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Illinois and the Civil War (1861-1865)
Illinois (1861-1865), part 2
The first resolution declared "That the war having been di-
verted from its first avowed
object to that of subjugation and
the abolition of slavery, a fraud, both legal and moral, had been
perpetrated upon
the brave sons of Illinois, who have so nobly-
gone forth to battle for the constitution and laws."
The second
resolution declared "That we believe the further
prosecution of the present war cannot result in the restoration
of
the Union and the preservation of the constitution as our
fathers made it, unless the president's emancipation proclama-
tion be withdrawn."
The third resolution declared "That we are unalterably op-
posed to a severance of the
Union."
The fourth favored assembling a national convention "to so
adjust our national difficulties, that the
states may hereafter
live together in harmony."
The fifth memorialized Congress, the administration at Wash-
ington,
and the executives and legislatures of the several states
"to take such immediate action as shall secure an armistice,
in
which the rights and safety of the government shall be fully
protected, for such length of time as may be necessary
to enable
the people to meet in convention as aforesaid."
The sixth provided for appointing commissioners to confer
with Congress and otherwise aid in securing the above results,
as follows: Stephen T. Logan, Samuel S. Marshall, H.
K. S.
Omelveny, William C. Goudy, Anthony Thornton and John D.
Caton, all of them, except the first named, being in
sympathy
with the sentiments expressed in the resolutions.
These resolutions absorbed the entire attention of
the members
of the house to the exclusion of all regular business until Feb. 12,
when they were adopted by a vote
of 52 to 28.
One of the first of the few laws passed at this session was that
appropriating $10,000 for the relief
of Illinois volunteers wounded
at Vicksburg and Murfreesboro. The commissioners appointed
by the legislature —
Lewis D. Erwin, William W. Anderson, and
Ezekiel Boyden — distributed the amount where most needed,
faithfully
and efficiently. But those reached by this appropria-
tion were but a few of the many needing like assistance. Ac-
cordingly,
Gov. Yates made a most eloquent appeal in a special
message to the legislature on Feb. 2 for further aid, and urged
the
appointment of a state agent for this purpose. General
appropriation bills were introduced in both houses. In the
senate
bill, numbered 202, was contained among other items an
appropriation of 10,000 as a governor's contingent fund, and
one
of $50,000 to be partly disbursed in aid of sick and wounded
soldiers. Another bill, numbered 203, contained the same
provisions except these items. On the last day of the session,
Feb. 14, these appropriation bills were called up in
the house,
together with a house bill "to provide for certain expenses not
otherwise provided for by law," which was
passed. Senate bill
No. 203 was then taken up and also passed, but in some unex-
plained or unknown way, either by
accident or design, bill No.
202 was substituted in the senate and the same was sent to the
governor for his signature.
Owing to these facts the question
of the validity of the act was brought before the supreme court,
which decided that
it had not been legally passed and was
therefore null and void. The proposed law to allow the soldiers
to vote was
defeated and nearly all the war measures passed by
the legislature of 1861, including "an act to prepare the state of
Illinois to protect its own territory against invasion and render
efficient and prompt assistance to the United States
if demanded,"
were repealed.
The effect of the passage of the pacific resolutions upon the
people of the state
and the soldiers in the field became apparent
before the legislature adjourned, and was still more palpable
thereafter.
Meetings were held in various portions of the state
in which men of all classes united in denouncing the action of
the
legislature in strong terms. As a specimen of the resolu-
tions adopted, the following by the Douglas club at Vienna,
may be given: "Resolved, that as citizens of Illinois and as
Democrats, we are in favor of the continued and vigorous
prose-
cution of the war until the supremacy of the constitution is
acknowledged in every state in the Union. That
we are in
favor of the administration using every constitutional means
for the purpose of crushing the rebellion and
restoring the Union.
That the errors of the administration, while they should not
be adopted by the people, form no
excuse for any loyal citizen
to withhold his support from the government. We are inflex-
ibly opposed to the secession
heresy of a northwestern confed-
eracy, and will resist it with our lives, our fortunes, and our
sacred honor."
At
a Union meeting at Alton, Feb. 13, resolutions of a more
radical tendency were adopted, as follows: "That we approve
the
president's proclamation, and will maintain it against its
northern defamers, who predict failure because the wish is
father to the thought. That the efforts made by the heretofore
disguised but now open enemies of the country, to call
a con-
vention at Louisville, Ky., for rebels north to treat with rebels
south, be spurned by all honest men, as those
of the vilest
and most treasonable enemy."
Illinois regiments, wherever situated, were called together
and
expressed themselves, either through their officers or by
the combined action of officers and men, and the papers of the
state were flooded with their resolutions, a few quotations from
which are here given. "Resolved, that the 62nd III.
infantry-
will follow the flag that waved over the battles of our fathers,
wherever it may go, whether it be in the
many fields of the South,
or against the miscreants, vile and perjured abettors of the North ;
and for the honor of
that banner we pledge our lives, our prop-
erty, and our sacred honor." Co. D, 16th III. infantry, adopted
the following:
"Resolved, that we view with abhorrence the
conduct of those holding office in our county and district, who,
by their
speeches, writings, votes and influence, are endeavor-
ing to force a degrading peace policy upon the government, and
that we see nothing in the present situation of affairs to indicate
the necessity of an armistice, and that we regard
the proposition
to enter into such an arrangement as in the highest degree
treacherous, dishonorable and cowardly."
Gen. John A. Logan, in an address to the 17th army corps
in Feb., 1863, alluded thus to the "falsification of
public senti-
ment at home:" "I am aware that influences of the most trea-
sonable and discouraging character, well
calculated and designed
to render you dissatisfied, have recently been brought to bear
upon some of you by professed
friends. Newspapers contain-
ing treasonable articles, artfully falsifying public sentiment
at your homes, have been
circulated in your camps. Intriguing
political tricksters, demagogues, and time-servers, whose cor-
rupt deeds are
but a faint reflex of their corrupt hearts, seem
determined to drive our people on to anarchy and destruction.
They
have hoped, by magnifying the reverses of our army,
basely misrepresenting the conduct of our soldiers in the field,
and
boldly denouncing the acts of the constituted authorities
of the government as unconstitutional usurpation, to produce
general demoralization in the army, and thereby reap their
reward, weaken the cause we have espoused, and aid those
arch-
traitors of the South to dismember our mighty republic and
trail in the dust the emblem of our national unity,
greatness
and glory." Letters equally condemnatory of the armistice-
convention policy were written by Gens. McClernand,
Haynie,
Brayman, Carlin and many other Democratic officers from Illi-
nois.
On June 1, 1863, Gen. Burnside,
commanding the Department
of the Ohio, issued an order suppressing the publication of the
Chicago Times, and Brig.-Gen.
Jacob Ammen, commanding
the district of Illinois, was charged with the execution of the
order. Gen. Ammen having directed
Capt. Putnam, command-
ing at Camp Douglas, Chicago, to carry the forementioned order
into effect, the latter warned
the publishers of the Times on the
night of the 2nd, against issuing their paper the next morning,
tinder penalty
of the seizure of their establishment by the mili-
tary. The publishers thereupon applied to Judge Drummond
of the
United States circuit court, for a writ enjoining Capt.
Putnam from any interference with their business or property,
and after midnight a writ was issued by Judge Drummond,
directing the captain to take no further steps to execute
the
order until the application for a permanent writ could be heard
that day in open court. A file of soldiers, nevertheless,
took
possession of the establishment and after remaining for some
time left, but before leaving they again warned
the owners against
issuing their paper. At the opening of the court on the morn-
ing of June 3, the counsel of the
publishers made a motion to
defer proceedings on the application for an injunction until
notice of the application
could be given to the military com-
mandant at Camp Douglas. Judge Drummond, in granting
the motion, said:
"I
may be pardoned for saying that, personally and officially,
I desire to give every aid and assistance in my power to the
government and to the administration in restoring the Union,
but I have always wished to treat the government as a
govern-
ment of law and a government of the Constitution, and not a
government of mere physical force. I personally
have con-
tended, and shall always contend, for the right of free discussion
and the right of commenting, under the
law and under the Con-
stitution, upon the acts of the officers of the government."
In the meantime, news of the
proceedings of the military
authorities had reached Springfield, where the state legislature
had again convened in
special session on June 2, pursuant to an
order adopted at the close of its last regular session. On the
3d, the following
preamble and resolutions were introduced in
the house of representatives, and after an exciting debate were
passed
— yeas 47, nays 13:
"Whereas information has reached this body that an order has
been issued by Gen. Burnside
for the suppression of the Chicago
Times; and whereas such order is in direct violation of the Con-
stitution of the
United States and of this state, and destructive
to those God-given principles whose existence and recognition
for
centuries before a written constitution was made, have made
them as much a part of our rights as the life which sustains
us:
"Be it resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring therein), That we denounce the order
which threatens
an act so revolutionary and despotic as contrary to liberty,
destructive of good government, and subversive
of constitutional
and natural rights, and that, if carried into effect, we consider
it equivalent to the overthrow
of our form of government, and
the establishment of a military despotism in its stead.
"Resolved, That, in view
of the monstrous consequences which
must inevitably flow from such action, if justified by the general
government,
we respectfully, yet firmly, request the withdrawal
of the order in question, and the disavowal thereof by those in
power,
as the only course which can be pursued to reassure our
people that constitutional freedom, so dear to their hearts, has
not ceased to be. The attention of the governor is called to
this infringement of popular rights, and the invasion
of the sov-
ereignty of the State of Illinois."
The office of the Chicago Times was the center of attraction
during
the whole of June 3, and at night a large concourse of
people gathered there, in accordance with a call which had been
issued in the forenoon of that day. This meeting, however,
soon adjourned to the Court House Square, where the people
were addressed by men of both parties. The speeches coun-
selled the observance of the laws, but denounced the above-
mentioned order of Gen. Burnside as arbitrary and despotic.
The following resolutions were reported and adopted:
"Twenty
thousand loyal citizens of Illinois, assembled this
evening to consult upon their interests, do resolve:
"1. That
law is the bulwark of liberty; the abrogation of law
is the death of liberty; the constitution guarantees the freedom
of speech and of the press and the right of the people peaceably
to assemble and to petition the government for the
redress of
grievances. An infringement of these rights is a blow at the
Constitution; an abrogation of these rights
is the overthrow of
the Constitution. He who seeks to abridge or destroy these
rights is a traitor to law and liberty.
The people of Illinois
will forever demand and insist upon these rights. They will
obey the laws themselves and insist
upon a like obedience by
all men. They will seek redress for grievances through the
forms of law and the tribunals
of justice. They will demand
and insist upon the trial by jury, of men not in the military or
naval service, who are
charged with crime; they will demand
and insist upon the right to speak and print their opinions of
men in power,
and the measures of those men; they will demand
and insist upon the judgment of the civil tribunals upon men
or newspapers
charged with the expression of 'disloyal and
incendiary sentiments.'
"2. The military power is and must remain
subordinate to
the civil power. Military, like civil functionaries, derive all
their powers from the law. So far as
they act under the law
they must be obeyed. When they exceed the law their orders
and decrees are void.
"3.
General Order No. 84, promulgated by Gen. Burnside,
by which the publication of the Chicago Times is declared to be
suppressed,
is without warrant of law and should, as we have an
abiding belief that it will, forthwith be rescinded by the president.
If the Times or any other public journal has exceeded the limits
of lawful discussion or criticism, the civil tribunals,
and they
alone, are the competent and lawful judges of its crime. To
the courts of law it appeals; let the courts
and the courts alone
decide its fate.
"4. The people of Illinois are devoted, with their lives and
their fortunes
to the glorious Union of the States under the Con-
stitution made by our fathers; they will sacrifice life and fortune
and all but liberty to preserve that Union; they will cordially
sustain the authorities in all honest and lawful efforts
to pre-
serve that Union; but they will not sacrifice their liberties,
though life and fortune go together. Peaceably,
soberly,
loyally, they will maintain their liberties, so long as they can
thus be maintained, but they will have them
at every hazard
by some means."
During the afternoon the militia were ordered under arms,
but nothing occurred
requiring their interposition and on the
evening of the next day (June 4) a despatch from Gen. Burnside
was received
by the editor, stating that by direction of the
president of the United States the order suppressing the cir-
culation
of the Times had been revoked. The office had been
in possession of a military force from early Wednesday morn-
ing
till Thursday evening.
The special session of the legislature in June attracted some
attention. Resolutions were
passed tendering the thanks of
the people of the state "to all the gallant sons of Illinois, who,
by their indomitable
bravery and noble daring (at Vicksburg),
have inscribed the name of Illinois high upon the roll of fame."
Bills were
introduced into both houses on the first day of the
session appropriating $100,000 for the relief of sick and wounded
soldiers, to be distributed by commissioners designated — John
T. Stuart, Charles H. Lanphier, and William A.
Turney — but
before they could be acted upon Gov. Yates adjourned the
legislature. A resolution for fixing a
day for final adjournment
had passed the senate and was sent to the house, where it was
amended by the insertion of
another day. In this amendment
the senate refused to concur. The governor then sent a message
to the lower house adjourning
the general assembly and the
supreme court afterwards sustained the legality of his action
in the premises.
During
the month of March, 1863, the first arrest was made
by the military authorities in Illinois, when Judge C. H. Con-
stable
was taken into custody while holding court in Coles
county, because of his release of four deserters and holding to
bail
for kidnapping the two Union officers who arrested them.
He was subsequently discharged after a hearing before U. S.
District
Judge Samuel H. Treat. Other arrests at Springfield
followed of persons alleged to be in sympathy with the rebel-
lion
or in treasonable correspondence with its agents, among
those arrested being W. H. Carlin, a former member of the
legislature.
Before the final dispersion of the legislature there was held
at Springfield on June 17, 1863, in pursuance of
a call issued
by the Democratic state central committee, a mass convention
of those opposed to the administration,
which in numbers —
estimated at 40,000 — respectability, enthusiasm, and unanimity
of views and purpose,
was perhaps the most remarkable gather-
ing of its kind ever held in the state. The resolutions adopted
declared in
favor of the supremacy of the constitution of the
United States in times of war as well as in peace; arraigned the
administration
for violating the bill of rights; condemned the
arrest and banishment of C. L. Vallandigham, demanding his
restoration;
denounced the arrest of Judge Constable and W. H.
Carlin; condemned the suppression of the Chicago Times; fa-
vored
the freedom of elections; affirmed the doctrine of state
sovereignty; opposed martial law; and stigmatized the late
proroguing
of the legislature by Gov. Yates as an act of usurpa-
tion. The twenty-third resolution was as follows: "Resolved,
that
the further offensive prosecution of this war tends to sub-
vert the constitution and the government and entail upon this
Nation all the disastrous consequences of misrule and anarchy.
That we are in favor of peace upon the basis of a restoration
of the Union, and for the accomplishment of which we propose
a national convention to settle upon terms of peace,
which shall
have in view the restoration of the Union as it was, and the
securing, by constitutional amendments, such
rights to the
several states and the people thereof as honor and justice de-
mand." The twenty-fourth resolution denied
that the Demo-
cratic party was wanting in sympathy for the soldiers in the
field, and earnestly requested "the president
of the United
States to withdraw the proclamation of emancipation and per-
mit the brave sons of Illinois to fight
only for the Union, the
constitution, and the enforcement of the laws." As an evidence
of the sincerity of their declarations
in favor of the soldiers, they
raised at the meeting by subscription and pledges $47,000 to
be used in aid of the
sick and wounded Illinois volunteers. Col.
W. R. Morrison being appointed to superintend its distribu-
tion.
On
Sept. 3, a Union mass meeting was held in Springfield,
attended by an immense concourse of people from all portions of
the
state and representing all shades of political opinion opposed
to a peace policy. Speeches were made from live different
stands by Senator Henry S. Lane of Indiana, Judge J. R. Doo-
little of Wisconsin, Senator Zachary Chandler of Michigan,
and
Gov, Yates, Gens. John A. McClemand, Haynie and Prentiss,
and many others from Illinois. The letter from President
Lin-
coln to Hon. James C. Conkling, defending the emancipation
proclamation, which has since been so often referred
to, was
first made public at that meeting. The assemblage was regarded
as a highly successful demonstration, full
of encouragement to
the soldiers and the cause of the Union.
To every call made by the government for troops,
Illinois
had "promptly and patriotically responded" beyond the quota
required. With one exception (Iowa) of all the
states of the
Union, prior to Feb. 1, 1864, she presented the proud record of
having escaped a draft. By Feb. 1, forty-four
of the seventy-
one regiments first organized had reenlisted as veterans. Be-
tween Oct. 1, 1863, and July 1, 1864,
the enlistments in the state,
including 16,186 reenlisted volunteers, amounted to 37,092,
making a total up to the
latter date of 181,178 troops furnished
by Illinois. This number, however, did not include the 11,328
volunteers embraced
in the thirteen regiments of one hundred
days men, who were neither allowed bounties nor credited against
a draft.
These regiments, excepting the 144th, which enlisted
for one year, numbered from 132 to 145 inclusive, and were
raised
at the suggestion of Gov. Yates, in connection with Govs.
Morton, Brough and Stone, who raised a similar force in their
respective states, to serve in fortifications, thus releasing an
equal number of regular troops for more important
duty in
the field. The order for their enlistment was issued from the
adjutant-general's office, April 26,1864, and
they were mustered
into the U. S. service between May 31 and June 21 — the camps
of rendezvous being at Chicago,
Springfield, Ottawa, Mattoon,
Centralia, Dixon, Joliet, Quincy and Peoria — and departed for
the field during
the month of June. They performed "indis-
pensable and invaluable" services in Kentucky, Tennessee and
Missouri.
A
disturbance took place in Coles county on March 28, 1864,
which was attended with the loss of five or six lives, and caused
for a short time much excitement in that portion of the state.
It appears to have originated in dissensions between
citizens
and soldiers in Charleston, and occurred on a day when there
was an imusually large assemblage of people
from the country
in the town. Sixteen citizens were arrested by the military
authorities upon various charges, but
after investigating the
affair President Lincoln ordered the discharge of all of them,
excepting 4 who had been indicted
by the civil authorities, and
they were turned over to the courts of Coles county for trial.
The quota of the
state for troops under all the calls of President
Lincoln prior to Dec. 1, 1864, was 197,360. Prior to Oct. 17,
1863,
the state had furnished and been credited with 125,321
men, which was a surplus at that time of 8,151. By an adjust-
ment
of credits at that time the state gained an additional credit
of 10,947 men, and a balance was due the government on Dec.
1, 1864, of 100, which deficit was more than balanced by enlist-
ments during the month of December. Of the entire
quota,
197,360 men, the state furnished 194,198 volunteers and 3,062
drafted men, organized as follows: 138 regiments
and 1 battalion
of infantry; 17 regiments of cavalry; 2 regiments and 8 batteries
of artillery. In addition to
the above the state furnished 13
regiments and 2 companies of hundred-day volunteers, amount-
ing to 11,323. Five
of these regiments, after their term of en-
gagement expired, extended it and marched into Missouri to
the aid of
Gen. Rosecrans. The whole amount expended by
the state through the army auditor's office up to Dec. 1, 1864, was
$3,812,525,
which was subsequently adjusted and refunded by
the general government. Under the last call of the president
for troops,
issued on Dec. 19, 1864, for 300,000 men, Illinois had
furnished 18,500 men before March 6, 1865, and recruiting was
progressing
favorably when on April 13 it was brought to an
abrupt close by order of the secretary of war. The surrender
of Lee
at Appomattox on April 9; of Johnston on April 26; and
of Jones, Thompson and Kirby Smith, all in the same month,
by
which over 100,000 combatants had laid down their arms,
brought the great war of the rebellion to a successful termination.
As regards the losses among the Illinois troops, the compu-
tation being made on the basis
of the whole number of men
furnished by the state, one in 20 was killed in battle or died of
wounds; one in 11.2 died
of disease; and one out of every 7.3
died from all causes while in the service. The part which Illi-
nois took in
the war of the rebellion was no less patriotic than
glorious. As has already been shown, in the enlistment of vol-
unteers
the state was nearly always in advance of the quota
allotted to her by the general government. No draft was found
necessary
in 1863; only 3,538 had to be secured by the compul-
sory process in 1864; and but 55 citizens purchased exemption
by
commutation, a smaller number than in any other state
except Iowa and Kansas. The United States account credits
the
state with 157 infantry regiments, which includes the first
six, mustered out in July, 1861, and reenlisted. Reducing
the
aggregate to a three years' standard, the number of men furnished
by the state, according to the Federal statement,
was 214,133.
A table of volunteers from the different states places Illinois in
the proud position of having furnished
a greater number, in
proportion to the population of 1860, than any other state in
the Union except Kansas, which
being a new state had a pre-
ponderance of male inhabitants of military age.
Nearly all the Illinois regiments
were employed in the South
and Southwest. Wherever the heaviest fighting was to be done,
there were found the brave
men from the Prairie State — the
first in the deadly charge and the last to retreat or surrender.
The first
battle in which any considerable number of Illinois
troops were engaged was that of Belmont, Mo., Nov. 7, 1861,
under
Gen. Grant. All the troops there engaged were from
Illinois except the 7th Iowa. Gen. John A. McClernand com-
manded
a brigade, as did Col. Henry Dougherty of the 22nd
regiment, who was severely wounded and captured. At the
battle
of Fort Donelson, the first signal success of the war, the
commander-in-chief was Gen. Grant; Gen. McClernand com-
manded
the first division; seven commanders of brigades,
namely: Cols. W. H. L. Wallace, Richard J. Olgesby, William R.
Morrison,
Leonard F. Ross, John McArthur, John Cook and
Isham N. Haynie; and Chief-of-staff, Col. J. D. Webster, were
from Illinois,
as were also nineteen of the thirty-six infantry
regiments, four batteries, one regiment and four companies of
cavalry,
and Birge's sharpshooters. Of the six regiments which
sustained the greatest losses in killed and wounded, five were
from
the same state, and Lieut.-Cols. William Irwin of the 20th,
and John H. White of the 31st Ill. were killed while bravely
leading their men.
Then came the news from the wilds of Arkansas where the
troops from Illinois had been gloriously
engaged in the hotly-
contested battle of Pea Ridge, where Col. Eugene A. Carr com-
manded a division, and Cols. Julius
White and Nicholas Greusel,
all from Illinois, brigades. In the sanguinary and stubborn
conflict of Shiloh the commander-in-chief,
and four of the five
division commanders on the first day, when the greatest losses
were sustained, namely, Gens.
McClernand, W. H. L. Wallace
(mortally wounded), Stephen A. Hurlbut and Benjamin M. Pren-
tiss (captured); and nine
commanders of brigades, namely, Brig.-
Gen. John McArthur, Cols. C. C. Marsh, Julius Raith (mortally
wounded), Edward
N. Kirk (wounded), Thomas W. Sweeney
(wounded), David Stewart (wounded), Isaac C. Pugh, Silas D.
Baldwin, and Lieut.-Col.
Enos P. Wood, were from Illinois;
also twenty-seven of the sixty-five infantry regiments, 10 bat-
teries and portions
of the 2d, 4th and 11th cavalry. Of the
fourteen regiments which suffered the most, eight were from the
same state,
and the losses of other Illinois regiments which par-
ticipated in the fiery struggle, though not so large, were severe.
The 34th Ill. of Buell's army, took part in the second day's
battle and met with a loss of 15 killed and 112 wounded.
The
battle of Corinth, Oct. 3 and 4, 1862, though not so large in the
numbers engaged, was nearly equal in destructive
results with
those of the most sanguinary. Six of the commanders of bri-
gades, namely, Gens. Oglesby (severely wounded),
McArthur
(wounded), and Buford; Cols. Sweeney, Mersy, and Baldwin
(wounded), belonged to Illinois, as did ten out
of the forty-
four infantry regiments engaged. The losses sustained by
these troops were heavy. The 7th and 9th Ill.
cavalry were
also engaged in this battle, meeting with a total loss of 14.
In the battle of Perryville, Ky., Cols.
William P. Carlin and
Nicholas Greusel commanded brigades. Nine Illinois regiments
were actively engaged and generally
sustained heavy losses.
At the battle of Stone's river, Gen. John M. Palmer was in com-
mand of a division; Gens.
Edward N. Kirk (mortally wounded),
James D. Morgan and Cols. William P. Carlin, P. Sidney Post,
Nicholas Greusel,
and George W. Roberts (killed) were in com-
mand of brigades. In this action twenty-four regiments were
from Illinois,
nearly one-fourth of the army, and of the seventeen
regiments whose casualty lists were the largest, six were from
this
state. At the two days' bloody conflict of Chickamauga,
Illinois was represented by two commanders of divisions, namely,
Maj.-Gen. John M. Palmer and Brig.-Gen. James D. Morgan;
seven commanders of brigades, namely. Gens. John B. Turchin,
William P. Carlin, and Cols. P. Sydney Post, Silas Miller, Robert
F. Smith, Luther P. Bradley (wounded), and Nathan
H. Wal-
worth. Among the staff-officers was Maj. John C. Smith of
the 96th Ill., since lieutenant-governor of the
state, serving
with Gen. James B. Steedman. Of the twenty regiments which
met with the greatest loss, five of them
were from Illinois, and
the losses of the other Illinois regiments engaged were nearly
all severe. At the battle of
Missionary ridge. Gen. John M.
Palmer commanded the 14th corps, Gen. John E. Smith a divi-
sion, and Gens. Morgan,
Turchin, Carlin, Giles A. Smith, and
Cols. Hecker, Loomis, Silas Miller, Francis T. Sherman, Wal-
worth, Raum and
Tupper, brigades. Thirty-eight Illinois reg-
iments were engaged, six of which were among the heaviest
losers.
In
all these statements of casualties, at this time it must be
remembered that nearly every regiment had become much
depleted
in numbers in consequence of former losses. For
instance, in the reports of the battle of Missionary ridge, it ap-
pears
that the 19th had only 195 officers and men; the 25th, 260;
the 59th, 286; the 75th, 266; the 84th, 305; and the 96th,
272.
The other Illinois regiments, all hotly engaged in achieving this
great victory or in its attending conflicts,
met with serious
losses. In the various engagements during the decisive cam-
paign of Gen. Grant against Vicksburg,
Gen. McClernand com-
manded a corps. Gens. John A. Logan and Eugene A. Carr, div-
isions, and Gens. Lawler, John E.
Smith, McArthur, William
W. Orme, Elias S. Dennis, and Cols. Loomis, Hicks, Pugh, Cyrus
Hall, A. K. Johnson, A. Engleman,
Raum, Putnam, D. Stuart
and W. W. Sanford, brigades. It must be remembered, how-
ever, that the killed and wounded
in any given contest, or as
relating to any given regiment, is not always to be relied upon
as evidence of its superior
bravery or efficiency. The losses
may have resulted from the bad handling by incompetent or
rash commanders, unnecessarily
exposing their commands, or
failing to retire in time from untenable positions. Other regi-
ments by reason of having
been detailed to guard posts or rail-
road lines, or placed on other detached service where they ren-
dered efficient
and important aid to the cause, oftentimes had
not the opportunity of showing what they could do in a regular
pitched
battle.
Many subordinate, field, staff and line officers, in addition
to those already mentioned, fell gallantly
upon the field of bat-
tle The 9th infantry lost the most men killed in action of any
Illinois regiment. It lost at
the battle of Fort Donelson, 36
killed, 165 wounded, and 9 missing, a total of 210. The regi-
ment lost at Shiloh,
61 killed, 300 wounded and 5 missing, a
total of 366. This regiment was commanded most of the time
by Cols. August
Mersy and Jesse J. Phillips, who at different
times, also commanded brigades or divisions and were frequently
wounded,
but although confessedly among the most gallant
officers of the service were never promoted brigadier-generals.
The
following organizations served in the departments of the
East, namely, the 23d, 39th, and 82nd infantry, and the 8th and
12th cavalry. The 8th suffered the heaviest loss in killed and
wounded of any Illinois cavalry regiment. From its
ranks
came the gallant Elon J, Farnsworth whose commission as a
brigadier-general bore the date of his heroic death
at Gettys-
burg. Perhaps the most damaging to the enemy and effective
to the Union cause of the cavalry raids was
that commanded
by Gen. Grierson of Illinois through the entire state of Mississippi
and part of Louisiana, during
the Vicksburg campaign, per-
formed solely by Illinois regiments, namely, the 6th and 7th
cavalry. Col. Dudley Wickersham
of the 10th, performed dis-
tinguished services in Missouri and Arkansas in command of a
brigade, and as commander
of Fayetteville. Col. Benjamin F.
Marsh, Jr., commanded the 2nd cavalry after its consolidation
in 1864, and rendered
conspicuous service. Gen. John L. Bev-
eridge served at first as a major in the 8th cavalry, but was
subsequently
transferred to and commissioned colonel of the
17th.
The splendid record made by the volunteers from Illinois
could
not have been accomplished, however, but for their gallant and
able leadership. The state gave to the nation
and the world
not only the illustrious Lincoln, but the great commander-in-
chief, Gen. Grant, who led her armed hosts
to final victory.
Eleven other major-generals of volunteers were credited to
Illinois, namely: John Pope, John A.
McClernand, Stephen A.
Hurlbut, Benjamin M. Prentiss, John M. Palmer, Richard J.
Oglesby, John A. Logan, John M. Schofield,
Napoleon B. Buford,
Wesley Merritt, Benjamin H. Grierson and Giles A. Smith.
Twenty of those who started out as commanders
of regiments
were promoted to brevet major-generalship; 53 — excluding
those named above — rose to be
brigadier-generals, and 120
attained the rank of brevet brigadier-generals. The state was
equally well served by the
staff officers and aides-de-camp ap-
pointed therefrom, headed by the brave and efficient Gen. John
A. Rawlins.
And
a large measure of the splendid record made by the state
is due to the unfaltering support the soldiers received from
the
loyal people at home. As soon as news had been received of
the engagement at Fort Donelson, the governor and state
officers
visited the battle-field, not only for the purpose of rejoicing with
the brave volunteers over the first
great victory of the Union
arms, but also, and chiefly, to look after and care for the sick
and wounded. Following
close upon the victory at Fort Donel-
son, came the sanguinary battle of Shiloh, with its appalling
list of 8,408
wounded Union soldiers, beside the multitude of
Confederates left helpless upon the field. The army hospitals
were
overcrowded, and in pursuance of the recommendation
of Gov. Yates, hospitals were established at Springfield, Peoria,
and Quincy.
Within twenty-four hours after the guns of Shiloh had ceased
to reverberate among the mountains
of Tennessee, Gov. Yates
had chartered from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad
a steamboat commanded by
Col. Charles Goodrich Hammond,
and was on his way to the scene of carnage with surgeons, nurses
and all necessary
medico-surgical appliances and supplies. The
governor's coming was most opportune and was hailed by the
suffering
soldiers and their friends with unspeakable satisfaction.
In a few hours the boat was laden with about 300 of the most
severely wounded and started on its homeward way. As soon
as its precious human cargo had been disposed of in Illinois
hos-
pitals, Adj't-Gen. Fuller was despatched with the same boat
for another load to be cared for in a like manner.
Two other
similar and equally successful expeditions followed and the num-
ber of wounded soldiers thus brought to
northern hospitals,
within the reach of friends and home exceeded 1,000. Gov.
Yates had said, "We must not let our
brave boys think that
they are forgotten, but follow them in their many marches,
with such things as they need for
their comfort, which the gov-
ernment can not supply, and with messages of love and encour-
agement from home, wherever
they go and at whatever cost."
To carry out this purpose involved the outlay of immense sums
and the labor of many
patriotic hands. In order that the work
might be properly systematized and intelligently directed, the
governor determined
to establish a state sanitary bureau and
appointed as its chief Col. John Williams, state commissary-
general. A board
of directors was appointed, consisting of Col.
John Williams, William Butler, John P. Reynolds, Robert Irwin,
and
E. B. Hawley, with Col. John R. Woods as secretary. State
agents for the purpose of dispensing relief and distributing
supplies were appointed as follows: C. T. Chase and Capt. C. W.
Webster at Cairo; J. C. McCoy and A. A. Dunseth at
Louisville;
Col. Thomas P. Robb at Memphis; Edward I. Eno at Nashville;
Dr. J. Weeks and M. E. Worrall at Chattanooga;
E. C. Hackett
at Devall's Bluff; Maj. John H. Woods at St. Louis; and E.
Ransom in the home field.
So efficient
and popular had been the work of the officers,
that the legislature of 1865 passed a law authorizing the gover-
nor
to appoint "military state agents" and providing for their
compensation. Under this law, with the rank of colonel, were
appointed Walter D. B. Morrill, Selah W. King, Jackson M.
Sheets, Thomas P. Robb, B. F. Bumgardner, Harry D. Cook,
John H. Wickiser, Owen M. Long, M. D., and Newton Crawford,
all of whom performed arduous and efficient services.
Auxiliary
sanitary associations and soldiers aid-societies were formed,
and fairs held in aid of the work in nearly
every county in the
state, the citizens responding with great liberality to all of the
many calls made upon them.
The labors of the state commis-
sion were of incalculable value. Those incapacitated for serv-
ice were furloughed
or discharged and sent home to their fam-
ilies and friends. Their papers were properly made out and
their pay collected
and sent to them — over $300,000 passing
in this way through the hands of the commission. They were
lodged on
their way in soldiers' homes and were supplied with
meals, rations and clothing and furnished with transportation
when
able to travel. The Chicago branch of -the United States
sanitary commission was organized Oct. 17, 1861. Its principal
officers and self-sacrificing and indefatigable managers were
Isaac Newton Arnold, Mark Skinner, Ezra Butler McCagg,
William Hubbard Brown, Dr. Ralph N. Isham, E. W. Blatch-
ford, John W. Foster, James Ward, Cyrus Bentley, Benjamin
Wright Raymond, Ira G. Munn, Wesley Hunger, Jabex Kent
Botsford, James B. Bradwell, Charles Goodrich Hammond, and
Thomas Butler Bryan.
Soldiers' homes, relief associations and hospitals were estab-
lished and agents appointed.
Immense sums of money and
large quantities of supplies were collected, partly by direct con-
tribution and partly
through sanitary fairs and other agencies.
In this great work the women of the state were not found want-
ing, and
its success was in no small degree due to their unweary-
ing devotion and noble self-sacrifice. Among those prominently
identified with the movement in Chicago and who lent it inval-
uable aid were Mesdames Daniel P. Livermore, Abram
H. Hoge,
Henry Sayrs, Jeremiah Porter, Oliver E. Hosmer, Christopher C.
Webster, E. W. Blatchford, Myra Bradwell,
C. P. Dickinson,
and Misses Elizabeth Hawley, Elizabeth Blakie and Jeanie E.
McLaren. Through their efforts, in addition
to other work for
the commission, a female-nurse association was formed, the
object of which was to furnish to military
hospitals trained
nurses. In 1863 was also formed in Chicago, the Ladies relief
society to care for the families of
soldiers. It was managed
by Mesdames Abram H. Hoge, Edward I. Tinkham, C. A. Lamb
and Henry D. Smith. Another association
of the "stay-at-
homes" was the Christian commission, at the head of which
in Chicago were John V. Farwell, Tuthill
King, Benjamin F.
Jacobs, D wight L. Moody, Samuel P. Farrington, James L.
Reynolds, and Phineas L. Underwood. Through
this branch
$139,019 in cash, stores and publications were distributed. The
branch at Peoria distributed $54,863 and
that at Springfield
$33.756. In every county either branch associations were
formed or fairs were held, loyal men
and women gave from their
own home store-house the best they had, and all that could
be spared to minister to the
wants of their husbands, fathers,
sons, brothers and neighbors in the field.
The favorable influence of the press
can not be too strongly
emphasized, and many of those who have since become dis-
tinguished as editors and writers
gained their first laurels as
war correspondents of leading daily papers. Among those in
Illinois who attained a well-earned
reputation as being one of
the ablest was Joseph K. C. Forrest. He was a great friend of
Gov. Yates, who honored him
by appointing him a member of
his staff with the rank of colonel. He was the leading Spring-
field correspondent during
the war and when Yates was elected
U. S. senator followed him to Washington. He was an enter-
taining and brilliant
writer.
The universally conceded influence of song upon public senti-
ment first found recognition in the historic
saying of that cele-
brated Scottish patriot and politician, Andrew Fletcher of Sal-
toun, two centuries ago —
"Give me the making of the ballads
and I care not who makes the laws of a nation." In no single
direction, perhaps,
were the contributions of Illinoisans to the
success of the war more powerful and conspicuous than in that
of the
songs of the war furnished by two of her citizens. "The
Battle-Cry of Freedom," "Just Before the Battle, Mother,"
and
"Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching," were
composed by George F. Root. "Marching Through Georgia,"
"Kingdom
Coming," and "Brave Boys Are They," were the
inspired strains of Henry Clay Work, who at the time and for
many years
afterward was a resident of Chicago. The Century
Magazine relates that a Confederate general, a few days after
the
surrender of Lee, on hearing for the first time these and
other songs sung by a Union quartette, exclaimed: "Gentlemen,
if we'd had your songs, we'd have licked you out of your boots.
Who couldn't have marched or fought with such songs?"
An-
other one remarked: "I shall never forget the first time I heard
'Rally Round the Flag.' 'Twas a nasty night during
the 'Seven
Days' fight,' I was on picket, when just before taps, some fel-
low on the other side struck up that song
and others joined in
the chorus. Tom B. sung out, 'Good heavens, Cap., what are
those fellows made of? Here we've
licked them six days run-
ning, and now on the eve of the seventh they're singing 'Rally
Round the Flag." I tell you
that song sounded to me like the
'knell of doom' and my heart went down into my boots, and
it has been an up-hill
fight with me ever since that night."
And thus through these songs, simple in melody but powerful
in their appeal
to the patriotic soul, the voice of Illinois was
heard in every camp throughout the army; nor in these later
days,
when the angel of peace spreads her wings over a reunited
country has the echo of these songs died away. The inspired
strains of these cherished melodies will be heard as long as the
Union shall endure, as lasting as the ties which
now unite the
interests of the North and South.
Return to
Source: The Union Army, vol. 3
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