Camp Hunter

In the autumn of 1861, the valley bounded by bluff, creek, and river was known as Camp Hunter. On September 26, the 4th Illinois Cavalry mustered there for duty, beginning military training and a three-year enlistment, with white tents dominating the scene. Organized by Ottawa Judge T. Lyle Dickey, the 4th was soon sent to Springfield to receive its weapons, then to Cairo to join Union forces in the western campaigns. With Ulysses Grant's troops, it fought at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Corinth in 1862. In 1863, it guarded Grant's supply lines during the Vicksburg campaign and remained in Mississippi protecting against small Confederate and guerrilla forces until November 1864, when the three-year enlistment expired. Some members reenlisted, but the unit was merged into other regiments for the rest of the war.

Illinois · United States