126th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

126th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry
Illinois flag
Active	September 2, 1862, to July 12, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Infantry

The 126th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 126th Illinois Infantry was raised in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for 300,000 volunteers in the late summer of 1862. The recruits were all from Moultrie, Shelby, Montgomery, Mercer, and Rock Island Counties. It was organized in Alton, Illinois beginning on September 2, 1862 and mustered in for three years service on September 4 under the command of Colonel Jonathan Richmond.

The regiment took the field on November 20, 1862, manning the fortifications along the Mississippi River at Columbus for a week before joining Ulysses S. Grant's army at LaGrange, and being attached to the XIII Corps. They spent the winter guarding supply lines and railroads around Jackson and Humboldt. Staying behind while the main force advanced down the Mississippi River and against Jackson, the regiment eventually joined in the Siege of Vicksburg on May 28, 1863. They were present for the Confederate surrender on July 4 and were then assigned to duty in Helena. From August 1 to early September 1863 they joined General Frederick Steele and his expedition against Little Rock. There they saw action at the Battle of Bayou Fourche where the Confederate forces under General Sterling Price were defeated and Union forces exercised control over most of Arkansas.

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