Illinois in 1860 had become the fourth state in the Union in
population and wealth, and her advance in power and influence
in the councils of the nation had been no less extraordinary than
her local progress, no voice being more potent than that of the
Prairie State in shaping the governmental policy and directing
the course of empire. Each of the two great political parties
at the North had selected its standard-bearer in the presidential
campaign from the confines of this western commonwealth,
and her electoral vote was one of the prizes so strenuously con-
tested for in the canvass that followed the nominations. Al-
though in speaking of the country in general there were candi-
dates representing other phases of political opinion, in Illinois
they were but side issues and the great contest was between the
Republicans, and the Democracy as represented by Stephen A.
Douglas. And the contest in Illinois was really a continuation
and in some respects a repetition of the campaign of 1858, with
the same candidates in different relations. Douglas, the suc-
cessful aspirant in the senatorial race of two years previous, was
now the candidate of the Northern wing of the Democracy for
the presidency, while Lincoln, who had then been defeated for
senator, was brought to the front against the "Little Giant"
and made the candidate of the united Republicans of the entire
country for the higher office of president. No presidential
campaign had ever aroused the intense interest of the people
of the state as did this one; but only second in importance to
it, in the minds of the citizens, was the gubernatorial canvass.
Richard Yates for the Republicans and James C. Allen for the
Democrats were the opposing candidates for the gubernatorial
honors, and the campaign they waged was not only exceedingly
brilliant, but was also the most exciting that the people of the
state had experienced in many years. The result of the ballot-
ing showed a fair majority for Mr. Yates, and the general assem-
bly which was elected at the same time and which convened on
Jan. 7, 1861, was Republican in both branches — by 1 majority
in the senate and 7 in the house.

The day following the convening of the legislature the retiring 
governor, John Wood, delivered a message to the law-making
body in which he used the following language in regard to the
national difficulties then existing: "If grievances to any portion
of our Confederation have arisen within the Union, let them be
redressed within the Union. If unconstitutional laws, trench-
ing upon the guaranteed rights of any of our sister states, have
found place upon our statute books, let them be removed. If
prejudice and alienation towards any of our fellow-countrymen
have fastened upon our minds, let them be dismissed and for-
gotten. Let us be just to ourselves and each other, allowing
neither threats to drive us from what we deem to be our duty,
nor pride of opinion prevent us from correcting wherein we may
have erred." He recommended that, if Illinois had passed
any laws tending to obstruct the operation of Federal authority
or conflicting with the constitutional rights of others, they should
at once be repealed. Speaking not merely for himself, but
reflecting what he assumed to be the voice of the whole people
of Illinois, irrespective of party, as it reached him from all quar-
ters, he adopted the sentiment of President Jackson, "The
Federal Union: it must be preserved;" to which sentiment, he
trusted, the legislature would give emphatic expression at an
early day.

The new governor was inaugurated in the presence of both
houses of the general assembly, Jan. 14, 1861, and the inaugural
message was mainly devoted to a discussion of the all-absorbing
theme of the day. Gov. Yates defended the following propo-
sitions: First — That obedience to the constitution and laws must
be insisted upon and enforced as necessary to the existence of
government; Second — That the election of a chief magistrate
of the nation, in strict conformity with the constitution, was not
sufficient cause for the release of any state from any of its obli-
gations to the Union. These questions were exhaustively con-
sidered in the ablest and most scholarly state-paper that had
ever been submitted to an Illinois legislature. He argued that
the valley of the Mississippi must forever remain an undivided
territory under one governmental jurisdiction; and, with keen
insight into the future, predicted that as a result of the crisis
through which the country was then passing, the Union would
be preserved and the nation honored throughout the civilized
world as "one of intelligence and freedom, of justice, industry
and religion, science and art, stronger and more glorious, more
renowned, and free, than ever before."

The action of the people in the South in regard to secession
naturally called forth public expressions of views in the Northern
states. Conventions were held in several of these, all looking
toward a peaceable solution of the difficult political problem 
presented; one of which was a Democratic state-convention held
at Springfield, Jan. 16, attended by 500 delegates. Resolutions
were adopted counseling compromise and conciliation, and
declaring that any effort to coerce the seceding states would
plunge the country into civil war; denying the right of secession;
and proposing a national convention to amend the constitution,
so as to produce harmony and fraternity throughout the Union.

On February 2 the senate committee on Federal relations
reported a series of resolutions, requesting the governor to
appoint five commissioners to attend the Peace Conference to
be held at Washington on the 4th of that month, declaring that
this appointment was not intended as an expression of opinion
in favor of any change in the Federal Constitution as requisite
to secure to the slaveholding states adequate guarantees of their
rights, nor as an approval of the basis of settlement proposed
by Virginia, but simply as an expression of their willingness to
unite with that state in an earnest effort to adjust the present
unhappy controversy in the spirit in which the Constitution was
formed. They further avowed their belief that the appropriate
and constitutional method of considering and acting upon the
grievances complained of by the slaveholding states was by the
call of a convention for the amendment of the Constitution as
contemplated by the fifth article of that instrument. The
resolutions passed by a vote of 13 to 10, and the following com-
missioners from Illinois were appointed: Stephen T. Logan, John
M. Palmer, John Wood, Burton C. Cook, and Thomas J. Turner.

Fort Sumter was fired upon, April 12, 1861, was compelled
to surrender on the 14th, and on Monday morning, April 15,
the president issued his proclamation calling for 75,000 volun-
teers to subdue "combinations too powerful to be suppressed
by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, and to cause the
laws to be duly executed." Immediately upon the receipt of
the president's proclamation, Gov. Yates convened a special
session of the legislature, the call being as follows:

"I, Richard Yates, governor of the state of Illinois, by virtue
of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, hereby con-
vene the legislature of said state, and the members of the twenty-
second session of the general assembly are hereby required to
be and appear in their respective places, at the capitol, in the
city of Springfield, on Tuesday the 23d day of April, A. D. 1861,
for the purpose of enacting such laws and adopting such measures
as may be deemed necessary upon the following subject, to wit:
The more perfect organization and equipment of the militia
of this state, and placing the same on the best footing to render
efficient assistance to the general government in preserving the
Union, enforcing the laws, and protecting the property and
rights of the people; also, the raising of such money and other
means as may be required to carry out the foregoing object,
and also to provide for the expenses of such session.
"In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and have
caused the great seal of the state to be hereunto fixed at the
city of Springfield, this 15th day of April, 1861."

On the same day, a dispatch having been received from the
secretary of war stating the quota of Illinois under the president's
call, the governor issued his call for "six regiments of militia,"
and in less than a day forty companies were officially reported
as ready and anxious for service. Up to April 20 sixty-one
companies had been positively accepted, and eight others con-
ditionally, so that the complement of Illinois was then exceeded.

There was a union of sentiment among all parties as remark-
able as it was gratifying. Leading Democratic journals came
out in condemnation of the secession movement and in favor
of sustaining the government. Stephen A. Douglas was among
the first to call upon President Lincoln and tender him his cor-
dial sympathy and support. Arriving in Springfield during
the session of the legislature, he was invited to address that
body in joint session. Complying with the request, he gave
forth no uncertain sound, and in his masterly presentation of
the issue surpassed all his former efforts in the "eloquence of
his unanswerable logic and irresistible appeals to the people to
be loyal to the country." He said:

"For the first time since the adoption of the Federal Constitu-
tion, a wide-spread conspiracy exists to overthrow the best
government the sun of heaven ever shone upon. An invading
army is marching upon Washington. The boast has gone
forth from the secretary of war of the so-called Confederate
States, that by the first of May the rebel army will be in posses-
sion of the national capital, and, by the first of July, its head-
quarters will be in old Independence Hall.
"The only question for us is, whether we shall wait supinely
for the invaders, or rush, as one man, to the defense of that we
hold most dear. Piratical flags are afloat on the ocean, under
pretended letters of marque. Our great river has been closed
to the commerce of the Northwest. * * * So long as hope
remained of peace, I plead and implored for compromise. Now,
that all else has failed, there is but one course left, and that is to
rally, as one man, under the flag of Washington, Jefferson,
Hamilton, Madison and Franklin. At what time since the gov-
ernment was organized, have the constitutional rights of the
South been more secure than now? For the first time since
the Constitution was adopted, there is no legal restriction against
the spread of slavery in the territories. When was the Fugitive
Slave Law more faithfully executed? What single act has been
done to justify this mad attempt to overthrow the republic?
We are told that because a certain party has carried a presiden-
tial election, therefore the South chose to consider their liberties
insecure! I had supposed it was a fundamental principle of
American institutions, that the will of the majority, constitu-
tionally expressed, should govern! (Applause.) If a defeat
at the ballot-box is to justify rebellion, the future history of
the United States may be read in the past history of Mexico.
* * * It is a prodigious crime against the freedom of the
world, to attempt to blot the United States out of the map of
Christendom. * * * How long do you think it will be ere
the guillotine is in operation? Allow me to say to my former
political enemies, you will not be true to your country if you seek
to make political capital out of these disasters (applause); and
to my old friends, you will be false and unworthy of your prin-
ciples if you allow political defeat to convert you into traitors
to your national land. (Prolonged applause.) The shortest way
now to peace is the most stupendous and unanimous preparations
for war. (Storms of applause.")

"Gentlemen, it is our duty to defend our Constitution and
protect our flag."

This was the last and greatest of the senator's forensic efforts
at the capital, and coming from one so well known and justly
honored in all the states, was worth more to the cause of the
Union in the call to arms than such words from any other living
man; and in his sudden death at this critical and momentous
juncture, the cause of the Union sustained a loss greater than
that which followed any mere reverse of arms.

On April 19, the secretary of war telegraphed Gov. Yates to
take possession of Cairo as an important strategic point. At
this time there were but few existing military organizations in
the state, chiefly independent companies in the larger cities.
The most available commanding officer was Brig.-Gen. Richard
Kellogg Swift of Chicago, who was ordered by the governor to
proceed to Cairo as speedily as possible with such force as he
could raise. On April 21 that officer, with commendable de-
spatch, was on his way to the supposed danger point with seven
companies, numbering 595 men, armed and equipped.

The first company of volunteers tendered in response to the
governor's call on April 16, was the Zouave Grays of Springfield,
Capt. John Cook, and on the same day companies were tendered
by Richard J. Oglesby from Macon county; Benjamin M. Pren-
tiss, Adams county; Wilford D. Wyatt, Logan county; George
W. Rives, Edgar county, two companies; John Lynch, Rich-
land county; by Gustavus Koerner, five companies from St.
Clair;'and before night of the i8th, fifty companies had been
tendered. The legislature convened pursuant to call on April
23, and on the 25th Gov. Yates sent to it a message in explana-
tion of his having taken military possession of Cairo and garri-
soned it with Federal troops. He said in this message:

"The transfer of part of the volunteer forces of the state to
the city of Cairo was made in compliance with an order from
the war department, directing a force to be stationed at Cairo.
Simultaneously with the receipt of the order, reliable informa-
tion reached me of the existence of a conspiracy of disaffected
persons in other states to seize upon Cairo and the southern
portion of the Illinois Central railroad, and cut off communica-
tion with the interior of the state. It was my desire that the
honor of this service should have been given to the patriotic
citizens of the counties in the immediate vicinity, but as these
were not at that time organized and armed for patriotic duty,
and the necessity for speedy action was imperative, the requisi-
tion was filled from companies previously tendered from other
portions of the state."

At this extra session, the amount appropriated for war pur-
poses was $3,500,000. Of this sum $1,000,000 was to organize
and equip ten regiments called out by the state, $500,000 was
appropriated to furnish arms for the state and to build a powder
magazine, and $2,000,000 for general purposes of state defense
and national aid. The entire militia of the state, consisting of
all the able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45 years,
was to be immediately organized. A bill defining and punishing
treason to the state was passed. The telegraph was put under
restraint and measures taken to prevent its rendering aid to
opponents of the government, and every thing was done that
was deemed necessary "to place the state in a condition to sup-
press insurrection, repel invasion, and render prompt assistance
to the United States government."

Among those who found their way to Springfield at this time,
says John Moses, Gov. Yates' private secretary, in his admirable
work on "Illinois — Historical and Statistical," was Capt. U. S.
Grant, late of the regular army. He came from Galena, bring-
ing with him a letter of introduction and commendation from
Hon. E. B. Washbume. Maj., afterward Col. Thomas P. Robb
of the governor's staff, having observed Grant waiting with
other strangers in the governor's anteroom, apparently for an
interview, and learning from him that he was desirous of offering
his services to the state, introduced him to his excellency. Robb
was impressed with the modest deportment of the visitor, and
when the governor made the routine reply to Grant's offer that
he knew of no opening just then, that every place was filled.
and appealed to Robb to confirm his statement, the latter replied
that he believed they were short of help in the adjutant-general's
office; and proposed that Grant should be given a desk there
for the time being. The governor readily consented and Grant
was accordingly set at work arranging, filing and copying papers.
One morning a few days afterward Gov. Yates informed Maj.
Robb that the services of a regular-army officer had become
indispensable in the camps of rendezvous to perfect organiza-
tions and keep down insubordination and ordered him to proceed
to Cincinnati to procure the services of a captain of the regular
army then there, Capt. John Pope, who had been stationed at
Camp Yates, having been ordered to St. Louis. To this order
Capt. Grant, who had quietly entered the room, was a listener.
He reminded the governor of his military training and former
experience in the army, which seemed to have been overlooked,
and suggested that he could be made much more useful in the
service than in occupying a subordinate clerical position. Yates
replied, "Why, Captain, you are just the man we want!" And
on that day Grant was installed as commandant of Camp Yates.
He remained in the state service, discharging camp duties and
mustering in regiments at various points, from May 8 to June
26. When the question arose as to who should succeed Col.
S. S. Goode — temporarily in command of the 21st regiment,
under whom the men refused to muster for the three years'
service on account of his alleged bad habits — several names
were considered for the position. Capt. Grant had been sent
to Mattoon to muster in the regiment and had made so favorable
an impression upon the officers and men, that several of the for-
mer had written letters to the governor requesting his appoint-
ment. Still, other names were canvassed. Finally "Uncle
Jesse"— as auditor of state Dubois was familiarly called — who
had an extensive acquaintance in the state, and whose judgment
of men and things could be relied upon with the greatest cer-
tainty of its correctness, remarked at the conference: "This
regiment was raised in my old district, I know its situation and
the boys who compose it. The man to place at its head in my
opinion, as well as in that of its officers, is U. S. Grant." There
was no further hesitation; the appointment was made; Grant
took command on June 16, and the remainder of his military
career is an important part of the history of the war.

Early in May Col. and ex-Gov. John Wood was appointed
state quartermaster-general, and Col. John Williams, an old
and honored business man of Springfield, commissary-general.
The newly-created department of army auditors was organized
as follows: commissioners, James H. Woodworth, president;
Charles H. Lanphier and William Thomas; George Judd, secre-
tary. Since the Black-Hawk war the office of adjutant-general
had lapsed into a state of disuse. It had been in existence
without apparent excuse, the people being so absorbed in ordi-
nary pursuits as to have neither time nor inclination for culti-
vating the martial spirit. Thomas S. Mather had been appointed
to the office by Gov. Bissell in 1858 and had developed a decided
fondness and marked aptitude for the organization of military
companies. He took a just pride in awakening the military
enthusiasm among young men of his acquaintance in Spring-
field and other large towns. As early as February he had been
sent by the governor on a confidential mission to Gen. Scott at
Washington, for the purpose of procuring arms for the state,
and had succeeded in obtaining an order on the St. Louis arsenal
for 10,000 muskets. The demand for these guns was not made
at the time, owing to the grave doubts of those in authority of
their being able to execute it in the then disturbed condition of
public sentiment in St. Louis. In April Capt. James H. Stokes
of Chicago, on hearing of the difficulty, volunteered to obtain
the arms at all hazards. Having received from Gov. Yates the
necessary authority, he was admitted into the arsenal, and al-
though informed by the commandant that the secessionists,
who were on the watch, would not permit him to remove them,
he had the arms boxed ready for shipment. On the night of April
25 he caused the steamer City of Alton to be brought to the
arsenal wharf, and before daylight steamed up the river for
Alton with 10,000 muskets, 500 new rifle-carbines, 500 revolvers,
besides some cannon and cartridges. It was a daringly planned
and successfully executed expedition — the first of the war in
the West — and gave to Illinois the arms she so much needed
and which, if not transferred at the time, might possibly have
been seized by the Confederates a few days thereafter.

John B. Wyman was appointed first assistant adjutant-gen-
eral, April 19, and on going to the field as colonel of the 13th in-
fantry, he was succeeded by John S. Loomis, who had been act-
ing as second assistant. Daniel L. Gold was appointed second
assistant, Aug. 17. Charles H. Adams, afterward lieutenant-
colonel of the 1st artillery; Joseph H. Tucker, afterward colonel
of the 69th infantry; John James Richards of Chicago; and
Edward P. Niles, acted at different times as assistant adjutant-
generals.

The six regiments apportioned to Illinois under the first call
for volunteers were raised, organized and sent to Cairo during
the latter part of April and early part of May. "In token of
respect to the six Illinois regiments in Mexico;" their designated
numbers were to begin with seven and end with twelve, and
they were to be known as the "first brigade Illinois volunteers."
Gen. Benjamin' M. Prentiss was elected brigadier-general over
Capt. Pope, and was placed in command at Cairo, relieving
Gen. Swift. These six regiments were at first mustered in for
only three months, but at the expiration of their term of service,
2,000 out of the 4,680 volunteers reenlisted, were reorganized,
and remustered for three years. These first regiments were
commanded respectively by Cols. John Cook, Richard J. Ogles-
by, Eleazer A. Paine, James D. Morgan, Wm. H. L. Wallace,
and John McArthur.

Under the second call of the president the ten regiments, one
from each Congressional district, for whose formation provision
had already been made at the special session of the legislature,
were organized from two hundred companies immediately
tendered, and were mustered into service within 60 days. (See
Record of the Regiments.)

The large number of volunteers in excess of what could be
received in Illinois, enlisted in Missouri and other states, a
sufficient number in some instances to constitute a majority
of their respective companies and regiments, and which were
subsequently changed into Illinois regiments, namely, the 9th
Mo. to the 59th Ill., and Birge's sharpshooters to the 66th Ill.
In May, June and July, seventeen additional infantry and five
cavalry regiments were authorized by the secretary of war,
and were speedily raised and organized. The following batter-
ies were also organized and mustered in July: Capts. Charles
M. Willard's, Ezra Taylor's, Charles Houghtaling's, Edward
McAllister's, Peter Davidson's, Riley Madison's, and Caleb
Hopkins'.

On July 22, the day after the first battle of Bull Run, the
president issued a call for 500,000 troops. On the following
day Gov. Yates responded by tendering thirteen additional
infantry regiments, three of cavalry, and a battalion of artillery,
most of them now ready to rendezvous, and stating that "Illi-
nois demands the right to do her full share in the work of pre-
serving our glorious Union from the assaults of high-handed
rebellion." This tender was at once accepted, and under it
the 29th to 32nd, inclusive, the 38th, 43d, 46th, 48th, 49th and
50th infantry, and the 3d, 6th and 7th cavalry were organized.

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