History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 20

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > History of La Salle County, Illinois > Part 20

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This made 1,085 men, but as the commissioned officers, thirty-six in number, were deducted in assigning the bounty, the excess was but forty- nine, and their bounties were paid by private subscription and by an extra appropriation of $3,000. From 600 to 1,000 men came in that

were not received, and failed to get the bounties they had anticipated. Among the companies that failed to get in were five from Ottawa, one from La Salle and one from Mission township.

The One Hundred and Fourth, or "La Salle County Regiment," under Colonel A. B. Moore, moved to Louisville early in September. Douglas Hapeman was elected Lieutenant-Colonel, and Captain Widmer, of the Eleventh Infantry, Ma- jor. R. C. Stevens, of La Salle, was appointed Adjutant.

In September, an enrollment of the militia, or men liable to bear arms, was made for this county by Commissioner R. Thorne, and presented the following footings. The first column gives the total number in the different townships between the ages of eighteen and forty-five; the second column the number that volunteered up to that time :

Allen

103

Adams

206

Brookfield

209

Bruce

270

I34

Dayton

216

Deer Park

162

Dimmick

330

Eagle

276

Earl

333

Eden

391

II9

Farm Ridge

248

Fall River

Freedom

261

Grand Rapids

234

II3

Groveland

182

Hope

2.40

La Salle, City

883

La Salle, Township

106

Manlius

408

176

Mendota. City

430

Mendota, Township

184

Meriden

184

Mission

224

Northville

278

Ophir

209

Osage

142

Ottawa, Township

113

Ottawa, City

352

I36 .

Peru, Township

Peri, City

629

163

Rutland

210

Serena

188

South Ottawa

123

Troy Grove

251

Utica

122

Vermillion

138

Waltham

242

9,022

2,13T

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PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

During the war recruiting was constantly go- ing on, men were going to the front to take the place of those who had fallen or were disabled. The President was frequently obliged to call for more men, but La Salle County kept up its quota. No draft became necessary until Octo- ber, 1864. This was conducted in this manner. Conscripting officers enrolled all the able-bodied men in a township and determined how many that township should furnish. The names were placed in a box for the purpose and then the number of names needed were drawn out. Those drawn out were compelled to go into the army. The only way to escape was to hire a substitute, or go to Canada. To avoid a draft a township could raise the required number. Some of the township offered $500 bounty and filled their quota. In October, 1864, 200 men were called for and were drawn. Most of them left the country, a few furnished substitutes and a small number reported for duty.

Another draft became necessary in the spring of 1865. The commissioners reported 6,531 men able for service, out of which 700 were to be taken. But just as the drafting was to begin the news of Lee's surrender came. The war would surely come to an end soon. The war de- partment stopped the enlistment of men and this draft was never made.

The close of the war and the home coming of the soldiers is thus described in the La Salle County History of 1886:

"Of course the news of Lee's surrender was received with the greatest enthusiasm in the various towns of the county. The surrender occurred on Sunday, April 9, 1865, and at half past nine a message to that effect was received by Hon. J. D. Caton, at his private telegraph office. The Judge was alone in his office, his family and neighbors in bed, and the city tele- graph office closed. He ran in person to the house of his neighbor. Colonel T. Lyle Dickey, called ' him out of bed and they in turn got out Lorenzo Leland, the Clerk of the Supreme Court. After a moment's consultation an illumination was de- termined on, and in twenty minutes the residences of these three gentlemen and their grounds were ablaze : and being situated on the north bluff. made a most magnificent display. In a short time the residence of John Hossack, on the oppo- site bluff, was also brilliantly illuminated. The news spread like wildfire over the city, which was soon alive with the most intense excitement. Every bell in the city was rung, and everybody tried to see who could make the loudest noise, without regard to its being Sunday night. Bon- fires were lit. About eleven o'clock a large con- course of people proceeded to the bluff and were

addressed by Judge Caton and Colonel Dickey in the most stirring speeches. They then re- turned to the city, and the jubilation kept up until morning.

"During the next day, Monday, business was pretty generally suspended throughout the city, and people universally went into the rejoicing business. During the day bills were issued by the Mayor requesting a general illumination in the evening, which was complied with by nearly all the citizens. Almost all the houses were ablaze with light from 8 to II o'clock, and the effect was certainly grand. Bonfires, cannon firing, processions, etc., also formed a part of the diver- tisements of the evening ; and taken all in all, it was decidedly ahead of the 4th of July in impor- tance, and was probably the most spirited merry- making the people of Ottawa ever engaged in. Other communities also celebrated in their own way.

"It was planned to give the returning soldiers a formal reception : but when it was learned that they would not return in a body to any one point, but scattered after reaching Chicago, it was de- cided to have a "Soldiers' Grand Reception and Celebration" at Ottawa, as a central point for the whole county, on the succeeding 4th of July. The day was ushered in by the firing of guns. As early as 8 o'clock in the morning the people from the surrounding towns began flocking in; by 10 o'clock the streets were pretty well filled and by 12 o'clock the principal thor- oughfares were perfectly jammed.

The grounds selected for the occasion were a beautiful grove immediately west of the south end of the Illinois River bridge (now known as Allen Park) and thus within full sight of the city, and distant only a pleasant walk. They had prepared a spacious stand for the officers, speakers, musicians, etc .; a capacious kitchen in which to place the provisions previous to going upon the table : a range of tables, ten in number, each three or four hundred feet in length; and then plank seats had been placed in different parts of the grove for convenience generally. Besides these, in the midst of the grounds, where they were crossed by the pipes of Judge Caton's water works, a beautiful fountain had been extem- porized, which sent its jets up some forty or fifty feet into the air, imparting an effect both beautiful and delightfully cooling and refresh- ing. An immense tank of ice water was also kept filled for general refection.

"Five or six hundred soldiers met at the grove. where they and their wives and sweethearts and friends were addressed by Hon. Burton C. Cook in an eloquent and admirable oration, which was replied to by Private Meade, of the One Hun-

I31

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

dred and Fourth Regiment. They then surrounded the tables, which were loaded with the contribu- tions of Ottawa and all parts of the county. There was not only enough for the soldiers, who were the especially invited guests, but after them a thousand or more others also partook at the general tables; while hundreds of others, who had brought their baskets with them, gathered in groups under trees and on grassy plats in all directions, and had their own pleasant, social dinners."

THE WORK OF THE WOMEN IN THE WAR.

We must not get the impression that the men only suffered, fought and won heroic renown in the struggle for the preservation of our country. The women were not in the front in such large numbers but they were there and as nurses won as heroic renown as their brothers.

It was at home that the women labored and suffered. The father went to the front, the mother remained at home and the care and support of the family of children fell upon her alone. Bodies were to be clothed, mouths to be fed, sick to be cared for and the dead to be laid away. We take note of the fall of the soldiers on the field or in the hospital, but we do not give sufficient heed to the widow and the orphan left at home to meet the unequal struggle. The women not only suffered and endured, they labored, to cheer the soldier, to care for him when wounded or sick, and to clothe him more comfortably for the hardships yet to come.

Upon a call from the Sanitary Commission at Washington a meeting was held in the Baptist Church in Ottawa November 7, 1861, and the Soldiers' Relief Society of Ottawa was formed. Rev. Coleman was a leading spirit in the move- ment. Mrs. C. P. Clark, President ; Mrs. S. E. Henshaw, Secretary; Mrs. J. F. Nash, Assistant Secretary ; Mrs. J. A. Covarly, Treasurer. Others who held office during the existence of the society were President, Mrs. D. W. C. Gooding ; Vice President, Mrs. Vorce; Assistant Secretary, Eelen Fisher ; Treasurer, Miss Fanny M. Earl; Presi- dent, Mrs. F. A. Slack; Treasurer, Mrs. T. J. Sanford ; President, Mrs. J. Dickey ; Vice Presi- dent, Mrs. Ward Lockwood; Recording Secre- tary, Miss Louise Evans; Corresponding Secre- tary, Miss E. D. Tenny ; President, Mrs. Ward Lockwood; Vice President, Mrs. M. E. Hollis- ter ; corresponding secretary, Mr. M. E. Steele; Recording Secretary, Mrs. Lizzie Dow; Treas- urer, Mrs. Sarah Wade; Vice President, Mrs. Hervey King; Recording Secretary, Mrs. G. R. Lodge; Treasurer, Miss Lizzie True.

Auxiliary societies were formed in different 9

parts of the county. The work of this society was by all the ingenious means known to women to raise money and supplies for the alleviation of suffering of the soldiers at the front, and of the needy families of soldiers at home. Sociables, sewing societies, concerts, entertainments, lec- tures, festivals, fairs, excursions and direct solici- tations were some of the means used to gather the supplies and money needed.

"What has been done is well known to the faithful, tried members, who have stood by the society from beginning to end, through evil re- port and through good report, not only when it was popular to belong to the Soldiers' Aid Society but when many well intentioned persons seemed to think our day for doing good to the soldiers was over. We honor and respect those women (and they are not a few) who, coming at the call of our government, the first Tuesday in No- vember, 1861, have faithfully toiled through sum- mer heat and winter cold, until honorably dis- charged by the head of the Sanitary Commission at Washington."

Besides large quantities of supplies sent to the front and distributed to the needy at home, the society raised and disbursed during its exist- ence $11,060.32. This is a record of which women may well be proud.

MEN WHO SERVED WITH DISTINC- TION.

GENERAL WILLIAM HERVEY LAMME WALLACE.

La Salle County's most distinguished soldier is Gen. W. H. L. Wallace. In his death at the Battle of Shiloh the career of one of the greatest generals of the war was cut short. His rise from colonel of a regiment to major-general was rapid and due to the recognition of superior officers of his military ability shown in actual work.

The people here at home know too little of the life and character of General Wallace. By the kindness of Miss Isabel Wallace, daughter of the general, I have been given access to private papers which I hope will enable me to tell the story of his life so that young and old may learn to know him as he was. Not to admire and to love him then will be impossible.

When twelve years of age he came with his father's family of eleven children to La Salle County from Champaign County, Ohio, in 1834. The lad helped to drive a large drove of sheep all the way. They settled on a farm in Deer Park Township, near the junction of the Ver- million and Illinois rivers, south of the Illinois and east of the Vermillion. Here he lived four

132

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

years, helping on the farm. He was a thought- ful and refined boy, and it was his delight when not at work to roam through the woods explor- ing the canons and picking up arrow heads. The story of the extermination of the Illini was fresh in the minds of the people. This tragic story and the picturesque scenery appealed to the heroic and poetic in his soul. His father, John Wallace, determined to have better facil- ities for schooling his children than La Salle County afforded. He moved to Mt. Morris, where the Rock River Seminary was opening its doors to students. He bought a farm near the village and did much to build up this school which did so much for the children of the pioneers. William did his full share in doing the work of the farm, while attending the seminary and helped to pay his way as a tutor in the school. Young as he was, he took part in ridding the county of a den of horse thieves that infested the region.

He decided to study law. In 1844 he went with Samuel Hitt, a member of the Legislature, to Springfield, expecting to apply to Logan and Lincoln for the privilege of studying law in their office. On the long journey by stage he became acquainted with T. Lyle Dickey, a lawyer, who was on his way to try cases at Springfield. They rented a suite of rooms together, and young Wallace helped him prepare his cases for trial. This led Mr. Dickey to ask him to study with him. The application to Logan and Lincoln was never made and Wallace went to Ottawa and be- gan to study with Mr. Dickey. In a year he was admitted to the bar.

Then came the Mexican war. Mr. Dickey raised a company and was made captain. Enter- ing Col. Dickey's regiment he was soon made orderly sergeant and then second lieutenant. When Col. Dickey was obliged by sickness to resign, Capt. Prentiss took his place and Wallace was made adjutant of the regiment. He was at the side of his almost idolized Col. J. J. Hardin when that intrepid soldier fell in the battle of Buena Vista. After a year's campaign he re- turned to his law practice in Ottawa and rose rapidly in his profession.

In 1850 he was appointed Deputy U. S. Mar- shall and took the census of the county. In 1851 he married Martha Ann, daughter of T. Lyle Dickey. In 1852 he was elected State's Attor- ney. During his four years' term he grew strong in his profession and attained high standing in the community. In 1856 he joined the Republican party, was a delegate to the convention that nom- inated Fremont and a member of the committee to notify him of his nomination. He was a warm supporter of Lincoln both for the senate and for the presidency.

In February, 1861, fearing as did many others that the president might be assassinated he went to Washington as a secret body guard to help protect him if necessary. A letter dated March 5. 1861, shows what his feelings were: "Yes- terday I looked upon a scene and realized my dearest political hopes. I saw an honest and able man stand up before his countrymen in the presence of the representatives of the civilized world and surrounded by the insignia of power without mental reservation, take the oath to protect and defend the constitution of our coun- try and to take care that the laws are enforced. It was an imposing scene. It seemed to me that our country had passed the darkest hour of her history and that the future was brightened by the dawn of a happier day. The fearful feeling of foreboding that seemed to pervade the whole atmosphere is changed to one of confidence and trust in the future."

He had been at home only a few days when the news of the firing on Fort Sumter came. Mr. Wallace began at once to prepare to enter the army. In May he was commissioned colonel of the Eleventh Illinois. At Bird's Point in Missouri he was placed in command of the post and Col. T. E. G. Ransom took charge of the Eleventh. In February General Grant placed him in command of a brigade in Gen. McClernand's Division. On the day of his death he was com- manding a division. His responsibilities were always greater than his rank. His commission as major general was on its way to him when he fell. He was promoted to brigadier general after Fort Donelson. He was in the thickest of the fight at both Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. In the account of the Eleventh Illinois a quota- tion is given from one of his letters showing how he fared in the contest.

He was winning laurels on every hand. But it was true with him, "The path of glory leads but to the grave."

At Pittsburg Landing. Gen. Wallace and Gen. Prentiss were each in command of a divi- sion and were stationed in the front. They were attacked early in the morning at the point called the Hornets' Nest. They held the confederates back all day. Had they given way the whole of Grant's army would have been driven back into the river. About 5 p. m. Gen. Wallace was falling back to place his men in a better posi- tion, having been outflanked because of the inefficiency of Gen. Sweeney. He was coolly di- recting the movements of his men, being between them and the enemy, who were only seventy-five vards distant. A ball struck him, passing through his head and he fell from his horse. Gen. Pren- tiss' command was then captured but the stub- born fight had saved the day. During the night

GEN. W. H. L. WALLACE.

JUDGE T. L. DICKEY.

I35

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

General Grant was able to get his forces in shape to meet the enemy next day.

William Preston Johnson, in an article in the Century Magazine, said :

"On the Federal left center W. H. L. Wallace and Hurlburt were massed with Prentiss' frag- ments in position so impregnable and thronged with such fierce defenders that it won from the Confederates the memorable title of Hornets' Nest. These generals have received scant jus- tice for their stubborn defense. They agreed to hold their position at all odds and did so until Wallace received his fatal wound and Prentiss was surrounded and captured with nearly 3,000 men. This delay was the salvation of Grant's army."

Another Southern writer in a Philadelphia paper, a member of the Mobile bar, says: "To- ward four o'clock in the afternoon the troops of Bragg and Polk engaged in a death struggle with Prentiss and Wallace. These Federal gen- erals were dealing blow for blow. They felt keenly their responsibility. On them depended the safety of General Grant and the rest of the army. Wallace fell mortally wounded, the hero of this battle on the Federal side. The total loss of Shiloh will show this. Many northern writers have tried to make Sherman the hero of this fight. It is the old story of the living dog and the dead lion."

General Walter Q. Gresham, who was in the battle of Shiloh, said on hearing of his death, "We have lost our General."

When General Grant returned from his trip around the world and was at Chicago, Captain Town, of Rockford, asked him, "What did you think of the abilities of Gen. W. H. L. Wallace ?" Reflecting a moment, he said, "Had Gen. Wal- lace not been killed at Shiloh, I would not be where I am." The reason for this statement was, after the battle Gen. Grant was out of favor with Gen. Halleck, the commander-in-chief, and was deposed from command. Gen. Wallace had so distinguished himself that he was in high favor with Gen. Halleck and President Lincoln and would undoubtedly have been made commander of the western army. Thus the career of General Grant would have been open to General Wallace. There is no doubt it would have been as distinguished.

Speaking of the capture of Fort Donelson, Captain Rumsey says, "I remember well at this time his remark, his face glowing with satisfac- tion, as we sat on our horses, 'Rumsey, this is glorious!' ; to which I replied, 'Yes, General, but my heart aches as I think of the comrades and true soldiers lying on the field who forty-eight hours ago were with us.' To which he replied, 'Yes, but they died in a noble couse.' So all

through the dreadful three days' battle, he showed his tender and loyal soul."

The 17th of March, 1862, the day after the capture of Fort Donelson, Gen. Wallace wrote to his wife:

"This has been a day full of sad sights, col- lecting and caring for the wounded, burying the dead, and doing what could be done to allay the distress of those who suffered in the terrible fight. But among the saddest duties is one just ac- complished of writing to Mrs. Irwin and Mrs. Captain Shaw the details of the death of their husbands. Thank God, Ann, no man has been called to do this sad duty for me. I will not attempt to give you the details of the terrible con- flict through which we passed. The papers will fully advise you of that. It was the greatest battle ever fought on this continent. I hope the fruits of victory may be the speedy restoration of peace."

The life of General and Mrs. Wallace must have been ideal. His letters are full of the most tender expressions of the home love, as the following extract shows :

"I have read over and over again your very dear letter of Tuesday evening last wherein you give me an account of your first lesson to Blossom and her first prayer. I have been unable to read it through without a swelling heart and a damp eye and you are the truest and best woman in the world. I feel that I am unworthy of so great, devoted and powerful love as you bear me, yet I know I am a better man from the con- sciousness of possessing it, and would sooner part with life than lose it."

Under all the multiplied perplexities of the camp and din, conflict and carnage of battle, his thoughts reverted to the dear ones at home. He speaks scarcely at all of the honors to be won and glories to be achieved. He speaks mostly of anxiety to do his whole duty and that longing to be at home, to walk under the trees with wife and child. The trust which he had in the care of a Divine Providence was often the theme of his letters. How he looked upon the fate that befell him is shown from the following:

"Don't let thoughts of me prevent your enjoy- ment of matters passing around you. If I am successful and come out safely it is all right. If I fall its is glory enough to die in such a cause, and furnishes no reason for regret. Man must die sometime and to die nobly is a boon granted to few. Not that I am tired of life, dearest-the hope of spending the future with you makes me wish for long life more than ever -but in the soldier's existence death is always a contingency that must be regarded. Of course, the ordinary chances of life are diminished in such a calling and it would be folly to overlook

136

PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

it. You may rest assured, Ann, darling, that you have no occasion to blush for me whatever may befall."

After the battle of Fort Donelson Gen. Wal- lace was much exhausted and sick for a few days. His letters to his wife showed his de- pression. This affected her very deeply. She had frequently asked to be allowed to visit her husband in camp. His reply was that the pres- ence of officers' wives interfered with the service and being in command he could not refuse others

if his own wife were in camp. Strict orders had also been given to allow no women to pass Cairo.

But Mrs. Wallace was so deeply impressed with the tone of her husband's letters that she determined to go to him without his consent. Judge Caton gave her a letter to Gen. Strong at Cairo asking for a pass for her. The general was absent but his adjutant took the risk and gave her a pass, though this was against the strictest orders. Mrs. Wallace arrived while the battle was in progress and was on the boat under fire which was ferrying Buell's men across the river.

Shortly after the death of Gen. Wallace she wrote the following letter to a paper called "The Loyal People of the Northwest":

"The lower deck of our boat and that of others were used to ferry the reinforcements over. Over and back, over and back, we moved. I was earnestly watching these scenes, more hopeful than most around me. Elder Button came up the steps with a worn, depressed look, for he had been partially disabled by a spent ball while caring for the wounded on the field. I felt sorry for him, knowing he had looked on so many loved faces that day for the last time, and that he was suffering somewhat from his own injuries. Look- ing still more depressed, he came near me and a little behind me, and said, 'This is an awful battle!' I replied, 'Yes, but these fresh men will yet win the day.' He said, 'You have a great many relations on that field today-you cannot hope to see them all come in safe.' I answered, 'They all came safely through Don- elson, and today my husband is in command of a division and is comparatively safe.' He re- peated from behind my shoulder, 'It is an awful battle.' My heart was touched by his depressed tones, but I thought his exhausting day's work had caused them. I turned to console him and raising my eyes to the face of Hartley, who sat in front of me, and whose countenance reflected horror as he gazed full in the face of Elder Button, the dread truth fell on my heart like a thunderbolt-like the cold hand of steel.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 20

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286