Behind the Guns. The History of Battery I, 2nd Regiment

WHETHER the experiences of the men of Battery I, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, were similar to the experiences of members of other artillery units is not certain. Much attention has been paid to the foot soldiers of the infantry units and to the men who rode to war with the cavalry, but not much attention has been centered on field artillery units. Many more men served in the infantry and cavalry than in the artillery; for example, Illinois furnished to the Union army 152 infantry regiments, 17 cavalry regiments, but only 33 batteries of artillery. There are 299 memoirs, reminiscences, and histories of Illinois infantry units, 68 of cavalry, but only 20 of artillery units. Much of what is in print about Illinois artillery is fragmentary and often little more than a chronology.