Files contain both original muster rolls of Illinois volunteers who served in the Black Hawk War and copies of muster rolls filed with the federal government. Copies of federal muster rolls were made pursuant to an 1881 act of the General Assembly which provided for the transcription of these records (L. 1881, p. 30). Original muster rolls are filed by brigade, while federal muster rolls are grouped by county. Entries on each muster roll include soldier's name, rank, date and length of enrollment, county of residence, amount of pay due, and number of traveling rations drawn. For mounted soldiers the rolls also give the value of arms and equipment issued and the value and description of horses issued. Files also contain a small amount of correspondence concerning men who served in the Black Hawk War and material relating to a reunion of these veterans in 1891.

A roster of soldiers who served in the Black Hawk War has been compiled and edited by Ellen M. Whitney, The Black Hawk War, 1831-1832: Illinois Volunteers in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, XXXV (Springfield, 1970).