Chetlain, Augustus L.

Born: 1824-12-26 Saint Louis, Missouri

Died: 1914-03-15 Chicago, Illinois

Born to Swiss immigrants, Augustus L. Chetlain was a merchant, Republican, and Union military officer and commander. His parents immigrated to Saint Louis, Missouri, several years prior to his birth, then moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1826. In 1850, he was working as a merchant and owned $2,200 in real estate. He labored as a merchant until 1859. After selling out his business interests, he traveled to Europe and lived there for a year before returning to the United States. He served as a delegate to the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention as well as the 1860 Illinois Republican Convention, and was chairman of the Jo Daviess County Republican Central Committee. During the 1860 Federal Election he supported Abraham Lincoln for president. He volunteered for service on behalf of the Union shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, helped raise a company of volunteers, and won election as the company's captain. After the organization of the Twelfth Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry in Springfield, Illinois, Governor Richard Yates commissioned Chetlain its lieutenant colonel. He commanded the Union troops in Smithland, Kentucky, from September 1861 to January 1862, then rejoined his regiment. He led the regiment through battles at Fort Donelson, Tennessee; Shiloh, Tennessee; and Corinth, Mississippi. The regiment sustained heavy losses at both Fort Donelson and Shiloh, and Chetlain received promotion to Colonel after his actions at Fort Donelson and received honorable mention for his command at Corinth. He commanded the post at Corinth from October 1862 to May 1863 and, while there, helped raise the first regiment of African-American troops in the West, north of New Orleans, Louisiana. Chetlain received promotion to Brigadier General, and, at the recommendation of General Ulysses S. Grant, the U.S. War Department placed him in charge of organizing African-American volunteers in Tennessee. In 1864, he assumed responsibility for raising African-American volunteers in Kentucky as well. By January 1865, he commanded roughly 17,000 African-American troops. He married Annie M. Smith on April 6, 1865, and received promotion to Major General soon after Lincoln's death.

The History of Jo Daviess County Illinois (Chicago: H. F. Kett, 1878), 615-16; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Galena, Jo Daviess County, IL, 284; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 17 June 1858, 2:3; Illinois Daily State Journal (Springfield), 12 May 1860, 2:3; Augustus L. Chetlain to Abraham Lincoln; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Winnebago County, 6 April 1865, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916, Cook County, 15 March 1914, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Gravestone, Greenwood Cemetery, Galena, IL.