HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
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United States, so help me God." And so, in one momentous instant, these patriotic men voluntarily laid off their free citizenship and became the sworn subjects of the most arbitrary despotism. Sublime self-abnegation, heroic sacrifice for you and for me, for the Nation and for posterity!
On the 12th day of September Col. Albert G. Brackett, of the regular army, paraded the complete regiment, and had each company marched slowly in sigle file before a board of inspecting surgeons, when those in whom the slightest defect was detected were subjected to more careful scrutiny and, if found deficient, rejected. When the inspection was finished, the recruits received and the correctness of the rolls carefully verified, he administered again the same oath, and in the same manner, to the whole regiment of ten companies, as well as to the line and field officers. Now it was a part of the United States army designated as the Thirty-sixth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. On September 24th, under marching orders for St. Louis, Mo., it broke camp, and, boarding cars of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, bade farewell to Kane County.
EIGHTH CAVALRY.-On August 12th the Hon. John F. Farnsworth received from the Secretary of War authority to recruit and equip a regiment of twelve companies of cavalry, and very soon thereafter recruits began to arrive at the camp which he had established in the southeast quarter of the village of St. Charles. The largest formal muster of this regiment into the United States service occurred on the 18th day of September, 1861; but enlisting and frequent musters continued until its departure under military orders for Washington on or about October 13th. It took to the field about 1,150 stalwart and well mounted young men, as the Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
LINCOLN REGIMENT - FIFTY-SECOND ILLINOIS INFANTRY.-In the same month of August, 1861, Judge Isaac G. Wilson obtained from the Secretary of War permission to organize a third Kane County regiment. This he christened the "Lincoln Regiment." Establishing its camp on the Fair Grounds at Geneva, on the south side of State Street just at the present city limits-named "Camp Lyon," in honor of Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, who had just fallen in action at Wilson's Creek, Mo.-he began the work of organization. His official certificate is preserved, stating that Companies "I," from Dundee, and "K," from Elgin and Plato, were accepted for service by him on the 6th day of September. It is known that the company from Kaneville marched into camp the day before. In recognition of its first arrival in camp, it was given the position of honor on the right of the Regiment as Company "A," and, for like reason, the companies above named being the next to arrive, became the "color companies," "I" and "K."
Colonel Brackett officially certifies that, on the 25th day of October, 1861, he mustered into the service four companies of the regiment with John S. Wilcox as its Lieutenant-Colonel. At two different dates in November Lieutenant John Christopher of the regular army completed the mustering of this regiment, and on November 28th, with 945 as fine young men in its ranks as ever marched beneath any banner, the Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry left "Camp Lyon" forever, under marching orders, boarding cars of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway for Benton Barracks, St. Louis, by way of Chicago.
It would be extremely interesting to trace, even briefly, some of the deeply touching- incidents of these camps-to recall something of the strangely mingled emotions of lofty enthusiasm and deep anguish; the extravagant hilarity (often forced) and the silent grief, the laughter and the tears; the greetings and the partings, as the fondest ties were severed, the dearest hopes deferred-perhaps forever-and the dreaded separations, toils and perils of dreadful war which were then assumed. Since history began, such have been war's prelude and concomitant, touching the loftiest heights and lowest depths of human emotions.
SERVICE.-The Thirty-sixth received its first real baptism of battle at Pea Ridge, Mo., on the 6th and 8th of March, 1862, in which a,ction it suffered a loss of six killed and thirty-two wounded. Its service was in the South and Southwest. It took to the field, originally, 965 men, received 221 recruits, and lost in killed, wounded and by the hardships incident to the service about 700 men. It passed, by rail and boat and marches, over fully 10,000 miles. It served under ten different commanders and participated in ten battles, beside innumerable minor engagements and skirmishes.
The Eighth Cavalry served in the army of the Potomac, and its record was brilliant in the extreme. Its original strength was about ],150
Dundee Area History
