This Regiment was organized at Camp Fuller, Rockford, in August 1862, and was mustered into service September 4, of that year. Its ten companies were recruited as follows: A, B, C, D, E, F, H and K, in Winnebago county, G, at Oregon, Ogle county, and I in Stephenson county.

The first field officers were: Jason Marsh, of Rockford, Colonel; James B. Kerr, of Roscoe, Lieutenant Colonel; and Edward F. Dutcher, of Oregon, Major. Anton Nieman, of Chicago, an officer of military education, was its first Adjutant. On September 30, 1862, the Regiment reported for duty at Louisville, Ky., where the Army of the Ohio, - afterward known as the Army of the Cumberland, - was then being organized under General Don Carlos Buell. On October 1, a Brigade organization was effected, and the Seventy-fourth with the Seventy-fifth and Fifty-ninth Illinois, the Twenty-second Indiana, and the Fifth (Pinney's) Wisconsin Battery formed the Thirtieth Brigade, Ninth Division, Fourteenth Corps, Colonel Philip Sidney Post of the Fifty-ninth Illinois having command of the Brigade, General O. M. Mitchell of the Division, and General Gilbert of the Corps, the whole comprising with other troops, a command under General A. McD. McCook, designated the Right Wing.

On October 24, 1862, the army, then at Bowling Green, was re-organized, under General W. S. Rosecrans, and was ever after known as the Army of the Cumberland.

The Seventy-fourth while still comprised in the First Brigade, became part of the Second Division of the Fourth Army Corps, - and so continued until the close of the war, - the remainder of the Brigade, including the Thirty-sixth, Forty-fourth, Seventy-third and Eighty-eighth Illinois, The Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, the Twenty-first Michigan, and the Second and Fifteenth Missouri. Colonel Frank T. Sherman, of the Eighty-eighth, commanded the Brigade, General Phil. H. Sheridan the Division, and General Gordon Granger the Corps. On May 1, 1864, General Nathan Kimball took command of the Brigade and General Newton of the Division. At the same time General O. O. Howard was placed in command of the Fourth Corps. On July 23, 1864, a further change was made, placing Colonel Opdycke, of the Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio, in command of the Brigade, General Kimball of the Division, and General Stanley of the Corps. In September 1864, the Second Missouri was withdrawn from the Brigade, and replaced by the Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio. The Twenty-first Michigan remained in our command but a short period, and did not form a part of the First Brigade in the Atlanta Campaign.

This gives in chronological detail, approximately at least, the dates of formation of the various organizations of the Army of the Cumberland, of which this Regiment made a part, as well as the names of the various officers, who, in turn, held superior commands. Moving from Louisville, soon after its organization, the Federal forces engaged in almost daily skirmishes with Bragg's Army, but it was not until October 8, 1862, that a general engagement, - known as the battle of Perryville, - was had, the issue being a victory for the Union Forces. In this action the Seventy-fourth did not participate, being held in reserve. From this time until the 7th of November following, when Nashville, was reached, the Seventy-fourth was almost constantly on the march. On Saturday, October 25, 1862, the Regiment camped at Danville, Ky.; and on the following night snow fell to the depth of three inches. On November 5, at 4 o'clock P.M., the Regiment crossed the line between Kentucky and Tennessee. The fact that the Regiment was, at last, in Dixie, was announced by loyal yells, hurrahs, and shouts infinite in number and variety of tone.

From November 8 to December 26, 1862, the Regiment was encamped at Nashville, though participating, meantime, inn some expeditions made necessary by the activity of the enemy who were threatening the railroad to Louisville. On December 26, 1862, the Seventy-fourth encountered the enemy and helped to dislodge one of his batteries, whose shells had made it very uncomfortable. An advance of fourteen miles was scored. Saturday December 27, from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M., was passed in skirmishing, and slow advance in line of battle, driving the enemy. On Sunday, the 28th of December, by tacit consent, both armies rested. On Monday, the 29th of December advanced ten miles toward Murfreesboro, and bivouacked without fires.

Tuesday, the 30th, there was constant skirmishing, and heavy artillery firing by both armies. This night all slept on their arms, bivouacking in the cedars without fires.

At 4 o'clock on the morning of the 31st, our men fell into line and rested on their arms until break of day. At daylight, we could see the Confederate hosts in vast numbers moving up the left flank, in three columns across our front, and at once our own column began to move, by the right, scarcely more than eighty rods from, and in a line parallel to, that of the enemy, our movements being partially screened by cedar thickets through which we passed. Heavy and continuous firing was meantime heard between the skirmishers. This movement of the enemy, by column to the left, continued for about half an hour, when it ceased, and, facing to the front, the rebels made a fierce onslaught on Johnson's Division, on our right, completely surprising them, and capturing their batteries before a gun had been fired. The rapid retreat of Johnson's troops exposed our right to a severe enfilading fire, and, to avoid this, our Brigade at once changed from to the rear, and, falling back some sixty rods, took positions behind a rail fence. This movement was accomplished without confusion, and the lines were unbroken.

Scarcely had the men faced to the front when the Confederates advanced on our front in an overwhelming force of three lines. As soon as our men had been formed, our Division General, Jeff. C. Davis, rode along in front, and turning to the men said, "Give them hell, Seventy-fourth, keep cool, and fire low!" - and then trotted calmly past, as if it had been a review. We had not long to wait. The enemy commenced firing at low range, but heedful of the good advice given, the Regiment reserved its fire until they were close upon us, and then opened with volley after volley, which made the solid lines recoil, but could not permanently check the advance of such superior numbers against our own light lines.

Meanwhile the Fifth Wisconsin bull-dogs poured in grape and canister at short range, making fearful havoc in the closely pressing Confederate ranks. The rebels came on, and we could plainly hear the commands "forward", "close up", amid the din of shot and shell. It being a choice between retreat, and the utter destruction or capture of the entire Division, we were ordered to fall back. The Seventy-fourth retreated only after every other regiment of the Division had fallen to the rear. This movement, made in the face of a vastly superior pursuing force, was not without some confusion; but after falling back three-fourths of a mile, the men were rallied, the lines reformed, and the enemy not only checked, but driven pack a considerable distance. The casualties of the engagement to the Seventy-fourth were 8 killed, 35 wounded, 42 missing or captured - Total 85. In his report of the action, Colonel Post used the following language: "The deliberation and order with which the Seventy-fourth Illinois Regiment retired is especially commended". This closed the chapter for 1862, though on the same night a portion of the Regiment had a brush with the Confederate cavalry. On January 1, 1863, the Seventy-fourth was in line of battle all day, and had some skirmishing with the enemy.

On the night of January 2, the command was moved across Stone River in support of the extreme left, then heavily engaged; but before reaching the scene of action, the rebels were in full retreat. On the morning of Sunday, the 4th, it was learned that the enemy had evacuated Murfreesboro, the principal portion of his army falling back to Shelbyville. In this sketch of a series of actions, beginning with the fight at Nolensville, on the 26th day of December, in which the Seventy-fourth engaged, and continuing with incessant march and skirmish for eight days, it had been necessary to pass rapidly by many details. The result of the movement was the immediate establishment of our army in a fortified camp along the hardly won line of Stone River. After the establishment of the Union Army at Murfreesboro, no general movement occurred until the 24th of June 1863, when the march upon Tullahoma was begun. The Seventy-fourth broke camp on the morning of June 24, 1863, to commence that campaign of incessant march, battle and skirmish, which terminated in the fierce struggle of September 19 and 20, on the line of Chickamauga, and the occupation of Chattanooga by the Union forces. On Monday, the 17th of August, the army moved. After short marches, during that and the next three days, the Seventy-fourth went into camp at Stephenson, Ala., and there remained until the 30th of August, on which day camp was broken, the march resumed and, at 4:30 P.M., pontoons having been laid, the Tennessee was crossed. After several marches, with picket duty, and light skirmishing, the Brigade reached Valley Head, Ala., a position it had been designated to occupy and hold. Here the Brigade of Colonel Post, detached from the Division, remained until Friday, September 18, when it moved toward Chattanooga, over the mountains, escorting the supply trains which were constantly threatened by Wheeler's cavalry, with whom frequent brushes were had. On the 20th of September the command rested at Stevens Gap. Our Brigade was at this time entirely cut off from the rest of the army, and in imminent danger of capture. We had heard the fighting of the 19th, and could hear the engagement of the 20th raging in the distance; but it was not until the 22d of September, when the Brigade fortunately made a junction with the balance of the Division at Peavine Creek, that we learned the story of the defeat of our army on the bloody hills along the Chickamauga. On September 24, the Seventy-fourth and Twenty-second Indiana make a reconnoisance, discovering the enemy, with whom a skirmish was had, very strongly posted, in force, in from of Post's Brigade. On November 14, the Regiment received from the ladies of Rockford its new flag, destined to receive a fiery christening eleven days after. On the morning of the 25th the Union left, under Sherman, had made several ineffectual assaults on the Confederate right. This was the position of affairs, when, at 2:30 P.M., Sheridan's, Baird's and Wood's Divisions of Granger's Corps, then formed some 80 rods from the enemy's skirmishers received the order to move forward and carry the rebel rifle pits at the foot of the Ridge. In less time that it takes in the telling the rebel rifle pits were carried by our men, and most of the surviving occupants made prisoners. Here the troops paused, breathless, but only for a few minutes, when Generals Wood and Sheridan, on their own motion, as was afterwards stated, and without direction from their superior officers, gave the order to storm the ridge. How completely successful that assault was there is little need to say. In that charge the new flag of the Seventy-fourth was borne by Chas. E. Allen, of Company E. He soon fell struck by a minie, but the colors had hardly dropped from his nerveless grasp before they were seized by Alba Miller, of Company C, who carried them but a short distance, when he, too, was hit and severely wounded, and the falling flag was grasped by Corporal Compton, of Company D, who soon after fell, mortally struck, about a rod below the crest of the ridge. The dangerous emblem, which seemed to be a favorite mark for the enemy, was snatched from the hands of the dying Compton by Corporal Fred Hensey, of Company I, who soon planted it, pierced by fifteen bullet holes, upon the rebel works, - the first Union flag to fly upon the hard-won crest of that rugged hill. In this assault, the Seventy-fourth lost 14 killed, 39 wounded, and 6 missing. Of the wounded, several survived but a short time.

The Seventy-fourth took part in the expedition to Knoxville, the occupation of Louden, near which the Regiment ran a mill, grinding into flour, for the army, wheat gathered up in the adjacent country, and the camp at Davis Ford, on the Little Tennessee. And here, for a moment, let us take a backward glance at this Regiment, which had left Camp Fuller 940 strong. A few of its morning reports remain, and to these we will refer. On March 31, 1863, there were present for duty 438. On October 5, 1863, this had been reduced to 380. At Mission Ridge, the exact figures are not at hand, but the Regiment did not number, in this action, more than 340 combatants, of whom 59, or 17 per cent, were placed that day hors du combat. On the 2d of May 1864, the Regiment must have had about 350 effective men, field and line, as many of its wounded in the actions of the preceding November had recovered, and rejoined the command. Of the casualties of the Atlanta campaign there remained the following records: May 14 and 15, at Resaca, 4 killed, 22 wounded; May 17, Adairsville, 1 killed, 28 wounded; May 31, Dallas, 5 killed, 7 wounded. The total casualties from May 2, when the Regiment left Cleveland, Tenn., to June 11, at Ackworth, Ga., comprised 11 killed and 49 wounded. In this hasty record no total list of casualties of the campaign has been obtainable; neither can we dwell upon the many stubbornly contested engagements in which the Regiment took part. We come at last to that mad assault of June 27, at Kenesaw, where the Regiment met the severest loss in its history, going into the fight with 201 men and coming out with 138, a loss of 31 per cent. The detailed loss was killed, 12, wounded, 38, missing, 13; total 63. After the action four men of the Seventy-fourth who had been reported among the missing were found dead upon the field. Under date of June 29, 1864, a memorandum is found showing the total casualties of the Regiment from May 2 to June 29, inclusive, as follows: killed, 39; wounded, 107; missing, 10; total 156.

On the 28th of June, the morning after Kenesaw fight, the Seventy-fourth's effective force comprised 127 enlisted men and 11 officers. In that action its four ranking captains were killed, its only field officer captured, and its adjutant wounded. Its 5th captain, assumed command, and two of its companies were placed in charge of non-commissioned officers, while with each of the remaining companies there was but one commissioned officer. Coming to this point in our story, we have passed by many engagements in which the Seventy-fourth took part, among them, May 7th, at Tunnel Hill; May 9th, at Rocky Faced Ridge, up whose rugged side, inaccessible for artillery horses, the Regiment hauled two Parrott guns by ropes, and where an all-day's skirmish ensued; the occupation of Dalton on the 13th of May; May 14th and 15th, a fierce engagement at Resaca; a skirmish during the entire afternoon of the 16th of May, just after crossing the Oostenaula, and about three miles south of Resaca; May 17th, the action at Calhoun; an all-day's skirmish, at times rather lively, on the 26th of May; May 27th and 28th, slow advances and constant skirmishes, and a loss of several men killed and wounded. At 8 P.M. on the 29th of May, a hot engagement, lasting an hour, under a heavy fire from the enemy's artillery, with his pickets; June 1st, a skirmish; June 6th, an advance as flankers, slowly driving the rebel pickets; June 15th, skirmishing, forcing the enemy's pickets back two miles; June 16th, the action at Lost Mountain; June 17th, an all-day skirmish and a charge upon the enemy's line of rifle pits, thrown up the night before, which our men carried in fine style, with their usual yell, and immediately occupied; June 18th, an all-day skirmish, driving the rebels back one mile into a line of earthworks thrown up the preceding night. On the 19th of June the Seventy-fourth had a rest from the incessant skirmishing, the gallant old Thirty-sixth Illinois being in advance that day.

On the 20th, 21st and 22d of June, the men were engaged in throwing up earthworks, one line after another being abandoned as our advance drove the enemy back upon their main fortifications at Kenesaw. This work was prosecuted under a constant fire from the enemy's artillery, and in its progress the Regiment lost many killed and wounded.

On the 23rd the Seventy-fourth moved out of its works at 4 P.M., to support the skirmishers hotly engaged. A brisk action ensued, in which one man was killed and several wounded. The Regiment was all of that day on the skirmish line, and was not relieved until 9 P.M. The 25th and 26th days of June were comparatively quiet, the men of either army seeming content to take a rest. Following quickly on the fruitless assault of June 27th, came those movements of Sherman's which, on July 2d, resulted in the evacuation by Johnston of the strong position of Kenesaw and the occupation by Sherman's army of Marietta, on July 3d. Moving with the army on the 3d, the Seventy-fourth passed that night on the picket lines, and celebrated the 4th by a skirmish, lasting the entire day, in which seven men were wounded, town of whom survived only until the following morning.

From this time until the occupation of Atlanta, the chapter is one of constant march and skirmish and battle, including Hood's fierce assaults of the 20th and 22d of July, in the first of which the Seventy-fourth was engaged, losing a number of men. Hood had superseded Johnston in command of the Confederate forces July 17. Reviewing the progress made, we find the Regiment in the skirmish at Vining's Station, on July 5th. July 9th, a march of fourteen miles was scored, and the Chattahoochie forded at 7 P.M., after a hot day; the night of the 13th was passed in throwing up earthworks; on the 14th the Regiment was engaged in building a bridge at Power's Ford, on the Chattahoochie, to enable the artillery to be moved across the river; on the 17th the Seventy-fourth made a reconnoisance about a mile in advance, but did not find the enemy. At 6 A.M. on the 18th, the men were on the move, and at 8 A.M. were skirmishing with the enemy, and so continued in rather lively fashion for an hour. That night we bivouacked but six miles from Atlanta, about which the lines were every day more closely drawn. On the night of the 19th Peach Tree Creek was crossed, and along the stream were formed the Federal lines which repulsed the fierce assaults of Hood on the 20th and 22d. Soon after the action on the 22d, the siege of Atlanta was fairly begun, and early in August all communications with the beleagured city, save by the single line of railway to Macon, was completely cut off. We will not follow in detail the movements of the Regiment, as the siege progressed during August 1864. From the 30th of August to the 3d of September, the Division was engaged in the movement to the south of Atlanta. In these operations, after destroying several miles of railway on the 1st, the Division had a hot engagement with the enemy late in the afternoon of the same day, at Jonesboro, in which the Confederates were completely defeated, the losses of the day in the Seventy-fourth numbering fourteen wounded and missing. In advance on the following day, September 2d, the Division passed through Jonesboro, and late in the afternoon had another brush with the enemy, who gave way. On the 8th of September 1864, the Division rejoined the army at Atlanta, reoccupying the camp held by it, one and half miles from the city. Here the Army of the Cumberland remained in quarters until September 25th, when it was transferred by rail to Chattanooga, to meet the threatening demonstrations of Hood, reaching that city the following day at 2 P.M. On the 8th of October the Regiment was moved by rail to Resaca, and, on the following day, returning to Chattanooga, when near Red Clay, Ga., two cars of the train were thrown from the track, resulting in killing Assistant Surgeon Sherman C. Ferson, and seriously wounding nine men - five of Company C and four of Company H. The remaining events of 1864 must be passed quickly. On the 31st of October the Division was transferred by railroad to Pulaski, in West Tennessee, from whence, on November 22d, it was moved to Nashville, then threatened by Hood. On the 29th of November, at Spring Hill, the Fourth Corps had a lively engagement with the enemy's cavalry, during the rebel force over a mile. In this action the Seventy-fourth had one man killed and three wounded. That same day the Division moved to Franklin, where a strong line of earthworks was immediately thrown up. On the afternoon of the following day, November 30th, the impetuous Hood made his attack on the works. Ten times were his men hurled furiously upon the lines of Thomas, and ten times were they repulsed with fearful slaughter, many of them being killed by blows from picks and shovels in the hands of the Federals.

Of the loss of the Regiment that day no record has been found. In that action the Seventy-fourth and Eighty-eighth were united, and acted as one regiment, under command of Colonel Smith, of the Eighty-eighth. The next day Generals Thomas and Wood rode along the line, and halting in front of the consolidated regiments, General Wood called forward Colonel Smith, and addressing him, said: "I wish, Colonel, in the presence of General Thomas, to repeat - what General Stanley assured me was true - that it is owing to the bravery of yourself and men that we saved the army at Franklin". In effect, by his tacit assent, this was praise from "Old Pap Thomas" - and higher praise no man could ask for. On the 15th and 16th of December 1864, were fought the battles at Nashville, resulting in the complete defeat of Hood, and his rapid retreat out of Tennessee, pursued by the forces of Thomas. In both of these actions the Seventy-fourth took part with honor.

On the 16th, General Post, our old brigade commander, was wounded, as then supposed fatally. The chronicler has found no data on which to estimate the strength of the Regiment at the end of 1864, but it appears that on December 3d, of that year, twelve days before the actions at Nashville, it mustered 126 muskets. We may close the chapter of 1864, and, turning to 1865, we find the Regiment in winter quarters, in January, at Huntsville, Ala. February and March passed with some movements, but no general engagements, by the Army of the Cumberland; and in the latter month Thomas was concentrating his forces at Knoxville and Chattanooga.

On the 10th of June 1865, the Seventy-fourth, then numbering 343 officers and men, of whom some portion had been recruited since leaving Camp Fuller, was mustered out of service at Nashville, Tenn., and shortly after set out on their return to Rockford, where, arriving June 29th, they met a hearty public reception at the hands of the citizens. Appended is a tabular statement, complied from the reports of the Adjutant General of the State, showing the original strength of the Regiment, and its numbers, including recruits, when mustered out. The full complement of the Field and Staff, at the outset, comprised a Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon and Chaplain. These officers were not present when the Regiment was mustered in, but being subsequently mustered, soon after joined the command. They, consequently, with some enlisted men, sick in hospital, or absent for other reasons on muster day, are shown on the official rolls as recruits. Among those included in the enumeration "mustered out June 10, 1865", are several men who, three days before, had been assigned to the Thirty-sixth Illinois; and, under the same head, are included a few who, either being on detached service, prisoners, or from sickness, could not be present on the 10th, at Nashville, and therefore, were not, in fact, discharged from the service until the latter part of June 1865.