'Will County Regiment' Civil War Flag on Display at Joliet Museum

• Photos courtesy of the Joliet Area Historical Museum. People wait in line to take a look at the "Will County Regiment" flag at the museum.

Joliet, IL — History buffs and fans of cool stuff in general can take a look at a little slice of Will County Civil War memorabilia at the Joliet Area Historical Museum.
Hanging on the wall of museum, enclosed behind glass, is a Civil War flag from the 100th Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the Will County regiment.

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The flag had previously been in the Illinois State Military Museum before Joliet Area Historical Museum board member Robert Kuzma began his efforts to bring the flag back to Will County.

It would take $25,000 and hundreds of hours of work before it was ready.

Alex Dixon, textile conservator at the ISMM, said between 250 and 270 hours were spent cleaning the flag.

“It’s a basic process of lifting up as much of that surface dirt as possible. We have a special vacuum we use,” Dixon said. “We use what is essentially a cosmetic sponge to lightly dab the flag to bring up a whole bunch of the dirt.”

A “really, really” tightly wound Q-tip was used for the flag’s golden fringe.

After the dirt is cleaned, the next goal becomes rehydrating the flag.

“These flags are made of silk, and they’ve been sitting in an environment where they haven’t been properly cared for for quite some time,” he said. “They’re really brittle. We have a special spray canister that puts a really fine mist on the flag and that starts to relax it.”

A “preservation pencil” is then used to put a humidifier on it.

“It’s going to help relax it even more,” Dixon said.

The ISMM has loaned 15 flags back to home communities. But the flags aren’t just loaners on display for a week or two. The receiving museums have those flags practically forever, unless they can’t take proper care of them anymore.

“Our intention is never to get those flags back as long as they’re being properly cared for,” Dixon said. “They deserve to be back home where the home communities can see them.”

JAHM Board Member Robert Kuzma is a self-proclaimed Civil War buff and said one of his goals when he got on the board was to bring the flag back to the museum.

“I wanted to do something to establish a little bit more recognition of our Civil War history here in Joliet and Will County,” Kuzma said.

The 100th Volunteer Infantry Regiment had the largest number of men from the area and was a likely candidate for the area’s Civil War heritage, Kuzma said.

The regiment left Joliet in September 1862 with 907 officers and enlisted men, according to Kuzma.

“All but maybe 100 or so were from Will County,” Kuzma said. “The 100 that didn’t come from Will County were from southwest Cook County.”

With a population of only 29,264, Will County supplied 3,696 volunteers to the war effort — more than 65 percent of the 5,310 able-bodied men of military age, 18-45 years, according to the JAHM. They attached themselves to almost every military organization mustered in Illinois as well as regiments in Michigan, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas, and in other special services. Only one of Will County’s citizens held strong enough sympathies for the South to enlist in the Confederate ranks.

Will County boys fought in nearly every battle and skirmish in the South from April 12, 1861 to Kirby Smith’s surrender on May 26, 1865. At least 500 hundred of Will County’s own never returned. Unfortunately, many died in military prisons, including 28 men who succumbed to the horrors and inhumane conditions at Andersonville, Georgia.

Kuzma told the museum he would take on responsibility for raising funds for the project, which he started doing in 2012. Joliet Township then pitched in $20,000 and Kuzma raised the other $5,000 through various fundraising efforts.

The flag has been on display for just a few days and so far the reaction has been a positive one.
One woman had tears of joy in her eyes to see a photo of a great-great-great relative on display. The flag is actually just part of a larger exhibit on local involvement in the war. Will County was involved in several different Civil War regiments.

“It’s definitely very moving. People have really enjoyed it,” said JAHM Collections & Exhibits Manager Heather Bigeck. “We hope they keep coming in to see it.”