Joliet in Will County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Will County Civil War Memorial
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, June 27, 2026
1. Will County Civil War Memorial Marker
Erected and dedicated to the memory of the soldiers and sailors of Will County
[Battle names on the base and obelisk:]
Winchester Atlanta Gettysburg Nashville Shiloh Vicksburg Appomattox Fort Donelson Chickamauga
Erected 1889 by Will County posts of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.
Location. 41° 31.487′ N, 88° 4.925′ W. Memorial is in Joliet, Illinois, in Will County. It is on Jefferson Street (U.S. 30) west of Chicago Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 14 West Jefferson Street, Joliet IL 60432, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other
this page online
More about this memorial. According to a National Register of Historic Places registration form for Will County's fourth courthouse, which stood just south of this memorial until its demolition in 2024, this 1889 Civil War memorial was commissioned by Will County Grand Army of the Republic posts and designed by M. Muldoon & Company of Louisville, Kentucky. It features two soldiers mid-way up the memorial and another one at the top. Nine major battles of the Civil War are named around the memorial.
The base of the memorial includes two plaques, one about Will County's
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, June 27, 2026
2. Will County Civil War Memorial
In the background is the top of the new Will County Courthouse, which opened in 2020 and is about a half-block west of here.
It could not be immediately determined whether this memorial has been moved from its original spot. Based on the outline of the 1887-1969 courthouse that used to be embedded into the plaza here (it seems to have been repaved without the outline in 2025 or 2026) as well as historical photographs, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that this memorial has stayed at the same exact spot for 140 years, although photos of the 1969 courthouse's construction make it seem like it may have been temporarily moved. All of that being said, at the very least the memorial was lifted sometime after 1969 to embed the old courthouse cornerstone to its base.
Due to the site's ongoing evolution, the memorial, when visited in June of 2026, was positioned somewhat oddly in the context of its surroundings. The front faced east directly into some trees, which made it quite hard to get a straight-ahead look of the front; it likely
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, June 27, 2026
3. Will County Civil War Memorial
Pictured are two of the three statues on the memorial. This south-facing side of the obelisk features the names of two major Civil War battles, Gettysburg and Nashville.
Regarding Will County Civil War Memorial. About 3,700 men from Will County, representing about one-eighth of the county's population in the 1860 census, are believed to have served in the Civil War.
The county's most notable regiment was the 100th Illinois Infantry, composed almost entirely of men from Will County who enlisted in 1862 after Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteer troops. The 100th participated in several major battles, including Stones River and Missionary Ridge (Chattanooga). Their commander, Col. Frederick A. Bartleson, lost an arm at Shiloh before he was selected to lead this regiment. He was killed in 1864 at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. He later was the namesake of Joliet's Grand Army of the Republic post.
Also see . . .
1. In Civil War, Will County was well represented. From the Chicago Tribune.
Excerpt:(Submitted on June 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)"Nearly 3,700 men of the 29,000 people who lived in the county when the war began in 1861 eventually saw action, according to Will County Associate Circuit Court Judge Daniel Rozak, a Civil War buff. After an 1862 battle devastated the Union troops, President Abraham Lincoln called for 300,000 volunteers. In the summer of that year, the 100th Illinois Volunteer regiment was formed in Will County with about 1,000 soldiers, including a few dozen from Grundy County and from the Orland and Palos Township areas of Cook County."Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, June 27, 20264. Will County Civil War MemorialA northwest-facing view of the memorial.
2. National Register of Historic Places registration form: Will County Courthouse. The Will County Civil War Memorial was considered a contributing resource in the 2023 registration form for the county's fourth courthouse. The brutalist-style courthouse, replaced in 2020 by a new building across the street, was ultimately torn down in 2024 despite the efforts of preservationists. The building's site is, as of the summer of 2026, a grass lot. (Submitted on June 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, June 27, 2026
5. Will County Civil War Memorial
In the foreground is a plaque related to Nelson Elwood, a Joliet man who was one of the founders the Rock Island and La Salle railroad line.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 15 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
