;
     Lyman Clark, till May 1864;
     Warren Harper, rank to date from October, 1865.
Of Company I the officers were:
Captains -
     Bartholomew Junkins, till April, 1862;
     B. G. Glenn, till December, 1862;
     E. S. Norfolk, till March, 1863;
     J. A. Balch, till March, 1865;
     J. K. Brown, till mustered out.
First Lieutenants -
     E. S. Norfolk, till December, 1862;
     J. K. Brown, till April, 1865.
Second Lieutenants -
     J. F. Smith, till September, 1862;
     J. K. Brown, till May, 1862;
     W. F. Snowdon, till December, 1863;
     Leander Coffman, till June, 1865;
     R. H. Osborne, from August, 1865, but not mustered.
The Fifth Cavalry regiment was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, in November, 1861, and Hall Wilson appointed Colonel.  On February 20, 1862, the regiment moved to Benton Barracks, Saint Louis, and early in the spring to Pilot Knob.
On the 27th, the Fifth marched to Doniphan, where it had its first skirmish with the enemy, capturing his camp and seven prisoners.  The regiment, a few days later, marched to Pocahontas, where it remained until the latter part of June.  On the 27th of this month, the regiment marched for the Mississippi River, joining Curtis' army at Helena, July 13.  Here the regiment did forage and escort duty

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the balance of the year, losing seventy-eight men and an officer, by an attack of the enemy on one of the forage trains.  In January, 1863, the regiment made an expedition to Duval's Bluff, and, in April, went to pursuit of Marmaduke, who was retreating room Missouri.  In the latter part of May, under orders for Vicksburg, the regiment embarked for Snyder's Bluff, and, two days after landing, made a reconnaissance to Mechanicsburg, skirmishing heavily on the way, and driving the enemy ten miles.  Forming a junction with the forces under General Kimball, the combined command, consisting of three regiments and eight pieces of artillery, made an attack upon the enemy, who was strongly posted, and defeated him, the Fifth losing eight men, killed and wounded.  On the 6th of July, the regiment moved with Sherman's command to Jackson, and thence, with a strong detachment, made a march to Canton, where they destroyed the public workshops, after some fighting, and returned to the main army under General Sherman.
     In August, the regiment took part in an expedition to Grenada, capturing wagon-trains and destroying bridges along the Mississippi  Central Railroad, and reached their destination on the 17th, driving the rebels under Chalmers from the place and effecting a junction with the command under Lieutenant-Colonel Phelps.  The bridge over the Yallabusha being destroyed, the rolling-stock of the road captured could not be saved, and forty engines and 320 cars were burned.  Continuing their march, the force turned toward Memphis, encountering Blythe's rebel cavalry at Coldwater, in which engagement the Union forces were victorious, the Fifth losing some six men.  Arriving at Memphis, the regiment embarked for Vicksburg and remained until January, 1865, in the meantime being in a number of expeditions through Mississippi and Louisiana.  In October, the regiment moved with General McPherson's Corps to Jackson, took part in the cavalry charge at Brownsville, losing three men.  In February, moved with German Sherman's command on the Meriden raid.
     In January, 1864, many of the regiments re-enlisted, and on March 17th veterans were furloughed, returning May 10th.  At this time eight companies were dismounted, companies A, B. C and D, being fully equipped and mounted.  On July 1st this battalion, with detachments of the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, and Third United States Colored Cavalry, under the command of Major H. P. Mumford, with a brigade of infantry, Gen.

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Dennis commanding the expedition, moved to Jackson with continual skirmishing.  On the return march this force was attacked by a large force of the enemy, who was repulsed after severe fighting.   The battalion lost several men wounded and killed.  On September 27, the same force of cavalry moved down the river, landing at Port Gibson, and drove the enemy from the place, the Fifth losing one man killed.  From thence the expedition moved to Natchez, where it was joined by the Fourth Illinois Cavalry and a battery, and moved on to Tonica Bend.  Here the expedition landed and moved to Woodville, where it captured a rebel camp.  During the night a force of 600 of the enemy, with one gun, advanced, but were driven in confusion by a charge of the cavalry.  From this point the expedition returned to Vicksburg.  November 20 the Fifth took part in an expedition sent out to destroy the Mississippi Central Railroad, over which the supplies of Gen. Hood's army were being transported.  The expedition was successful, the command destroying many miles of the road.
     On Jan. 24, 1865, the Fifth moved to Memphis, where it was assigned to the First Brigade of the Cavalry Division.  From this point the regiment took part in an expedition to southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana, returning about the middle of February.  In March the regiment took part in an expedition to Ripley, Mississippi, and on its return was assigned to the duty of guarding the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.  Here the regiment remained until July, when it was moved via Red River to Texas.  From Alexandria, La., the regiment marched to Hempstead, Texas, where it remained until October 6, when it was ordered home.  The regiment arrived at Springfield on the 16th of October, 1865; was mustered out on the 27th, and received final payment and discharge Oct. 30, 1865.
     Of the fourteen or more regiments that drew a part of their numbers from Cumberland County, though no organizations were formed here, the Fifty-Fourth, Sixty-First, and Sixty-Second are certainly entitled, from the number of citizens they contained, to a  place among Cumberland County's interests.  The Fifty-fourth Illinois Infantry was organized in Coles, Clark and Jasper counties, and in Company G were some fifteen or twenty of Cumberland County's young men.  The Fifty-Fourth was organized at Camp Dubois, Anna, Ill., as a part of the Kentucky Brigade.  It was mustered into the United States service for three years, Feb. 18, 1862.  A week later the regiment proceeded to Cairo, and a few

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days after reaching this point proceeded to Columbus, Ky.  During the fall three companies were stationed at Humboldt, Tenn., until the middle of December, when the regiment was ordered to Jackson, Tenn.  From the latter point the regiment at once proceeded to make short expeditions to various towns about, in the meanwhile guarding the line of railroad from Columbus to Jackson until the latter part of May.  Two companies were stationed at Medon and two at Toon's Station during the winter, Gen. Forrest in the meantime capturing the detachments of teh railroad and tearing it up some distance.  May 30, 1863, the regiment proceeded to Vicksburg and took position on Haines' Bluff on the Yazoo River on the 2d of June.  The Fifty-Fourth was in the Third Brigade, Second Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, under command of Gen. Kimball, and occupied the extreme left of Sherman's army on the Big Black when confronting Johnson.  In the latter part of July the regiment took part in Gen. Steele's expedition against Little Rock, and proceeded to Helena; from thence to Little Rock and returned to Vicksburg in October.
     In January, 1864, three-fourths of the regiment re-enlisted, and were mustered Feb. 9, 1864.  In March the veterans left for Mattoon on furlough.  Re-assembling at the expiration of their furlough, in April, at Mattoon, the regiment was thrown into a fever of excitement by the report of certain outrages committed on members of the regiment at Charleston, in Coles County.  The county, and especially the county seat, was strongly democratic and opposed to the prosecution of the war.  The Sheriff, with a number of hot-headed home politicians and sympathizers, got into an altercation with several members of the regiment about to join their command, and in the melee several were killed on both sides.  Of the regiment Major York, the surgeon, and four privates were killed, and Col. Mitchell wounded.  An hour later the regiment arrived from Mattoon and occupied the town, capturing the most prominent instigators of the riot.  The regiment left for Cairo on the 12th of April, and thence proceeded to Columbus, Paducah, and Little Rock.  In May it left for Brownsville in pursuit of Gen. Shelby, reaching Little Rock on the 30th, where it remained for about a month.  From thence the Fifty-Fourth proceeded to Duval's Bluff, and thence to Clarendon, where it came in contact with Shelby.  Returning to Duval's Bluff, the Fifty-Fourth was assigned to guarding sixteen miles of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, having five stations with two companies at each station.  In the latter part of August

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Shelby attacked an overwhelming force and captured one station.  Six of the companies were concentrated at one station, and for five hours resisted the attack with great bravery.  The breastworks, hastily constructed of hay, having been fired and destroyed by the enemy's artillery, the regiment was driven out of their defences and captured in detail.  The regiment lost some fifty men in killed and wounded at this fight.  Companies F and H at a distance station were not molested.  The part of the regiment captured was paroled, and reached Benton Barracks, Missouri, in September.  Dec. 5, 1864, it was exchanged and returned to Hickory Station on the same railroad, where it remained on this duty until June.  On the 9th of this month the regiment proceeded to Pine Bluff, thence to Fort Smith, Ark., and thence to Little Rock, where it was mustered out Oct. 16, 1865, and proceeded to Camp Butler, Illinois, October 26, where it was discharged.

     Sixty-First Illinois Infantry. - Company H of this regiment was made up principally from enlistments in Coles County, with many from Lawrence and Cumberland counties.  Company F subsequently contained quite a number of men from Cumberland County by transfer from the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Regiment.  This regiment was organized at Carrollton, Ill., by Col. Jacob Fry.  Three full companies were mustered Feb. 5, 1862.  On the 21st the regiment was still incomplete, and was moved to Benton Barracks, where recruits were secured to complete the organization.  In March the regiment embarked for Pittsburgh Landing, where it was assigned to the Eighteenth Missouri Brigade and Prentiss' Division.  On Apr. 6, 400 men of the regiment were formed into line to receive the first assault of the enemy in that memorable fight.  For an hour and a quarter the regiment stood firm and then fell back under orders, only when every regiment in the division had given way.  Upon retiring the regiment was complimented by Gen. Prentiss for its gallant stand.  The Sixty-First was then placed in support of the First Missouri Artillery, and at 1 P. M. was ordered to support of Gen. Hurlbut, arriving at very critical moment and maintaining the line until relieved by a fresh regiment, when its ammunition was exhausted.  When the second line was broken, the regiment retired in good order and took up a position supporting the siege guns.  ON the second day the Sixty-First was placed in reserve, but its loss in the battle reached eighty men killed, wounded and missing.  Early in June the regiment moved to Bethel, thence to Jackson and to Bolivar, in Tennessee.

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F. D. Voris,
Neoga, Cumberland Co., Illinois

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In September the regiment moved by way of Jackson and Corinth to Brownsville, Miss., but returned after the battle of Iuka.  In December a detachment of the regiment with some other detachments took a position at Salem Cemetery and repulsed the enemy under Forrest.  May 31, 1863, the Sixty-First moved from Bolivar by rail to Memphis and there embarked for Vicksburg.  On the 3d of June it reached Chickasaw Bayou, and on the following day accompanied an expedition up the Yazoo River, landing at Satartia; moved thence to Mechanicsburg, Haines; Bluff, and Snyder's Bluff, July 17th, the Sixty-First moved to Black River Bridge and returned.  In August it took part in Gen. Steele's expedition to Little Rock.  The regiment remained here in occupation.  The regiment up to March 20, 1864, consisted of nine companies, but at this date it was joined by Company K from Camp Butler, Ill.  The Sixty-First was subsequently ordered to Nashville, and was mustered out of the service there on Sept. 8, 1865.

     Sixty-Second Illinois Infantry. - This regiment was chiefly enlisted in Clark, Crawford and Coles  counties.  In Company C were a considerable number of Cumberland County men, and few in each of several other companies of the regiment.  The Sixty-Second was organized at Camp Dubois, Anna, Ill., Apr. 10, 1862.  ON the 22d it moved to Cairo, thence to Paducah and Columbus, and in Col. Ditzler's Brigade to Tennessee, where it was stationed on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, near Crockett Station, with headquarters at Kenton.  In December the regiment was moved to Jackson, Tenn., leaving about 200 men sick and on duty at Holly Springs; about two miles from Jackson found the railroad bridge on fire, and leaving the train marched to Jackson and four miles beyond, skirmishing with the enemy.  On the 23d the regiment marched along the railroad as far as Toon's Station and returned to Jackson.  In the meanwhile Van Dorn descended to Holly Springs and captured about 170 men of  the regiment, and destroyed all the regimental records and baggage.  ON December 31st the regiment went with Lawler's Brigade in pursuit of Forrest and found him strongly posted on the opposite bank of the river.  Returning to Jackson the regiment remained here until April, 1863, when it moved to LaGrange.  In August the regiment was ordered to Memphis, where it embarked for Helena, overtaking the army of Gen. Steele at Brownsville; took part in the action near Little Rock and remained till Aug. 12, 1864.  The regiment in January had

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re-enlisted, and at this date returned to Illinois on veteran furlough.  After the expiration of their furlough the regiment returned to Pine Bluff, reaching there Nov. 25, 1864.  The non-veterans of the regiment were ordered to Illinois for muster out.  Under date of Apr. 24, 1865, the remaining veterans and recruits were ordered consolidated into seven companies, and remained on duty at Pine Bluff until July 28,1 865, when it moved by river to Fort Gibson, in the Cherokee nation.  It was subsequently ordered to Little Rock, where it was mustered out of service Mar. 6, 1866, and ordered to Springfield for final payment and discharge.
     This sketch of the activities of regiments in which this county is principally interested was compiled largely from the Adjutant General's report.  In case of several regiments no report save the bare roster, is found in the State work, and dependence has been placed upon the memory of those who served in the different organizations.  However imperfect the attempt, however far short it may fall of the merits of the case, it will serve to show that Cumberland County found those who ably represented her in the field, and that many, while politically at variance with the administration then in power in the general government, put loyalty to the nation above partisan fealty to a questionable policy.  In the Black Hawk disturbance of 1832 the community here was too far removed from the actual operations to notice them, and was too few in numbers to spare any men save under the direst necessity.  In 1847, while sympathizing with the object of war, the county was too thinly settled even then to contribute to the ranks of the six regiments enlisted in the State.  There are, however, some half dozen residents of the county now who were in the Mexican war, but who were enrolled elsewhere.

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