117th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers 150th Anniversary

A special memorial service was held in honor of the 150th anniversary of the muster-in of the 117th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment a.k.a. “The McKendree Regiment,” on Sept. 19.

Led by McKendree professor, Gen. Risdon M. Moore, the 117th Regiment was comprised of 958 soldiers, many of whom were McKendree faculty, graduates, students and staff. Students in Dr. Shelly Lemons’ Emergence of Modern America history class and members of Phi Alpha Theta, set-up a 958-flag display in the quad to commemorate the soldiers who served.

As part of the anniversary, a National Call to Service Project was held in honor of the regiment. Over 117 hours of service were performed by various students groups and University 101 classes during September.

In addition, a Civil War exhibit was displayed in Holman Library and a special section of the McKendree website dedicated to the 117th Regiment was created by history major, Jessica Tieman ’13 and economic/finance major Austin Vuichard ’14.