Madison County, ILGenWeb Military

Madison County, ILGenWeb

Military

American Revolution War of 1812 Black Hawk War Mexican-American War Civil War Spanish American War World War I

World War II Korean War Vietnam War Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Iraq War

Photos Military Links 1883 Pensioners List Newspaper Clippings of the Military - Civil War Era

Alton Penitentiary/Civil War Prison U.S. Veterans of Collinsville, Illinois (off site link)

Searchable Database of Medal of Honor Recipients (Civil War - Iraq War)

Database of Soldiers' and Sailors' Home Residents from Madison County, IL (1887 - 1916)

The American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783)

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence, was a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies on the North American continent (as well as some naval conflict). The war was the culmination of the political American Revolution, whereby the colonists overthrew Royalist rule. In 1775, Revolutionaries seized control of each of the thirteen colonial governments, set up the Second Continental Congress, and formed a Continental Army. The following year, they formally declared their independence as a new nation, the United States of America.

Back to the Top William B. Collins - laid to rest in Collinsville, Madison County, IL

War of 1812 (1812 - 1815)

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its colonies, including Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), Nova Scotia, Bermuda and Newfoundland. The war was fought from 1812 to 1815, although a peace treaty was signed in 1814. By the end of the war, 1,600 British and 2,260 American soldiers had died. Britain had been at war with France since 1793, and to impede neutral trade with France, imposed a series of restrictions that the U.S. contested as illegal under international law. The Americans declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812 for a combination of reasons, including: outrage at the impressment (conscription) of American sailors into the British navy; frustration at British restraints on neutral trade; anger at alleged British military support for American Indians defending their tribal lands from encroaching American settlers; and a desire for territorial expansion of the Republic.

Back to the Top Veterans laid to rest in Collinsville, Madison County, IL

Black Hawk War (1832)

The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. The war was named for Black Hawk, a war chief of the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo Native Americans, whose British Band fought against the United States Army and militia from Illinois and the Michigan Territory (present-day Wisconsin) for possession of lands in the area.

View Black Hawk War Veterans who enrolled in Madison County, IL Veterans laid to rest in Collinsville, Madison County, IL

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Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848)

The Mexican-American War was an armed military conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas. Mexico did not recognize the secession and subsequent military victory by Texas in 1836; it considered Texas a rebel province. The most important consequence of the war for the United States was the Mexican Cession, in which the Mexican territories of Alta California and Santa Fé de Nuevo México were ceded to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Search for Madison County, IL soldiers in the Mexican-American War Veterans laid to rest in Collinsville, Madison County, IL

Read a letter from Lt. E. F. Fletcher of Alton, IL to his Colonel. Fearing his death in upcoming battles with the Mexicans, Fletcher wrote regarding his little daughter.

Fletcher died at Buena Vista, Mexico.

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Civil War (or the War of the Rebellion) (1861 - 1865)

The American Civil War was a war between the United States of America (the "Union") and the Southern slave states of the newly formed Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. The Union included all of the free states and the five slaveholding border states and was led by Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a large volunteer army, then four more Southern states declared their secession. Confederate resistance collapsed after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

Search for Madison County, IL soldiers in the Civil War                        Photos of Madison County Civil War Veterans

Civil War newspaper clippings       Madison County 1883 Pensioners List        Illinois Civil War Project       Alton Confederate Prison       Alton Prison News Clippings

Veterans laid to rest in Glenwood Cemetery, Collinsville, IL        Veterans laid to rest in other Collinsville, IL cemeteries        Col. A. F. Rogers of Upper Alton

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Spanish-American War (1898)

The Spanish-American War was a military conflict between Spain and the United States that began in April 1898. Hostilities halted in August of that year, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in December. The war began after the American demand for Spain's peacefully resolving the Cuban fight for independence was rejected, though strong expansionist sentiment in the United States may have motivated the government to target Spain's remaining overseas territories: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam and the Caroline Islands. Riots in Havana by pro-Spanish "Voluntarios" gave the United States a reason to send in the warship USS Maine to indicate high national interest. Tension among the American people was raised because of the explosion of the USS Maine, and "yellow journalism" that accused Spain of extensive atrocities, agitating American public opinion. The war ended after decisive naval victories for the United States in the Philippines and Cuba. Only 109 days after the outbreak of war, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the conflict, gave the United States ownership of the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam.

Search for Madison County, IL soldiers in the Spanish-American War Click here to view photos of Madison County Spanish-American War Veterans

Veterans laid to rest in Glenwood Cemetery, Collinsville, IL

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World War I (1914 - 1918)

World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War and the War To End All Wars, was a global military conflict which took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918. The immediate cause of the war was the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary and member of the Black Hand. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against Serbia activated a series of alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations. Within a month, much of Europe was in a state of open warfare. The war was ended by several treaties, most notably the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, though the Allied powers had an armistice with Germany in place since November 11, 1918. One of the most striking results of the war was a large redrawing of the map of Europe. All of the Central Powers lost territory, and many new nations were created. The German Empire lost its colonial possessions and was saddled with accepting blame for the war, as well as paying punitive reparations for it. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were completely dissolved. Austria-Hungary was carved up into several successor states including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated, and much of its non-Anatolian territory was awarded as protectorates of various Allied powers, while the remaining Turkish core was reorganized as the Republic of Turkey. The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917, lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it. After the war, the League of Nations was created as an international organization designed to avoid future wars by giving nations a means of solving their differences diplomatically.

World War I casualties of Collinsville, IL

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World War II (1937 - 1945)

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict, the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. This global conflict split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "total war", erasing the distinction between civil and military resources. This resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 60 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history. The Allies were victorious, and, as a result, the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world's two leading superpowers. This set the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years.

Click here to view photos of Madison County World War II Veterans World War II casualties of Collinsville, IL

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Korean War (1950 - 1953)

The Korean War was an escalation of border clashes between two rival Korean regimes, each of which was supported by external powers, with each trying to topple the other through political and guerilla tactics. In a very narrow sense, some may refer to it as a civil war, though many other factors were at play. After failing to strengthen their cause in the free elections held in South Korea during May 1950 and the refusal of South Korea to hold new elections per North Korean demands, the communist North Korean Army moved south on June 25, 1950 to attempt to reunite the Korean peninsula, which had been formally divided since 1948. The conflict was then expanded by the United States and the Soviet Union's involvement as part of the larger Cold War. The main hostilities were during the period from June 25, 1950 until the armistice (ceasefire agreement) was signed on July 27, 1953.

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Vietnam War (1959 - 1975)

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the American War, occurred from 1959 to April 30, 1975. The term Vietnam Conflict is often used to refer to events which took place between 1959 and April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the Communist-supported Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the US supported Republic of Vietnam. It concluded with the defeat and dissolution of South Vietnam. For the United States, the war ended with the withdrawal of American troops and failure of its foreign policy in Vietnam. Over 1.4 million military personnel were killed in the war (only 6% were members of the United States armed forces), while estimates of civilian fatalities range up to 2 million. On April 30, 1975, the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon fell to the communist forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the Vietnam War.

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Desert Storm (1990 - 1991)

The Gulf War or Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force from 34 nations authorized by the United Nations (UN) and led primarily by the United States in order to return Kuwait to the control of the Emir of Kuwait. The conflict developed in the context of the Iran-Iraq War. The entry by Iraqi troops in Kuwait was met with immediate economic sanctions by some members of the UN Security Council against Iraq. The expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait began in January 1991 and was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which took over Kuwait and entered Iraqi territory. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. Iraq also launched missiles against targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel in retaliation for their support of the invading forces in Kuwait.

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Operation Enduring Freedom (2001 - Present)

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) is the official name used by the U.S. Government for one of its military campaigns in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) which was started after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. It was originally called "Operation Infinite Justice", (often misquoted in news articles and political commentary as "Operation Ultimate Justice") but this phrase had previously been restricted to the description of God (among followers of several faiths), and it is believed to have been changed to avoid offense to Muslims. On October 5, 2006, NATO officially took over control of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The Operation comprises several subordinate operations:
Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan (OEF-A)
Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines (OEF-P) (formerly Operation Freedom Eagle)
Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA)
Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara (OEF-TS)[4]
The term "OEF" typically refers to the war in Afghanistan. Other operations, such as the Georgia Train and Equip Program, are only loosely or nominally connected to OEF, such as through government funding vehicles. All the operations, however, have a focus on antiterrorism activities.

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Iraq War (2003 - Present)

The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1, 2003, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Poland and Denmark. A number of other countries were involved in its aftermath. The invasion launched the Iraq War, which is ongoing. The objectives of the invasion, according to U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. former PM Tony Blair were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people." Blair said the actual trigger was Iraq's failure to take a “final opportunity” to disarm itself of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and coalition officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist although some misplaced or abandoned remnants of pre-1991 production were found, U.S. government spokespeople confirmed that these were not the weapons for which the U.S. went to war.

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Thank you to all - past and present - who serve our great country!

(Information on wars from Wikipedia.org)

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