USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc., gathered from mattter furnished by the Mercer County Historical Society, interviews with old settlers, county, township and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources as have been available : containing also a short history of Henderson County > Part 82
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At eight in the evening help came at the moment of extremity. when the rebels were massing for a final assault. When Col. Lowe at Paducah received Harding's appeal for succor his forces were away on a seout, but knowing that Capt. Fitch was going up the river with his fleet, he sent him word to cooperate with Col. Harding, and instructed the latter to hold the fort till dark, when assistance would reach him. Fitch divided his gunboats, and stationing a part above and the rest below the fort. while Harding ensconced his men in safe places out of
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
reach of the naval missiles. poured grape and shrapnel in enfilading and pitiless torrents into the writhing lines of rebels. They could not stand it. In twenty minutes not one, except slain and wounded, was left on the field. Of the former there were 250, of the latter 600. The besieged had taken 105 prisoners. The 83d had 13 killed, 51 wounded, 20 captured. Not long after, as a recognition of this gallant defense, Colonel Harding was wearing the single star of a brigadier. Lieutenant-Colonel A. A. Smith was immediately promoted to the vacant colonelcy. The former soon resigned to accept a seat in congress. For nearly two years subsequent to the second battle of Fort Donelson the 83d was patroling and guarding communications, of which it had not less than two hundred miles to protect, and at the same time was doing a heavy scouting service, which was prolific of much small fighting. In 1864, when Forrest and Wheeler were mak- ing daring efforts to sever Sherman's communications, the 83d formed a part of the efficient force so energetically employed by General Rous- sean in driving those rebel leaders, with their commands, from Ten- nessee. In the winter of 1864-5 the regiment went to Nashville on provost duty, and on the 26th of June it was mustered out in that city, and on the 30th arrived in Chicago where it was finally paid and dis- banded. Of 1,050 men who went to the field, 640 returned. The only change in the line officers of Company D was when second lieutenant Sykes resigned in August, 1864. Hugh B. Frazier, who had been pro- moted from the ranks to sergeant and then to first sergeant. was at once commissioned to fill the vacancy.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT, COMPANY G.
This was sworn into the United States service at Camp Butler, September 10, 1862, with Col. Thomas J. Sloan in command. Com- pany G was raised at New Boston by Lyman H. Scudder and Ezra S. Benedict, of that place, in the last half of July and the first part of August. The members were principally from New Boston township; some were residents of Eliza and Millersburg, and a very few of adjoining townships. The organization took place August 15, and the company was officered as follows: L. H. Scudder, captain ; E. S. Benedict, first lieutenant ; and Benton Pratt, second lieutenant. On the 28th, taking wagons, the company drove to Oquawka Junction,
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ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
then the nearest railroad station, and proceeded from there by way of Galesburg and Camp Point to Springfield. There each man received forty dollars in cash, this being one-fourth of the $100 bounty, two dollars premium, and one month's pay of thirteen dollars, all tendered by the government. Uniforms and arms were drawn, the latter Aus- trian muskets, barely fit for practice in the manual of arms. On Octo- ber 6, the regiment started for Cincinnati ; but on arriving at Decatur the order was countermanded, and its destination was changed to Cairo, from whence it went to Jackson, Tennessee, arriving on the 9th. It advanced to La Grange November 4, and on the 28th, as a part of Gen. Grant's expedition to the Yocona river, drove the rebels across the Tallahatchie. The regiment had been assigned to the first brigade, Col. John E. Smith ; third division, Gen. Logan ; seventeenth corps, Gen. MePherson. Returning from the Yocona, it reached the Talla- hatchie December 24, and La Grange January 7, 1863. The same month it marched to Memphis; from there it went. February 22, to Lake Providence; and April 18, moved to Milliken's Bend. It was reviewed on the 22d by Gov. Yates and staff, and on the 25th started on the Vicksburg campaign. It was in the engagement at Port Gib- son (Thompson's Hill), May 1; Raymond, May 12; Jackson, May 14; Champion Hill, May 16; and the siege of Vicksburg, including the fearful assault of May 22, and the still more terrible one of June 26, when the mine at Fort Hill was sprung. The regiment went on the brief campaign to Monroe, Louisiana, under Gen. Stephenson, which left Vicksburg August 21, and returned September 2. From October 14 to the 20th, it was with Gen. McPherson on the Brownville cam- paign, and participated in the battles at that place on the 16th and 17th.
In January, 1864, the 124th competed for a prize banner offered by Gen. Leggett to the regiment in his division which should excel in drill, and present the most cleanly appearance and soldierly bearing. It bore the legend, " Excelsior Regiment, Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps," and the 124th received it from the hands of Gen. McPherson. In February the regiment accompanied Gen. Sherman on his famous raid to Meridian, and at Chunky Station, on the 14th, had a severe fight with the rebels. It returned to Vicksburg, and on May 4, moved with the expedition under Gen. McArthur to Yazoo city, returning the 21st, having fought on the 7th and 10th at Benton. Between July 1st and 9th it was operating on the Jackson campaign under Gen. Slocum, and was in brisk engagements at Jackson Cross Roads on the 5th and 7th. In October. it went on the White river campaign, under Gen. Dennis, and was absent from Vicksburg from
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
the 14th to the 26th. It did provost duty until February 25, 1865. and then was ordered to New Orleans and was assigned to the third brigade, Col. Geddes ; third division, Gen. E. A. Carr ; sixteenth corps, Gen. A. J. Smith. It embarked, March 12th, for Mobile, and on the 29th began the siege of Spanish Fort, occupying the left of the investing line and driving the enemy within his works. On April S the third brigade and one other of Carr's division, stormed the fort, mounted the ramparts, secured a lodgment three hundred yards in ex- tent, and, darkness having come on, waited for the morning light to continue their progress, but at one o'clock the rebels offered to capitu- late. Away off in Virginia Lee followed suit a few hours after. The regiment marched the 13th with the expedition to Montgomery. There it remained till July 17, when it started for Chicago, where it was mustered out August 15, 1865. The 124th fought ten battles and four- teen skirmishes ; it went through two sieges of forty-seven days and nights and thirteen days and nights, respectively, and traveled by land and water 7,000 miles. It was drolly called by "the boys" in the army, " The Bully One Hundred and Two Dozen."
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT. COMPANY B.
Company B had thirty-four enlisted men, and one commissioned officer from Mercer county, all except one private belonging to Duncan and Perryton townships. The original officers were Henry D. Cline, captain ; John B. Mitchell, first lieutenant, and James H. Coffman, of Perryton, second lieutenant. The regiment was organized at Alton by Col. Jonathan Richmond, and was mustered into service September +, 1862. It moved November 20 to Columbus, Kentucky, and from there to Bolivar, Tennessee, reporting at the latter place to Gen. Bray- man. On December 19 six companies were dispatched to Jackson, Tennessee, as a reinforcement, and afterward advanced to Humboldt, skirmishing some, being joined there by the other four companies early in 1863. On March 25 the regiment returned to Jackson, and was assigned to the second brigade, second division. Sixteenth Army Corps. It was transported by rail to Memphis, where it embarked down the river to assist in the siege of Vicksburg, and landed at Haines' Bluff June 2. It did honorable service to the end of the campaign, and on July 24 embarked for Helena, Arkansas. From thence it
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ELEVENTH ILLINOIS CAVALRY.
moved with Gen. Steele's army against Little Rock, fighting on the way, and ocenpying the place on September 10. The regiment went next to Duvall's Bluff, and remained there on garrison duty, with Col. Richmond as post commandant, until August 19, 1864. On June 26 it was in action at Clarendon. It marched to Pine Bluff, going by way of Little Rock; on February 12 it moved to the month of White river, and June + returned to Pine Bluff, where it was mnstered out July 12, 1865.
ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT, INFANTRY, COMPANY F.
Company F of this regiment was raised in Mercer county, in May, 1864, by Van R. Harriott, of Viola, and George Boone and R. S. Os- born, of Aledo, and was mustered in June 18th, with eighty men. for 100 days. The officers were : Osborn, captain : Boone, first lienten- ant, and Harriott, second lieutenant. The company rendezvoused at Rock Island, May 9th : from there it went to Dixon, and thence to camp Butler. The regiment was stationed at Lafayette, Tennessee, and also did duty at Memphis, but was never in action. Some mem- bers of company F had a fight at Lafayette, August 8th, with bush- whackers, and Edward B. Harris, of Perryton, and John W. Maury, of Aledo, were killed, and Alfred F. Noble, of New Boston, Robert Breakey and Milton M. Jones were wounded, the former mortally. The following died of disease : Jonathan Mounts. Joseph M. Sawyer, and Zachariah T. Warren. The 140th was innstered out October 29, 1864.
ELEVENTHI ILLINOIS .CAVALRY, COMPANY C.
This regiment was raised by the famous orator and philanthropist Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and was rendezvoused at Peoria, and mus- tered into service in December. 1861. In company C were fifteen or more men from Mercer county, nearly all of them from Suez township. George W. Freeman, then of Galesburg, now of Amboy, Lee county, Illinois, was captain ; Charles E. Johnson, of Ionia, first lientenant ; and Moses T. Lewman, of San' Jose, second lieutenant. George W. Greenwood, of Pope Creek, was first sergeant, and rose regularly to the captaincy.
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
Company H had in its ranks several men from Henderson county. Capt. John C. Knowlton was a Henderson county man. All the first lieutenants that the company ever had (Francis Le Clair, Henry M. Cornell, James G. Hull, and James R. Reasoner) belonged to the same county. Cornell was first sergeant, and once promoted. Reas- oner was second duty sergeant, and promoted first and second lieu- tenant. Hull was the last of the three captains. Unhappily no mem- oranda of the movements of the Eleventh have been officially pre- served, and time is too short for the research that would be necessary for a sketch, brief as it would have to be.
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY.
CONTRIBUTED BY J. SIMPSON, ESQ.
Henderson county, which onee formed a part of Warren county. is situated upon the western border of the state, and is comprised of eight full townships and six fractional townships, aggregating about 400 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Mercer county, on the east by Warren county, on the south by MeDonough and Hancock counties, and on the west by the Mississippi river. Numerous streams break the surface in their passage from the eastern part to their outlet, the Mississippi river. The largest of these streams is Henderson river, which rises north and east of the county, and passes in a southwesterly direction, and empties into the Mississippi about midway between Oquawka, the county seat of Henderson county, and Burlington, Iowa. Cedar creek rises in Knox county, and empties into the Henderson in township 12 N., 4 W., in the northeastern part of the county. It is a small stream, but in times of heavy rains it leaves its banks and spreads over a large space, doing great damage. Fall creek, North and South Smith creeks are small streams which empty into Hender- son a little east and north of Oquawka. South Henderson rises in the eastern part of the county and enters Henderson a half of a mile north of the town of Gladstone. Farther to the south Ellison creek runs from east to west through the county, and empties into the Mississippi above the town of Carman. Still farther south in the county are Honey and Dugout creeks, running in a westerly direction. The prairies of this county comprise something less than half of its area. The soil of the prairie is excellent for agricultural purposes, consisting of a blackish loam underlaid with a brown elay. On the high lands that bound the streams the soil is lighter and less productive. These high lands were formerly covered with timber; but improvidence in its use and ravages of fire have, in a great measure, denuded these ridges. and the process of destruction still goes on. The common growth was the different varieties of oak, with some hickory, with an under- growth of hazel interspersed with some sumac. On the lower lands, and in the bottoms we find the various species of elm, linden, ash,
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
maple, box-elder, cottonwood, buckeye, black walnut, butternut, honey and black locust, aspen, wild cherry, hackberry, mulberry, coffee tree, crab-apple, redbud, and many other varieties of small growth of tim- ber. From the north end of the county to near Camp creek on the south extends a belt of bottom land of an average width of about two and one-half miles. A portion of this belt is rich black loam, very fertile and producing heavy crops. However, the overflow of the Mississippi in spring time renders business of farming these lands very uncertain. Along this belt extends between the bluff and river, for nearly the entire length of the county, elevations or sand ridges, embracing many square miles of unproductive land, although a portion of these sand lands are cultivated with success, producing remunera- tive crops. This sandy soil is especially adapted to the culture of sorghum or sugar cane, which is at the present time being quite exten- sively cultivated. And in view of the success attending the use of improved machinery in other portions of the state, there is every reason to expect that the future value of these sand lands will be greatly enhanced.
This county is favored with numerous springs of excellent water, furnishing a constant and copious supply, sufficient for the necessities of large herds of cattle. Little difficulty is found in obtaining a water supply in wells at a very moderate depth, varying from ten to fifty feet. There have been found some mineral springs of some value, but few, if any, have been subjected to a chemical analysis, so as to deter- mine their medicinal qualities. However, it is known that copperas is the mineral most commonly held in solution by their waters. Hender- son county has an abundant supply of building stone, which may be said to be inexhaustible. It is of the species called by geologists Bur- lington limestone, and is found in and along the bluffs, extending the entire length of the county, and to some extent along the bluffs of the creeks which find their outlet in the Mississippi. This rock is found to be light colored massive limestone, standing exposure well and the effects of the weather. There are many quarries of this stone open and worked along the bluffs of Ellison and Henderson creeks. The most extensive quarry in the county is on South Henderson, and is worked by August Wallbaum, Esq., near the town of Gladstone, on the line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. Here an extensive busi- ness is carried on in quarrying and finishing stone for buildings of all kinds. Many of the best buildings in the state are furnished with material from this quarry. The court-houses in Freeport and Macomb are built of this stone. The government buildings at Omaha are like- wise built of stone from this quarry. As many as seventy-five hands
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HENDERSON COUNTY.
are constantly employed the greater portion of the year in carrying on this business. This county is so unfortunate as to find but a very small supply of coal within her limits. On Secs. 24 and 26. T. 9 N., + W .. a thin seam has been found, but this supply is but a scant amount and that of an inferior quality. Many hope yet to find coal in adequate supply, but scientific examination gives small promise for the realiza- tion of their hopes, and this county may expect to depend upon more favored localities for her supply of coal. The soil of the county is well adapted to the production of corn, wheat, and other grains, and fruit of all kinds, adapted to this latitude, is produced in abundance, although along the bluff lines orchards thrive better than on prairie or bottom lands, and in the bottoms and upon the timbered portion of the sand ridges, the wild grape grows luxuriantly, yielding a grape that produces an excellent wine.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
With this brief geographical view of the territory, it is proper now to pass to the organization of the county. As stated in the beginning, this county was formerly embraced in, and formed a part of, Warren county. In the year 1841 an act was passed by the general assembly, and duly approved, creating the county of Henderson, the following being a correct copy of the act :
An Act to Establish the County of Henderson :- SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the gen- eral assembly : that all that part of the now county of Warren lying west of range three of the third principal meridian, be, and the same is hereby created, into a new county, to be called the county of Hen- derson.
SEC. 2. The county seat of said county of Henderson shall be, and is hereby permanently located at the town of Oquawka, in said county of Henderson ; provided, the proprietors of said town of Oquawka shall donate and convey to the county commissioners of Henderson county, (for the time being) for the use and benefit of said county in fee simple not less than two hundred of the average of the unsold or unimproved lots, in said town of Oquawka, the proceeds of the sale of said town lots, or so much thereof as may be required, shall be appropriated exclusively to the erection of public buildings.
Skc. 3. In case of the removal of the county seat from said town of Oquawka, the public buildings and the lots upon which they may stand shall revert and become the property of said proprietors and their heirs forever thereafter, and also all lots remaining unsold at the the time of removal.
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
SEC. 4. The legal voters of the county of Henderson shall meet at the usual places of holding elections in said county, on the first Mon- day in April, 1841, and proceed to elect all county officers, except one commissioner and the justices of the peace and constables at present residing therein, who shall continue to discharge. the duties of their offices, respectively, in and for the county of Henderson, in the same manner as though Warren county had not been divided. The officers elected under the provisions of this act shall hold their offices until the next regular election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
SEC. 5. The county commissioners of said county of Henderson shall meet in the town of Oquawka, on the third Monday of April, 1841, and after being duly qualified, shall proceed to hold court and perform such duties as are required by law of other county commis- sioners' courts. Of the commissioners elected under the provisions of this act, the one receiving the highest number of votes shall hold his office for the term of three years from and after [the] first Monday in August next; the one receiving the second highest number of votes shall hold his office for the term of two years from and after that period.
SEC. 6. The county commissioners shall, whenever in their opinion the interests of the county may demand and require the sale of the whole or any part of the lots donated as aforesaid, proceed to sell the same, in such manner, and on such terms they may deem advisable for the interests of the county.
SEC. 7. The election returns for the officers herein provided to be elected, shall be made in the same manner, and within the same time as all other elections, except that the returns shall be made to John B. Patterson, an acting justice of the peace, of said county, or in case of his death or inability to act, any other justice of the peace of said county, who shall call to his assistance two other justices of the peace of said county, and proceed to open the returns of the election, and in all things perform the duties required of the county commissioners' court and justices of the peace in like cases.
SEc. S. The county commissioners' court at their first term to be holden on the third Monday of April, 1841, shall proceed, together with the proprietors of the said town of Ognawka, to select the num- ber of town lots herein before provided to be donated, and so soon as the selection shall be made and agreed upon, the proprietors shall im- mediately thereupon execute a deed in fee simple for said lots to the county commissioners for the time being, for the use and benefit of said county, which deed when so made and acknowledged and received shall be entered upon the records of said court, and also be recorded as other deeds are in the office of the county recorder.
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EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
SEC. 9. The school commissioner of Warren county shall pay over to the commissioners of Henderson county, upon demand being made by said county commissioners, or their legally constituted agent, all moneys, notes and other papers which may be in his hands at the time of such demand, and which may rightfully belong to said county of Henderson, by reason of the sale of any school lands located within the county of Henderson, and also its proportion of the interest arising from the college and seminary fund, the basis of which payment shall be made upon the late census of Warren county.
SEC. 10. All officers elected under and pursuant to the provisions of this act. shall be required to take such oath or affirmation and give such bond and security as are or may be required of like officers in other counties, and upon a failure so to do, the same penalties and for- feitures shall apply as in similar cases under the laws of this state.
SEC. 11. It shall be the duty of the county commissioners' court of Henderson county, at their first meeting on the first Monday of April next, as provided in the fifth section of this act, to proceed to levy a tax for state and county purposes, as required by the law in relation to the public revenue, in the same manner as though they had met on the first Monday of March, as now required, and shall also do and per- form all other things necessary and lawful to insure the collection of the state and county revenue in said county of Henderson.
Approved January 20, 1841.
The general assembly of the state also passed an act, approved February 19, 1841, entitled, "An act to authorize the election of an additional county commissioner in Henderson county."
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, repre- sented in the general assembly, that on the first Monday in August next, there shall be elected in the county of Henderson, one county commissioner for said county in addition to the members already pro- vided to be elected by the act entitled "An act creating the county of Henderson, approved January 20, 1841," who shall hold his office for one year from and after said first Monday of August next, as aforesaid ; and thereafter election for county commissioners shall be held, notice given, and returns made thereof in the same manner as now re- quired by law. Approved February 19, 1841. The boundaries of the county remain as at first designated by the general assembly.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
Did time and space, and the limits of the writer of this article permit, a volume could be written of the early settlement, growth and prosperity of this county. The struggles and privations of the pioneer
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are but repetitions of experiences of frontier life, which are full of inci- dents that. portrayed in all their minuteness, would form volumes of instructive and interesting history. The vast west. the continually re- ceding frontier demanded then, as now, daring, self-sacrificing men and women, who were willing to make sacrifice of the pleasures derived from the society of the older and populous states, and seek in western wilds to assist in laying the foundations of new empires. It is well that it is so. How else could these almost limitless regions have ever been settled ? That spirit of enterprise, that love of adventure, that reckless braving of all dangers, seems to have been an inheritance of those men and women peculiarly raised up to meet the demands of the great west, in filling her borders with a vigorons, intelligent and self-reliant people. Looking back into the past we have seen genera- tion succeed generation in the older states, men content to live where their fathers lived, and die where their fathers died, without that restless desire for roaming that has characterized our people in later days. With the opening of new states and territories we have witnessed a new spirit infusing itself into our population. The home of childhood. the graves of ancestors, have been but feeble ties to bind the restless spirit whose vision was fixed in the direc- tion of the setting sun, and saw spread ont before him the field where wealth and honor were to be won. The world has looked on and wondered, as they have seen the mighty tide of emigration moving westward with such quiet and resistless force, breaking down all bar- riers, overcoming all obstacles, and organizing states as if by magic, filled with intelligent, thrifty and orderly people. Powerful Indian tribes have melted away and given place to a refined commercial peo- ple. Neighboring nations who seemed to stand in the path of our on- ward progress, have, after short conflict, or direct diplomacy, given ground and sought peace at the price of dismembered territory, which was added to our almost boundless empire. No wonder that the poet sang :
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