Illinois National Guard, 7th Infantry. Photographs, circa 1900 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

This collection consists of two photographs of members of the Illinois National Guard 7th Infantry. The photographs are undated but were likely taken around 1900.

The Illinois National Guard 7th Infantry, sometimes referred to as the “Fighting Seventh,” operated out of the Seventh Regiment Armory Building in Chicago. This regiment was mustered in on June 21st of 1893. This unit was called upon to assist with the Pullman Strike of 1894. The regiment was mustered into the United States military in May of 1898 due to the Spanish-American War with some members serving in the Philippines.

This collection contains two black and white photographs of the Illinois National Guard 7th Infantry. One photograph shows eight men posed in three rows, dressed in military regalia. This portrait is mounted on a board inscribed for photographer C. Waterman, with a Chicago address of 54th St. and Jackson Ave. The other photograph shows thirty-seven officers, one chaplain, and two others. The officers are in dress uniform. On the reverse side of the photograph “Frank W. McGuigan (ft. row, 3rd from left)” is written.

The photograph of the eight men was acquired by the Library sometime in the mid to late twentieth century. The photograph of the thirty-seven officers was gifted to the Library by Mrs. John T. Flanagan sometime in the twentieth century.

Flanagan also gifted other items relating to the Illinois National Guard. These items can be found in MS 418 IHLC Collection of Illinois and U.S. History Broadsides and Printed Ephemera in Folder 165.