Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting - February 9, 2012
The February 2012 meeting of the
Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library
on Thursday, February 9, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
A very large audience came to hear our
speaker, Tom Emery tell us about the Illinois in the Civil War. Due to the size
of the crowd, we dispensed with the normal business meeting.
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Barbara Hitch, at racerbarb@aol.com,
about a gift membership.
February
Meeting
On February 9, 2012, Tom Emery,
freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois,
presented a general overview of the Civil War in Illinois.
In the Spring of 1861, the men of Illinois raced to enlist for the glory and
adventure in what they thought was going to be a short war. Patriotic fervor
was at a fever pitch in Illinois. In the North, patriotism was at a level much
higher than was shown immediately after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.
Lincoln had called for 75,000 volunteers; many more answered that call,
particularly in Illinois. They soon realized that 75,000 would not be enough so
Lincoln called for another 500,000.
Civil War regiments are designated by numbers: 7th Illinois, 32nd Illinois,
97th Illinois, etc. What do those numbers mean? The regiment numbers are
assigned based on sign up date, the lower the number, the earlier they had been
accepted into service. In Illinois, numbers 1-6 were exempted due to the use of
those numbers in the Mexican War. The 7th Illinois was the first to answer the
call. This "ticked off" several other regiments because they wanted
to be first - especially the 10th Illinois from Madison County. Illinois
Infantry regiments went up to the 156th. There were 17 cavalry regiments and a
lot of artillery units as well.
Illinois sent 259,000 men off to fight in the Civil War - the fourth highest
number of any state, trailing only New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. They lost
over 34,800 - third highest number of any state, trailing only New York and Ohio.
Illinois was an important state in the Civil War - it was large geographically,
had a population of 1.8 million, it was Lincoln's home state, both candidates
for president in 1860, Lincoln and Douglas, were from Illinois, it is near two
major rivers, the Mississippi and the Ohio. Illinois had both great
agricultural facilities and manufacturing facilities. It also had numerous
railroads.
The men showed up at the enlistment camps wearing all kinds of outfits -
militia uniforms to street clothes - and carrying all kinds of firearms. Many
of the older Americans were great marksmen, but most of these men had never
fired a shot in anger, and certainly not in a military sense. Training these
men to be soldiers was quite a challenge. There were training camps statewide,
usually one in every Congressional district. The men were received with great
pomp and circumstance, especially by the local women. There are stories of the
women baking the men pies and cakes, making them quilts, flags, and banners,
taking them Thanksgiving dinner, etc.
Many of the men did not see action until 1862 because orders had not been
received. They were also not very well equipped early in the war. They lacked
regulation uniforms - part of the 7th Illinois were issued black and white
striped uniforms that made them look like prisoners! They did not have
regulation firearms or even decent firearms - they got outdated government
issue to begin with. Their firearms did not aim well, they might not fire, or
might go off at parade rest. Some men were issued 1827 Belgian muskets that
would hit their target "at the enormous range of 75 yards."
Illinois was neither uniform nor unanimous in support of the North. There was a
rampant Copperhead settlement in Illinois. Copperheads were Democrats who were
generally against the war effort. They did not like the way Lincoln was
executing the war and they favored peace. Not all Democrats were Copperheads,
but Copperheads were almost exclusively Democrats.
In the election of 1864, Lincoln got about 55% of the popular vote in Illinois
and nationwide. There was plenty of unrest and division. And this was just in
the mainstream. In the shadows were groups such as The Knights of the Golden
Circle. The KGC was a very shadowy group characterized by anti-war and
anti-black feelings in terrorizing terms. The KGC, which was later know as The
Order of American Knights, were not a forerunner of the Ku Klux Klan, even
though they resembled what the Klan tried to do. The KGC might have local
political leaders, business owners, pillars of the community, whereas the KKK
was a fringe society.
One of the reasons for division in Illinois is that a lot of the people from
Southern Illinois, or their ancestors, were from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia,
and the Carolinas. They had southern roots, southern thinking, and a southern
way of life. They had no problems with slavery. America was still a very racist
society in the mid-1800s. Just because you wanted to save the Union, did not
mean you were anti-slavery. Just because you were anti-slavery, did not mean
you were for racial equality.
Most men went to war to preserve the Union, not free the slaves. When Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Proclamation, that did not set well with a lot of
troops from Illinois or other places. They saw the ideology of the war as
changing from Union preservation to black freedom. The 128th Illinois from the
Marion area had 700 desertions, decimating their ranks.
Many people try to romanticize the Civil War. It may be the most fascinating
period in American history, but it is certainly one of our darkest and
grimiest. People want to talk about brother against brother - households being
split. It happened, but not nearly as often as people want to think. A better
way to think of it would be neighbor against neighbor or friend against friend.
There were cases of brother against brother, one example is from Staunton where
three brothers fought for the Union and one went to Texas and fought for the
Confederacy.
Some Illinoisans fought for the Confederacy. There was a company from the
Marion area that crossed the Ohio River and enlisted in the 15th Tennessee
Infantry. Most Northern states had the same problem.
A number of regiments had nicknames as well as numbers. These nicknames tell us
about the makeup of the regiment and the type of Illinois men that served in
the war. These nicknames were based on many things - ethnicity, occupation,
leadership, or origin of the unit, and even characteristics of the soldiers.
The 23rd Illinois was known as the Irish Brigade; the 24th Illinois and 82nd
Illinois were known as the Hecker Regiment and the Second Hecker Regiment after
their leader. There were two regiments of Scotch extraction; the 12th Illinois
and the 56th Illinois were known as the First and Second Scotch Regiments.
The 89th Illinois from the Chicago area was called the Railroad Regiment; the
45th Illinois from the Galena area was called the Lead Mine Regiment.
The 34th Illinois from the Dixon area was known as the Rock River Rifles and
the 36th Illinois was known as the Fox River Regiment. The 33rd Illinois was
known as the Teacher's Regiment. It was organized on the campus on what is
today Illinois State University in Normal. It was made up of college students
and teachers. The 50th Illinois from the Quincy area was known as the Blind
Half-Hundred. A large number of the men were either missing an eye or
cross-eyed.
There was one black regiment from Illinois, the 29th U.S. Colored Regiment. The
73rd Illinois was known as the Preacher's Regiment but was arrested for
stealing at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Illinois men came from all over, from all walks of life, from all ethnic
backgrounds - urban & rural, rich & poor, farmers, laborers, coopers,
carriage makers, teachers, blacksmiths, factory workers, store clerks. They
were ordinary people called on to do extraordinary things.
Madison County sent 4.221 men off to fight in the Civil War, only seven
counties in Illinois sent more. Madison County men fought in Vicksburg, Mobile,
Missouri, Arkansas, Fort Donellson, Shiloh, the Hornet's Nest, Atlanta, the
March to the Sea.
More soldiers died as a result of disease than of wounds - dysentery, typhoid,
fevers, and the like. And then there was the darkside of the war: drunkenness
and prostitution which ran rampant. Prostitution was very prominent - Nashville
was full of brothels as was New Orleans. The term "hooker" came from
the Civil War. Women who followed the troops of Maj. General Joseph Hooker were
called Hooker's women. Red light districts flourished during the Civil War as
did people selling whiskey or anything else to drink. Venereal disease ran high
as well.
Some of the top personalities of the war came from Illinois: Ulysses S. Grant -
his real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He did not want his monogram (H.U.G.) on
his West Point trunk, so he reversed it to Ulysses Hiram Grant. His nomination
letter for West Point read Ulysses S. Grant - his Congressman thought that
Grant's middle name was the same as his mother's maiden name - Simpson. Ulysses
kept that name. Grant was squeamish of the sight of raw meat and blood. He was
also a former slave owner.
Richard Yates was Governor of Illinois during most of the Civil War. Yates was
an advocate for the troops. He rushed medical aid to wounded and ill troops. He
helped Illinois meet their troop quota. Yates one fatal flaw is that he was an
alcoholic. He had to someone to read his inaugural address - he was too drunk
to deliver it.
Benjamin Grierson's cavalry raid through Mississippi in 1863 was the inspiration
for the movie "The Horse Soldiers" starring John Wayne and William
Holden. Grierson had been a music teacher in Jacksonville and a merchant in
Merodosia.
Illinois can be very proud of its contributions to the Civil War.
This very interesting presentation was very well received and prompted several
questions from the crowd of over 85 people in attendance.
We would like to express our gratitude for the co-sponsorship of this program
by the Edwardsville Public Library.