Augustus Louis Chetlain (December 26, 1824 – March 15, 1914) was a United States Army soldier who was the first man in Illinois to volunteer at the outbreak of the American Civil War.

[3] On April 16, he was part of a meeting held in Galena to raise a volunteer company and, with Ulysses S. Grant, was prominent in its creation.

[4] On April 6, 1862, Chetlain led his regiment with distinction during the Battle of Shiloh in which he lost about a quarter of his men,[4] and he was wounded when his face and his chest were seriously bruised.

[7] Chetlain was then given command of Corinth, Mississippi, where he began to organize and train black soldiers for Union Army service.

On the advice of Grant, Chetlain was given the task of raising black troops in Tennessee and in Kentucky, with his headquarters located in Memphis.

[5] His wartime performance has been described as follows: Gen. Chetlain throughout his varied army career had military ardor, and a love for the profession of arms.

He proved himself a brave commander in action, a successful organizer, an excellent disciplinarian and tactician, and possessed a high order of administrative ability.