Terry, I second Jerry's suggestion and will add a couple others from my own research into Illinois Civil War soldiers. You will want to go to the Missouri State Archives, as they will likely have the administrative files on the regiment, which will contain correspondence of a more, you guessed it, administrative angle. They will provide you with orders and other communications between the regimental staff and higher HQ.
In addition, go to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and head to their manuscript collection, as they may have personal letters for the unit (also check out the Missouri equivalent of the state historical library, as it will have personal letters from soldiers in the unit). Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis may have something, but I am not sure. Finally, go to the Library of Congress, as they have an extensive manuscript collection and may have letters from soldiers in the unit in their collections. As Jerry suggested, you will want to order the service record of the Col. from the National Archives, but be prepared to pay a high price, as they just raised their rates. The Archives may also contain what are known as Order Books for the regiment, which will contain the orders issued by the senior officers and NCO's of the regiment. Check out all of these sources and you will potentially have a gold mine of primary sources for your research. Good Luck.
Daniel
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