Events

1861–1865 Dundee Civil War Service

During the American Civil War, a number of men from Dundee in Kane County, Illinois enlisted in the Union Army, serving primarily in the Illinois Infantry regiments raised in the early years of the conflict. The records preserved in the 1908 *History of Kane County* document at least six soldiers with Dundee connections, including men who were discharged early due to disability, one who died during the war, and others who served through mustering out. Their service reflects the broader participation of small Kane County communities in the national conflict of 1861–1865.

Date & Context

The Civil War service recorded for Dundee-area soldiers spans the full duration of the conflict, from enlistments in 1861 through mustering out in 1864. The soldiers identified in available records served in the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry Regiment, among other units, with Dundee men appearing in both Company F and the Non-Commissioned Staff of that regiment. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))

According to the History of Kane County, records also reference service in the Fourteenth and Twentieth Illinois Infantry Regiments in connection with Kane County more broadly, though the specific Dundee-linked soldiers identified are concentrated in the Fifteenth Regiment. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))

Participants

The following soldiers are identified in the county history as being from Dundee:

Fifteenth Illinois Infantry Regiment — Non-Commissioned Staff

  • Nicholas Wolaver — Drum Major, Non-Commissioned Staff. Wolaver is listed separately from Company F, indicating a transfer or promotion to regimental staff. He is also recorded in Company F records as Nicholas Wollaver, Private, with a notation that he was transferred to the Non-Commissioned Staff and served as drum major. The variation in spelling of his surname across entries may reflect transcription inconsistency in the original records. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))

Fifteenth Illinois Infantry Regiment — Company F

  • John W. Davenport — Corporal. Davenport died November 24, 1863. His death during the war suggests he may have died of wounds or disease while in service, though the specific cause is not stated in the available record. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))
  • George Lock — Private. Lock was mustered out May 24, 1864, suggesting he served a substantial portion of his enlistment term before honorable discharge. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))
  • James Wollaver — Private. Wollaver was discharged August 13, 1861, early in the conflict. The reason for his early discharge is not recorded in the available source. He is believed to be a relation of Nicholas Wollaver, given the shared surname and shared Dundee origin. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))
  • Nicholas Wollaver — Private, later transferred to Non-Commissioned Staff as Drum Major (see above). (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))

Other Units

  • Phillip H. Carr — Private, Company I. Carr was discharged September 19, 1861, and is noted in the records as having been discharged blind. His regiment is not explicitly identified in the available excerpt, but his record appears in the Kane County Civil War listings alongside the Dundee soldiers. His early discharge and the nature of his disability suggest he sustained a serious injury or illness shortly after enlistment. (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))

Significance

The Dundee soldiers recorded in the History of Kane County represent a cross-section of Civil War–era service: early discharges due to disability, death in the field, and men who served through to mustering out. The case of Phillip H. Carr, discharged blind in September 1861 only months after the war began, stands out as a particularly stark early casualty of the conflict at the local level. The death of John W. Davenport in November 1863 places a Dundee soldier in the middle years of the war, when casualties from both combat and disease were at their heaviest.

The Wollaver family — with both James and Nicholas serving from the same community, and Nicholas rising to the position of Drum Major on the regimental Non-Commissioned Staff — illustrates the family networks that shaped local enlistment patterns throughout Kane County.

These records, while incomplete, provide a foundation for understanding Dundee's direct contribution to the Union war effort and invite further research into regimental histories, pension records, and local commemorative materials that may shed additional light on these men's lives before and after their service.

Sources

  • Joslyn, ed. History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (1908). Available at: https://archive.org/details/historyofkanecou01josl#offset-478959 — cited throughout as (Source: History of Kane County, Ill., Vol. 1 (Joslyn, 1908))