17th Illinois Cavalry Regiment

The 17th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service
The 17th Illinois Cavalry was organized at St. Charles, Illinois, between January 28 and February 12, 1864.

A portion of their service was in pursuing the guerrilla Bill Anderson. On 23 September, 1864, they killed Jim Anderson and five other guerrillas near Rocheport, Missouri.

17th Illinois served in the 2nd Brigade of the Provisional Cavalry, while pursuing the Confederates during Price's Raid, under Colonel John Lourie Beveridge, who would later become governor of Illinois.

The regiment mustered out between November 23 and December 22, 1865.

Total strength and casualties
The regiment suffered 7 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 1 officer and 86 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 94 fatalities.

Commanders

 * Colonel John Lourie Beveridge - mustered out February 7, 1866.

Bugler

 * John David Rippberger - On January 6, 1864, when John was just 18 years old and the Civil War was raging, he volunteered for service with the union forces in Howard, McHenry County, Illinois, where he later mustered into the Cavalry on January 22, 1864, in St. Charles, Illinois. His enlistment was for three years, and he was assigned to Private in Company G, 17th Illinois Cavalry Regiment as a full bugler under Captain Cyrus Hutchinson.
 * At the close of the war on December 18, 1865, in Ft. Leavenworth, KS. John Rippberger was mustered out by Lieutenant Williamson, and honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois. After almost two years of hard service he held the rank of Full Bugler. His Colonel’s name was John L. Beverige, a fine man and good friend.

Copyright. John David Rippberger, Last Comrade of Stoddard Post G.A.R.

Roster

 * 17th Illinois Cavalry Roster.jpg