History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 42

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948

USA > Illinois > Union County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 42
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 42
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 42

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The records show that Union County, in addition to the full One Hundred and Ninth Regiment, furnished Capt. Mack's Company, as well as a number of men to the Eighteenth Regiment, one company, Capt. Reese, to the Thirty-first Regiment. A portion of the Sixtieth Regi- ment was enlisted here. This regiment ren- dezvoused in this county, and was filled out with Union County men. The county also furnished a large number of men to the Sixth Cavalry, in addition to Capt. Warren Stew. art's Company.

As it is not intended to give a history of the war of the rebellion, we would be con- tent to close this chapter just here, but the truth requires that some errors be corrected in reference to the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment, and wrongs heaped upon some of

the best people of the county to some extent righted, and the truth of history vindicated. The following military orders that are neces- sary to an understanding of the matter are given in full:

HEADQUARTERS SEVENTEENTH ARMY CORPS, LAKE PROVIDENCE, LA., April 1, 1863. General Orders, No. 8.

I .- Commanding Officers will immediately send in to these headquarters the names of all officers who, in their judgment, should be required to sub- mit to an examination before the "Board of Exam- iners," convened in pursuance of Special Orders, No. 53, from these headquarters.

II .- Field officers will be examined in all that is required of company officers; Evolutions of the line; elements of military engineering; the circumstances under which the use of field artillery is proper, and all other requirements necessary to the capable and efficient officer.

III .- Company officers will be examined;

1st, On the manner of instructing recruits.

2d, In the schools of the soldier, company and bat- talion.

3rd, In the duties of Officers of the Day and Officers of the Guard, and particularly in the proper con- duct and necessary requirements of seutinels.

4th, On the reports and returns required under ex- isting orders and regulations.

5th, In all matters deemed by the board necessary and proper.

IV .- Commanding officers are reminded that they are responsible for the efficiency of their subordi- nates, and they will accordingly be held to a strict compliance with the requirements of this order.

By order of

MAJ. GEN. MCPHERSON.

This order bears date, it will be noticed, of April 1, 1863. From this there emanated the following order only ten days after the above, as follows:

SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 6.

LAKE PROVIDENCE, La., April 10, 1863.

The officers of the One Hundred and Ninth Regi- ment Illinois Volunteers, except those of Company K, having been reported as utterly incompetent to perform the duties of their respective commissions, and evincing no disposition to improve themselves, are hereby discharged from the service of the United States. This is the regiment which was within a few miles of Holly Springs, when attacked by the

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

rebels, failed to march to the support of their com- rades, but drew in their pickets, and stood ready to surrender.

From nine companies, 237 men deserted, princi- pally at Memphis, and but one from Company K.

To render the men efficient, it is necessary to transfer them to a disciplined regiment, and they are accordingly transferred to the Eleventh Regiment Illinois Volunteers, Company K, to make the Tenth Company.

It then proceeds to enumerate by name every officer then belonging to the regiment, except those of Company K.

The following letter from the War Depart- ment in Washington, dated February 2,1882, among other things, says:

" April 9, 1863 (the day before the above order), Col. T. E. G. Ransom, commanding Second Brigade, Sixth Division, Seventeenth Army Corps, reported that the One Hundred and Ninth Illinois Volunteers was assigned to his brigade March 30, 1863, that he had inspected the regiment thoroughly, as well as reviewed and drilled it; that he found the men physically good, but the officers all in- competent to command, except the officers of Company K; that 237 deserters had been dropped from the rolls, most of whom de- serted at Memphis; that he did not believe that the regiment could be made efficient under the organization it then had, and there- fore recommended that the officers (except those of Company K) be mustered out of serv- ice, and that the remaining officers and men be transferred to some Illinois regiment. The recommendation was 'heartily approved' by Maj. Gen. J. B. McPherson, Commanding Department Tennessee."

Upon the report and recommendation re- ferred to, Brig. Gen. L. Thomas, Adjt. Gen. U. S. Army, who was at Lake Providence, La., the station of the One Hundred and Ninth Illinois Volunteers, issued Special Order No. 6, "discharging the officers of the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment."

A careful reading of the above orders and the letter of explanation given of them by the letter from the War Department are not difficult of explanation. Col. Ransom was in a position where he was ambitious to succeed to the position of a Brigadier General. His own regiment was decimated, and it is pos- sible he may have coveted these men of the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment, and he could only get them by first getting rid, of the officers. Then again, if they were re- organizing the army and consolidating or merging the small regiments into the larger ones, then this would necessitate, perhaps, the mustering out of those officers who were so unfortunate as to belong to these regi- ments of few men. Thus, Col. Ransom may have been deeply interested in the very inat- ter he was appointed to investigate and report upon. If he was so interested, he was in a position where he was judge, jury and exe- cutioner, as well as party to the suit.

With these facts borne in mind, the out- rage of the stab at the good name of these men-a stab, bear in mind, in the dark, is the better understood. They were sentenced without trial, without conviction, and above all, without the slightest opportunity to de- fend themselves. They were not called be- fore a court of investigation, nor were they reviewed, nor were they inspected in their drill. The order dismissing them says they were incompetent, and some of the men had deserted. In short, without trial, without opportunity to vindicate themselves, and without justice or cause, they were dis- missed the service. On the face of the order of dismissal, its injustice is as apparent. It makes the unsubstantiated charge that the officers were not competent because some had deserted. Is there a child in the world who cannot see the gross and infamous injustice of this star chamber conviction? Is it a

Jacob Heiler

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

crime for which officers are cashiered when the men desert? Was such a punishment ever before inflicted in any army ? Are men to be cruelly assassinated in their good name and fame by a court in secret sitting, and that is deeply interested in convicting the ac- · cused, and dismissed the service because cer- tain privates deserted? Is the officer pun- ished for the men's crimes? This order is full of falsehood and slander. There were officers in the One Hundred and Ninth Regi- ment, particularly Col. Nimmo, Capts. Hun- saker, S. P. McClure, Hugh Andrews and all the Lieutenants, whose courage, patriotism and competency were of the highest order. And either one of whom as a soldier had no superior in the service. It is possible there were officers in the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment unworthy the uniform they wore, and who should have been dismissed the serv. ice, but even they were entitled to a fair trial and examination, and dismissed only when found guilty.

In the name of the Government was an un- holy attempt made to blur the fair fame of some of the best men in the army, and blacken thereby the good name of Union County. It was a cruel act, and all mankind should resent it with scorn and indignation.

To re-read "Special Order No. 6" is to see that it is the work of some man trying to

hunt for a pretext or excuse for some unjusti- fiable act he is about to do. It is evident the writer of that order was racking his brain to find a charge against men against whom nothing could be proven. It says: "This is the regiment which was within a few miles of Holly Springs when attacked by the rebels, failed to march to the support of their com- rades, but drew in their pickets and stood ready to surrender." That is not only a slander but a cunning and dastardly false- hood. The charge had been circulated in camp, and the matter had been investigated by a court of inquiry and the regiment exon- erated. And yet the "order " re-asserts and puts upon record, not as the finding of & court, not as an established and proven fact, but as an assertion merely, and in the face of the truth that a court of examination-the only one ever granted the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment, and that investigated, and had before it no other question but the one named above, had pronounced it false.

These are the facts as they are furnished by the records and the very officers who thus attempted to heap disgrace upon, and did grossly wrong the officers and men of as brave a regiment as ever kept step to the music of the Union or upheld the flag amid the din and smoke of battle.

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

CHAPTER X .*

AGRICULTURE -SIMILARITY OF UNION COUNTY TO THE BLUE GRASS REGION OF KENTUCKY- ADAPTABILITY TO STOCK-RAISING -FAIR ASSOCIATIONS-HORTICULTURE - ITS RISE, WONDERFUL PROGRESS AND PRESENT CONDITION-VARIETIES OF FRUIT AND THEIR CULTURE - THE FRUIT GARDEN OF THE WEST - VEGETABLES-SHIPMENTS-STATISTICS, ETC., ETC.

"For as ye sow ye shall reap, etc."

A GRICULTURE is the great source of our prosperity, and is a subject in which all are interested, from the day-laborer to the banker and railroad king. It has been said that gold is the lever that moves the world, and it may be very truly added that agriculture is the power that moves gold. We speak of our moneyed kings, our railroad kings and political kings, but these dwindle into insignificance when compared to that monarch-the farmer. All important in- terests, all thriving industries, and all trades and professions receive their means of sup- port, either directly or indirectly, from this noblest of sciences-agriculture. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," was spoken to the erring pair in the garden of Eden, and with them the tilling of the ground for subsistence began, and must continue to the end of time. It is the foundation of support of the human family; none other has been devised. With all of our inventive genius, we must ever draw our sustenance from Mother Earth.

"Where is the dust that has not been alive? The spade, the plow, disturb our ancestors; From human mold we reap our daily bread."

The progress of agriculture in Union County has been much slower than in other and less favored regions of the country.

With a soil, timber, drainage and climate that cannot be excelled, it is capable of sus- taining a greater agricultural people to the area she possesses than any other county in the State. Nature has strewn here beauties rich and inexhaustible, and when cultivated, as it will be some day, to its full capacity, there are more dollars per acre in Union County than in any other spot of like extent, almost in the world. The Blue Grass Region of Kentucky is celebrated and world-famed for its fine stock-horses, cattle and sheep. Examine that locality, critically and scientif- ically, and then turn to this county, and the two sections will be found very similar in all their physical features. The cheapest lands here, the roughest hills, when the heavy timber is cut off and the brush and under- growth cleared away, and the land put under pasturage, will spontaneously set a splendid growth of blue grass-nature thus making the finest pastures known to the stock-raiser.

It has been satisfactorily demonstrated to the intelligent mind that blue grass, spring- ing from a limestone soil, possesses nourish- ing and fattening powers over any other veg- etable growth. A writer, from a scientific standpoint, speaks thus of the Blue Grass Region of Kentucky: " The vigor and lux- uriance of the vegetable growth, and the superior development of the animals of the farm, are now acknowledged by the world at

*By W. H. Perrin.

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

large. Even man himself seems to take on a higher development in this favored region. The native Kentuckian has, from early times, been noted for his size and strength, and this traditional opinion was fully sustained, dur- ing the late civil war, in the actual measure- ment of United States volunteers of differ- ent nationalities. From the report of the Sanitary Commission, compiled by B. A. Gould, it is shown that the men from Kentucky and Tennessee, of whom 50,333 were meas- ured, exceeded those from other States of the Union, as well as those from Canada and the British Provinces, and from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Scandina- via." This is but a proof of the nourishing qualities of blue grass, and particularly where it grows upon a limestone soil, such as pre- dominates in this county. Central Kentucky, as a stock-raising district, has not its equal in the world. Its horses, mules, cattle, hogs and sheep are produced in their most perfect form and development. The South and West look to its great annual sales of short-horns for their supplies of breeding animals, and the East to its annual horse sales for their supplies of fast trotters and fleet footed coursers. Many'of its best bloods have found the way across the ocean, with a view to im- proving the studs and herds of Great Britain. All that this section wants and requires to make it the peer of the famous Blue Grass Region of Kentucky is energy and enterprise on the part of the farmers. They have the soil, climate, market facilities and, indeed, everything to bring them into successful com- petion with that celebrated locality.

Especially is Union County adapted to sheep-raising. It requires no very astute in- dividual to see the advantages it possesses over those far-western regions, for the im- mense profits in sheep are plain and self- evident; indeed, so plain that " even a fool

need not err therein." Where there are cents in the far West in sheep, there are dollars in them in Union County, and that, too, after the farmer pays for the dogs annually killed by-vicious sheep. With the climate, location and markets that are best adapted for sheep- raising, that is to raise the best sheep for the least money, and then to enjoy the best markets and cheapest; transportation, any school-boy can figure out the colossal fort- unes for all who understandingly engage in the business. The secret of certain success is in finding the best location for the business. The nearest of those Western sheep ranches are 500 miles from market, and some of them 1,500 miles or more. Then in addition to the expense of transporting their wool, which would make wool here worth five cents per pound more, there is little or no accessible markets for their mutton -- one of the chief sources of profit in sheep-raising.

Slow and backward as Union County has been in agriculture, yet the science is not the least interesting, nor the least important of its history. The pioneers who commenced tilling the soil here, fifty or sixty years ago, with a few rude implements of husbandry, laid the foundation of the present system of agriculture. They were mostly poor and compelled to labor for a support, and it re- quired brave hearts, strong arms, and willing hands-just such as they possessed-to con- quer the difficulties which confronted them at every step. But they went to work in earnest, and faltered not, and their labors have brought the county to what it is to-day. It does not equal the perfect system of agriculture in the central and northern part of the State, but in this section it is unsur- . passed in its agricultural prosperity.

The tools and implements with which the pioneer farmers had to work were few in number and of a poor kind. The plow was

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

the old " bar-share," wooden mold-board and long beam and handles. Generally, they were of a size between the one and two-horse plows, and had to be used in both capacities. The hoes and axes were clumsy things and were forged and finished by the ordinary blacksmith. There was some compensation, however, for all the disadvantages under which the pioneer labored. The virgin soil was fruitful and yielded bountiful crops, even under poor preparation and cultivation. The first little crop consisted of a "patch " of corn, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, and in some cases a few other " eatables." If possible, a " patch " of flax was grown, from the lint of which the family clothing for summer was manufactured. This brought into active op- eration the spinning-wheel and loom, then useful implements, and which had been brought to the country by the pioneers, and constituted the most important articles of housekeeping, as all the women and girls could spin and weave.

In the early history of the county, the pioneers were favored by the mildness of the climate, the abundance of wild game, and the fertility of the land when brought into cultivation. Step by step the hardy settlers made their inroads into the heavy forests, enlarged their farms and increased their flocks and herds, until they found a surplus beyond their own wants and the wants of of their families. There was then but little outlet for the products of the farms, and far less of the spirit of speculation than at the present day. The result was, that the farm- ers had plenty at home; they handled less money, it is true, but they lived easier. They did not recklessly plunge into debt; they lived more at home with their families, and were far happier. There was, too, much more sociability, neighborly feeling and good cheer generally among them. There was

not such a rush after great wealth, and hence fewer failures among farmers. The accumu- lated wealth of farm products directed atten- tion to the question of markets, which had hitherto been confined to a kind of neighbor- hood traffic among the farmers themselves. But now the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was looked to as a means of reaching better markets, and New Orleans became the great center of trade from this region. It was the principal market until the completion of the Illinois Central Rail- way opened the best marts of trade, and brought them, by means of competition, within the very limits of the county. No section has better market facilities; markets that can never be overstocked are so easily accessible that transportation is merely nom- inal. With Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans, at their very doors, what more could any community desire, in the way of market facilities? With both railroads and the great rivers, to take her surplus products to all the world, Union County is certainly a most favored region for the farmer.

The following statistics compiled from the last report of the State Board of Agriculture, show something of the material resources of Union County, and will doubtless be of in- terest to our readers:

Number of acres in corn .. 19,941

Number of bushels produced .. 698,256

Number of acres in winter wheat. 26,081

Number of bushels produced. 287,999

Number of acres in spring wheat 102

Number of bushels produced 643

Number of acres in oats. 4,056

Number of bushels produced. 51,927

Number of acres in timothy. 1.825

Number of tons of hay produced. 1,214

Number of aeres in clover. 4,046

Number of tous produced .. 5,265

Number of acres in apple orchards. 3,800

Number of bushels produced .. 149,591

Number of acres in peach orchards. 543

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

Number of bushels produced .. 48,690

Number of acres in pear orchards. 142

Number of bushels produced . 3,904

Number of acres in other fruits and berries, 2,573

Value of the same. $56,040

Number of acres in pasturage 4,164

Number of acres in woodland 31,865

Number of acres of uncultivated lands. 3,216

No. of acres of city and town real estate area 475

Number of acres not reported elsewhere .... 10,180

Total number of acres reported for county. . 114,045

Number of fat sheep sold 661

Number of sheep killed by dogs. 182

Value of sheep killed by dogs. $342

Number of pounds of wool shorn from sheep,

9,643

Dairy products-Number of cows kept. .. . .

1,899

Number of pounds of butter sold. 42,169

Number of gallons of cream sold. 1,100

Number of gallons of milk sold.

5,125

Number of fat cattle sold. 951

Number of fat hogs sold .. 2,721

Number of hogs and pigs died of cholera ... 2,187

Fairs .- Union County is well supplied with agricultural fairs and associations, it having two excellent organizations of this kind. The oldest of these is the Union County Agricult- ural and Mechanical Society, which dates back to 1855. It was organized and held under the auspices of the citizens of Jones- boro and the county, and the veteran Jacob Hunsaker was its first Prsident. The next year, it was re-organized under a special act of the Legislature, and Col. A. J. Nimmo was the first President under the new organization. Some years later, it was again re-organized under the present State law governing agri. cultural societies, and is now known as the Union County Agricultural Board. The pres- ent officers are as follows: L. J. Hess, Presi- dent; C. Barringer, Treasurer; T. C. Cozby, Secretary, and Harrison Anderson, Fred Oli- ver, Henry P. Stout, and M. J. Lockman, Directors.

The association owns ten acres of ground, which were purchased at $50 per acre, and is well improved. The buildings and sheds are extensive and in good repair, and the

grounds are well shaded and watered. The society is flourishing, and additional im- provements are being made every year.

The fair held at Anna was organized un- der special act of the Legislature December 13, 1879, and is entitled "The Southern Illinois Fair Association." The first set of officers were elected in August, 1880, and were as follows: M. V. Ussery, President; C. M. Willard, Treasurer, and E. R. Jinnette, Secretary. The officers elected in 1881 were: Jacob Hileman, President; M. V. Ussery, Treasurer, and C. E. Kirkpatrick, Secretary. In 1882, the same officers were re-elected, and are now in office. The association is under the supervision of twenty-one direct- ors elected for three years, seven of whom are elected each year. They bought some fifty- four acres of land, for which $80 per acre was paid. Since its purchase, a portion has been sold to the city of Anna, for $3,000, for a cemetery. The fair grounds are well improved, and have buildings and other im- provements, worth perhaps $5,000. The fair grounds at Jonesboro belong to Union County; those at Anna are a private enter- prise, and owned by a joint stock company.

Horticulture .*- Sacred history furnishes evidence of the early devotion of mankind to the pursuit of horticulture; and both sacred and profane history abound with proof that the condition of horticulture in any country or community may safely be taken as a crite- rion from which to judge the stage of ad- vancement of that people in civilization and refinement. The greater the progress any nation makes in the arts and sciences, the nearer to perfection will be the ways and means employed in producing those crops upon which the nation subsists. The Romans not only had quite a catalogue of cultivated fruits, but well understood the art of pruning

*By Dr. J. H. Sanborn.

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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

and grafting. During the decline of that empire and the long night of the Dark Ages, horticulture, in common with the other arts and sciences, suffered by neglect, and fell only to rise with greater glory at a later and better period. France, Belgium and En- gland have since taken the lead in horticult- ural matters, and from these countries we have derived the majority of our improved fruits, bulbs and flowering plants, and many of our choicest vegetables. But our own country is fast advancing to the front, con- taining, as it does, all the plants of the most genial climes, on soil owned and occupied by a people constantly striving, with the aid of mind and muscle, to wrest from Dame Nature those productions which a diligent and enlightened system of labor can alone obtain, and of which the results are already most satisfactory. Almost the only success- ful fruits now cultivated in this county and the West are those of American origin. Our natural advantages for gardening are so great that many are satisfied with the prod- ucts of but little, often too little, labor and skill, frequently depriving themselves of much which more liberal culture would give.

Horticulture forms the æsthetic part of rural life; it is the poetry of agriculture. It generates and fosters a deeper love for the beautiful, and a better appreciation of and regard for those things which satisfy the longings of our higher nature. It com bines in one harmonious whole the practical and the ornamental. No man can watch the development of a plant from the time it first lifts itself above the ground, tiny and weak, until it is crowned with rich blossoms or fair fruit, and see how the rains and dews nourish it, and the sunlight gives it beauty and strength, without becoming better and more humble for the lessons he thus learns. No man can thus watch the mysterious processes

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 42

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 948

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948