My Illinois Civil War Ancestors

1500 years after the Civil War, my curiosity has been peaked to explore my ancestors who served during the war.  I have made a combined Civil War timeline list for my three ancestors.  Combined because I wanted to see any overlap in time and place as I start to plan my Civil War Road Trips.

My first ancestor to serve in the war is John Burlend Yelliott of Pike County, Illinois.  He was mustered in at Camp Butler, Illinois near Springfield on 21st August 1862 at  the age of 18.  He served for three years being mustered out on 12th of June 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee.

My next ancestor to serve war was Henry Harrison Coonrod, Sr. also of Pike County, Illinois.  He was 30 years old when he mustered in at Florence, Illinois on the 23rd of August 1862.  Henry was married with one son. He, too, served for three years being mustered out on 31st of July 1865.

My final ancestor to serve was John June Thompson of Fulton County, Illinois.  At the age of 26, he musters in at Camp Butler, Illinois on the 21st of February 1865.  He was married with three daughters.  John served a little over six months being mustered out on 5 Sep 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee.

Many questions run through my head as I look at these three men.  How did two gentlemen from the same county  muster in two days apart at two different places?  Why would John June Thompson a married man with three children  - all female - be called to serve when it would seem he was the sole support for these girls and his wife? What was it like for them?  What inspired them to take up arms?  How were their families handling them being gone?

These are questions I plan to research further in later blogs.  But for now I just want to salute these men that served