USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > Quincy and Adams County history and representative men, Vol. I > Part 24
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"Readers of local history may enjoy a detailed summary of the events of this period, gathered mainly from the files of the contem- porary daily papers.
"Immediately after the proclamation of the President calling for troops, the adjutant general of the State notified the commanders
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of the various military organizations that they would be called upon to enter active duty. At this time there were two companies in Quincy, commanded by Captain James D. Morgan, of the 'Guards,' and Captain Schroer, of the 'Rifles.'
"A meeting of the citizens of Quincy and vicinity was called at the Court House. All were invited who 'without distinction of party were determined to stand by the flag of their country and sustain their government.' The Court House was packed to its utmost capac- ity. Addresses were made by Dr. Stahl, Barney Arntzen, I. N. Morris, O. HI. Browning and Jackson Grimshaw. No epithets were handied by Democrats against Republicans or by Republicans against Democrats for the first time in Quincy. Parties forgot their parti- sanship in their patriotism. Recruiting was begun by the 'guards' and within twenty-four hours more than 100 men were enrolled. The Savings Bank tendered a loan of $20,000 to the State. On Sun- day, April 21st, two companies left for Springfield. Captain B. M. Prentiss was in command. Captain Morgan, whose leg had been broken while packing iee the previous winter, accompanied the com- mand on crutches. Before their departure they were given an ova- tion. A vast crowd assembled in Washington Park, and Rev. H. Foote and O. H. Browning made speeches. A flag was presented to Captain Prentiss. M. B. Denman led in singing 'My Country "Tis of Thee.' Rev. Mr. Jacques offered prayer and the exercises were closed by singing the 'Doxology.' Ten thousand people accompanied the volunteers to the railroad station. A train decorated with flags was ready for them. The immense crowd sang 'The Star Spangled Ban- ner,' and, cheered by the sympathetic multitude, they left for Spring- field. At Clayton they were joined by thirty recruits, making a total of 201 men. At Jacksonville a large assembly of people met them at the depot to speed them on their way. The writer heard the speech Prentiss made on this occasion, and remembers that his main point was in refutation of the charge that a 'Yankee can't fight.' His point was that for 'just cause he would fight as well as any man God ever made.' A movement was made to organize a company in each ward of the city. There was much military activity across the river. Green and Porter were industriously organizing companies for Confederate service. Union men were being killed; others were driven out of the State. It was quite possible that a raid might be made on the city.
"It was the work of a few days to raise six companies, as follows : First ward, Captain Benneson, 107 men ; Second ward, Captain W. R. Johnson, 148 men: Third ward, Captain J. A. Vandorn, 158 men ; Fourth ward, Captain Joshua Wood, 130 men; Fifth ward, Captain U. S. Penfield, 115 men ; Sixth ward, Captain S. M. Bartlett, 108 men. In addition to these Captain William Steinwedell reported a company of 71 men. These companies elected as regimental officers, James E. Dunn, colonel; William R. Lockwood, lieutenant colonel; William
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Shannahan, major. The 'Quiney Cadets' became enthusiastie, and gave renewed attention to drill.
"Women showed a zealous patriotism, and on the 24th of April a call was issued for a meeting to 'organize to help the men in the field.' Two societies were organized for this purpose; one was called the Needle Piekets and the other, Good Samaritans. They arranged to meet on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of each week 'to prepare lint, bandages, articles of comfort and convenience, and in every way add their mite to aid and comfort the brave men of the land.' They industriously solicited flannel, linen and all kinds of material which could be made useful to the soldier.
" These noble women deserve an honored place in local history- Mrs. Almira Morton. Mrs. Eliza Bushnell, Mrs. John Moore, Mrs. Rittler, Miss Nellie Bushnell Parker, Mrs. Anna MeFadon, Mrs. Eleeta Finlay. Sarah Baker, Mrs. Joseph, Mrs. Phil Bert. Mrs. Gaushell, Mrs. Amanda Penfield, Mrs. Elizabeth Charles, Mrs. Warren Reed, Mrs. George Burns, Mrs. Jonas, Mrs. Aliea Asbury Abbott. Miss Maertz, Miss Lina Chureh. Miss Kate Cohen, Miss Abbey Fox, Mrs. Pinkham, Kate Palmer, Mary Palmer, Mrs. John Williams, Mrs. Lorenzo Bull, Mrs. C. H. Bull, Mrs. F. Nelke, Mrs. Baughman, Mrs. John Seaman, Mrs. Fred Boyd and Mrs. James Woodruff. This is but a partial list of these noble workers. Among those who belonged to the Good Samaritans were: Mrs. John Cox. Mrs. Joseph Gilpin, Mrs. I. O. Woodruff, Miss Theresa Woodruff and many others. On the 18th of July then had a membership of 148-114 women and 34 men.
"On the 24th of April a meeting was held to organize a company of eavalry. Speeches were made by D. P. Allen, Captain Dunn and Colonel W. A. Richardson. Charles W. Mead was made captain of the company. On the same date a dispatch was received ordering a six-pounder brass eannon, which was in the city, to be forwarded to Springfield. On the thirtieth Judge Douglas made a speech before the Legislature which greatly encouraged and united the loyal element of the eonntry. Recruiting was greatly stimulated. Meetings were held from Lima to Kingston and Beverly, addressed by Dr. Stahl, I. N. Morris, Barney Arntzen and Dr. M. M. Bane.
"A company was formed known as the Union Rifle Company ; Charles Petrie was made captain. About this time there was some question as to how far W. A. Richardson supported the administra- tion in its war policy, and Dr. Bane addressed him a letter in the publie prints to secure his views. He replied: 'Every citizen owes it as a solenm duty to obey the law, to support the constitution, repel invasion and defend the flag. A company was formed called the Quiney National Zouaves: Joseph W. Seaman was made captain. A 'Marine Corps' was also organized intended to enforce the recent aet of the Legislature forbidding the exportation of arms and munitions of war from the State. It had been discovered that powder. caps
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and other military supplies were being bought in Quiney and taken to Missouri.
"On the 12th of July Colonel U. S. Grant arrived in Quincy and went into camp at West Quincy. Robert Tillson delivered a lot of accoutrements and Colonel Grant kept the tally of them himself in the absence of the quartermaster. It is worthy of record that the Needle Pickets sent a pillowcase filled with lint and bandages to the ferry for the use of the regiment. Mrs. C. H. Morton carried it to the boat and delivered it to Colonel Grant. He thanked the ladies through her and, putting the pillowcase under his arm, walked aboard the boat. Thus in his simple and unceremonious way did the great general of his time enter upon hostile territory.
"On July 15th Colonel Turchin arrived with the Nineteenth In- fantry and went into camp on Sunset Hill. General Hurlburt soon arrived to take command of the brigade and made his headquarters at the Quincy House. Colonel Milligan's regiment arrived on the 17th, camping at Sunset Hill. Sickness began in the camps and the chair factory on the corner of Fifth and Ohio was leased as a hospital. Quincy became a rendezvous for companies from the adjoining coun- ties. Camps were established southwest of Woodland Cemetery at the Fair Grounds, at Sunset Hill north of the city and on Alstyne's prairie east of Twelfth street. The companies first arriving were organized as the Sixteenth Regiment of Illinois Infantry.
"The regiments of Colonels Good, Scott and Palmer had been ordered to Quincy, and the Fourteenth had arrived on the 19th of June. James W. Singleton was offered the colonelcy of a cavalry regiment, but he declined the honor. The various Home Guards engaged in target shooting. Hays and Woodruff had a large force of men engaged in making knapsacks. Robert Tillson made scabbards and cartridge boxes, and Greenleaf's foundry was manufacturing cannon. The Needle Pickets gave a Union supper netting $95, the Fourteenth Regiment band supplying the music. On the Fourth of July there was a grand parade. The procession was led by the Four- teenth Regiment ; then followed the Quincy Guards, Captain Penfield ; the National Rifles, Captain Steinwedell; Quincy Cadets, Captain Letton ; the Quiney Mounted Guards, Captain Charles W. Mead. These were followed by various civic societies. In the afternoon a military pienie on Alstyne's prairie closed the exercises.
"On the 5th of July word came from the town of Canton, Mis- souri, that Captain Howell. of the Home Guards, had been shot by a secessionist, and that the town was about to be attacked by a Confed- erate force. Six hundred men of the Fourteenth Regiment were sent up on the steamer 'Black Hawk.' but their services were not needed, for no attack was made. W. R. Schmidt, without any 'posters or newspaper appeals and speeches' raised a company and left for Camp Butler, where he joined the Twenty-Seventh Infantry.
"Special efforts were made to raise an Adams County regiment. On the 16th of July Dr. M. M. Bane published this notice: 'The
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Adams County regiment will be accepted under the first call for troops. Commanders will fill up their ranks and be prepared to enter service immediately.' This regiment (the Fiftieth) was mustered into the United States service September 12, 1861. M. M. Bane was made colonel: William Swarthout, lieutenant colonel ; George W. Randall, major. William Hanna was captain of Company E. Their first service was along the line of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. This regiment had a brilliant and conspicuous career. On the 26th of July, Edward Prinee published a eall, proposing to raise a cavalry company. lle was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Seventh Illinois Cavalry, and made drill master of cavalry at Camp Butler. The three months' volunteers returned from Cairo on the 5th of August. They were met at the wharf by Captains Penfield and Rose with their infantry commands, by Captain Delano with his dragoons and one company of the Fourteenth Infantry. Capt. T. W. Maefall left for Camp Butler with his mounted cavalry company on the 16th of Ang- ust. About this time the Needle Piekets gave a reception to General Prentiss and Colonel Morgan. They also made 107 needle books for Captain Sheley's company. This company, after its three months' service, enlisted for three years, and was Company C of the Tenth Infantry.
"The troops which had crossed the river here had now taken pos- session of North Missouri. Bushwhackers and guerilla bands wan- dered about the country, but aside from some skirmishes with these the Union soldiers held the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad entirely across the state and, with it. its military control. The extreme west wing of the Confederate Army was driven southward beyond the Missouri River. During the summer and autumn of this year several events of interest occurred. An effort, led by Jacob Kolker, was made to raise an artillery company. Captain Powers and Dr. S. G. Black were authorized to raise cavalry companies. The Tenth Cavalry ar- rived in Quincy and paraded .the street 800 strong. Many steam- boats. some with barges attached loaded with troops, passed down the river. Colonel Williams' Sharpshooters left camp for the front. The Fox River Regiment passed through Quincy for St. Louis.
"Gen. Phillip St. George Cooke, of the regular army, passed through Quiney with his command 600 strong, with 300 horses and six cannon. They came from Utah. Colonel Glover, with his eom- mand, crossed into Missouri. In a few days he was at Paris, Monroe County, and levied a sum of $2,500 upon the citizens to repair the railroad which had been damaged by the Confederates. On the 11th of November, Lieutenant Shipley of Company A, Twenty-Seventh In- fantry, killed in the battle of Belmont, was buried in Woodland Cemetery with military honors. On the 8th of December the C. B. & Q. Railroad Company presented a cannon to the local artillery com- pany. About this date the bridges across the North and Fabius Rivers, southwest of Quiney, were burned by Confederates.
Vol. 1-15
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"Col. W. A. Richardson was tendered command of a Kentucky brigade, to be organized at Camp Du Bois near Jonesboro, Illinois. Captain Delano's company of dragoons left for Camp Butler, and by the 9th of September were in camp at Bird's Point on the river opposite Cairo. At the close of the year most of the regiments which had been organized at Quiney, and were in part composed of men from Adams County, had been sent sonthward and been assigned to varions brigades and divisions. The Tenth, Sixteenth and Twenty- Seventh were at the front. The Fiftieth left Quincy January 26, 1862. Most of the Adams County soldiers were with Pope's command, and participated in the campaign which resulted in the capture of New Madrid and abont 5,000 men near Tiptonville. The Fiftieth was with Grant at Fort Donelson. Subsequently they were all engaged in the movement nnder General Halleek upon Corinth, Mississippi.
"During the spring and early summer months Quincy began to see the results of active campaigns in sickness, wounds and deaths. There were two hospitals established and numbers of sick and wounded soldiers were brought from the camps and battlefields. Rev. Hor- atio Foote and Rev. S. H. Emery were appointed ehaplains. Dr. D. G. Brinton had charge of a hospital. Dr. I. T. Wilson served as surgeon. Other local physicians were assigned to hospital duty."
As will be noted by the foregoing brief account of the war ae- tivities centering at Quincy, substantially during the first year of hostilities, the regiments to which Adams County supplied substanial quotas were sent to the front in the following order: Sixteenth, Tenth, Twenty-Seventh and Fiftieth.
THE WAR AS CENTERED AT QUINCY (1862-65)
Before traeing generally the histories of the organizations which may be specially accredited to Adams County, it seems desirable to present a picture of the activities of the war as centered at Quiney, in 1862-65. In July of the second year of the war, the President called for more troops and Adams County, with the North as a whole, realized that the Sonth was not only desperately in earnest but a power to be reckoned with to the extent of all its resources of men and materials. After several vain attempts had been made to raise an entire regiment in Adams County, five companies and part of another were recruited and joined the Seventy-Eighth Infantry, of which W. H. Benneson was made colonel and C. Van Vleck, lieutenant- colonel.
Adams County furnished two companies for the Eighty-Fourth Infantry, of which Lonis H. Waters was commissioned colonel, Thomas Hamer, lieutenant-colonel, and Charles H. Morton, of Quincy, major. Three companies, recruited in Quincy, joined the One Hundred and Eigheenth Infantry, of which John J. Fonda was colonel and Robert M. MeClanghry, major. In September the One Hundred and Nine- teenth Infantry was organized, with Thomas J. Kinney as colonel ;
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three companies being raised in the county. Three more companies were also recruited for the Seventy-Third Infantry, of which Rev. Mr. Jaques, president of Quincy College, was colonel.
The autumn of 1862 was a ble, if not black season for those who stood for the vigorous prosecution of the war, and the legislative representatives for Adams County all voted for an armistice with the South. But the draft was finally sustained by the people. James Woodruff was then provost marshal of the district, his successors being Capt. Henry Asbury and W. H. Fisk.
After Gettysburg and the fall of Vieksburg, the North saw her star in the ascendant. In JJanuary, 1864, the Tenth, Sixteenth and Fiftieth regiments, having largely re-enlisted, eame home on veteran furlough, and were received with open arms and purses. Their short stay did inneh to reinforee the determination and raise the spirits of those at home. In the spring of 1864, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and lowa, believing that the rebellion was very near its close, tendered President Lincoln a force of 85,000 one hundred-day men, to relieve the veterans of guard duty at the forts and arsenals and along the railroad lines of threatened territory. In line with that accepted offer, the One Hundred and Thirty-Seventh Illinois Infantry was mustered in at Camp Wood. in June, 1864, with ex-Governor John Wood as its colonel. The people of Quiney presented their honored citizen with a fine horse and outfit as a mark of their affection. Colonel Wood was then in his sixty-sixth year. The regiment left Quiney for Memphis June 9th, was assigned to railroad picket duty, suffered some losses in fighting off an attack of Forrest's eavalry and was mustered ont of the service in September.
Also in June, 1864, the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Regiment of one hundred-day men left Quiney for Fort Leavenworth, and the Twenty-Ninth Colored Regiment (two companies of which were from Adams County) departed for Massachusetts. The command of col- ored troops gave a fine account of themselves before Petersburg.
In February, 1865. the One Hundred and Forty-Eighth Regiment was organized. Company D was made up of Quincy men, with Henry A. Dix as captain, and they hound themselves for a year of military service, but were discharged in September.
The news of the fall of Richmond reached Quiney on April 4th, and the city shared in the country-wide rejoicing over what was known to be the close forerunner of the collapse of the Rebellion. The surrender of General Lee stopped the draft. and on April 21st the One Hundred and Forty-Sixth Regiment was sent to Springfield to be mustered out.
The barracks which had sheltered so many thousand soldiers were dismantled and the lumber sold. The local press expressed the hope that "now that the soldiers have vacated Franklin Square, we trust that our authorities will turn their attention to its embellish- ment."
From that time Quiney ceased to be a military camp.
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As rapidly as they were mustered out of the service the volunteers returned to their homes by the shortest route. About fifty of the Tenth Infantry returned to Quincy with Colonel Tillson. The Fif- tieth reached the city on July 22d. It has been called the "pet of Adams County."
LOCAL MILITARY LEADERS
A summary of the careers of men who went from Adams County and attained military prominence commences with Captain Morgan, who reached the rank of major-general, commanding the Second Di- vision, Fourteenth Army Corps, at the end of the war; Captain Pren- tiss, the hero of Shiloh, where he commanded the Hornet's Nest Di- vision. also a major-general; Col. M. M. Bane, of the Fiftieth, who lost an arm at Shiloh, and commanded a brigade during a large period of the Civil war and afterward was honored with various fed- eral offices ; Colonel Tillson, who, after he had won his star as brevet brigadier in the fierce warfare of the Rebellion, continued to serve for some time with the regular army before he returned to civil pur- suits and its honors; W. A. Schmidt, who was breveted brigadier- general, who went from Quincy as captain of Company A, Twenty- Seventh Regiment, was commissioned major the following year and left the service as brevet brigadier general ; Cols. William Hanna, William Swartout and Edward Prince (the latter of the Seventh Illinois Cavalry), and Lieutenant-Colonels Morton, Cahill, and others.
THE SIXTEENTH INFANTRY
The Sixteenth Infantry Illinois Volunteers was organized and mustered into the United States service at Quiney under the Tenth Regimental Act on the 24th of May, 1861. In the following month it was mustered in by Capt. T. G. Pitcher, with Robert F. Smith as colonel and Samuel Wilson as lieutenant colonel, and thus "got on the move" even before the enterprising Tenth. It was at once moved to Grand Rivers, Kentucky, as railroad guard and in July, after it had been scattered along the line, was attacked by the enemy, suffer- ing a minor loss, but getting the advantage of knowing what it was to be under fire. Its first important engagement was at New Madrid, Missouri, where it was brigaded with the Tenth, with which it followed the retreating enemy to Tiptonville, Tennessee, and captured quite a force of Confederates with artillery, small arms and ammunition. It also participated in the siege of Corinth, engaged in other cam- paigns in the southwest, and before being mustered out in July, 1865, had the satisfaction of decisively defeating the noted cavalry leader, General Morgan. The Sixteenth arrived at Camp Butler on the 10th of that month for final payment and discharge.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY
The Twenty-Seventh linois Infantry was organized at Camp Butler with only seven companies in August, 1861, and ordered to Jacksonville as part of Gen. John A. MeClernand's brigade. The remaining companies joined the regiment at Cairo in September. In November it participated in the battle of Belmont and suffered heavy losses. Subsequently it took part in the sieges of Island No. 10 and Corinth ; was a sturdy assistant in the defense of Nashville, and, with other Illinois regiments, proved its soldierly mettle at such fiery tests as were given it through Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Pine Top Mountain, Reseca, Kenesaw Mountain and Peach Tree Creek. Its first commanding officer was Col. N. H. Buford, who, at his promo- tion to be brigadier-general in April. 1862, was succeeded by F. A. Harrington, former lieutenant-colonel. As the future was to prove, however, Capt. William A. Schmitt of Company A, who was ad- vanced through all the successive grades to that of brevet brigadier- general, earned the greatest military prominence of anyone identified with the Twenty-Seventh.
THE FIFTIETHI AND COL. M. M. BANE
This popular and fine regiment was organized at Quiney in Aug- ust, 1861, by Col. M. M. Bane, and mustered into the United States service in the following month. It moved around considerably, in Missouri principally, and did not see action until February of the following year, when it participated in the engagements before Forts Henry and Donelson. At Shiloh, or Pittsburgh Landing. in March, the regiment was in the thick of the fight and Colonel Bane lost his good right arm. The siege of Corinth, in May, and the subsequent campaigns in Tennessee and Alabama, gave the regiment both action and arduous campaigning calculated to make hardened veterans of them all. In November. 1863, the regiment was mounted by order of Major-General Dodge, and in January, 1864, fully three-fourths of the men of the regiment reenlisted as veterans of the three years' service. They spent their month's furlough at Quincy, Colonel Bane with them.
After recovering from his wounds at Shiloh, Colonel Bane, who was then commanding the Third Brigade, had rejoined his command at Corinth and the siege of Vicksburg, but after again taking the field subsequent to the Quiney furlough he resigned the command of the brigade to accept other service as Government agent in care of confis- cated property in Georgia. Brig .- Gen. William Vandever took com- mand of the Third Brigade.
In the following October, with Lieutenant-Colonel Hanna in com- mand of the Fiftieth, was fought the battle at Altoona in which the commander and Surgeon A. G. Pickett were badly wounded, and the regiment suffered casualties of eighty-seven. The regiment continued
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with Sherman's army to the Sea, Colonel Hanna commanding the brigade, and thenee through the Carolinas to the participation in the Grand Review at Washington. Ordered to Louisville to be mustered out, the Fiftieth Regiment won the prize banner in a competitive drill with the Sixty-Third Ilinois and the Seventh Iowa.
When the war broke out Colonel Bane was known as Doctor Bane, engaged in a substantial practice of medicine and surgery at Payson, Illinois. A native of Ohio and developing amid most humble cireum- stances, he had wrested an education from the district schools and graduated from the Sterling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, be- fore he located at Payson (in 1844). After practicing for sixteen years and also making progress in state politics, Doctor Bane had just served a term in the Legislature when he was called from his quiet professional life to the turmoils and hazards of war. In May, 1865, he resigned his position of assistant special agent of the Treasury, in charge of abandoned property in Georgia, spent the following winter at Harvard Law College, in 1866-69, served as United States internal revenue assessor for the Fourth District of Illinois, and was for a time afterward connected with the same department in the secret service. Colonel Bane was a gifted, shrewd and gallant man, and during the later years of his life was esteemed as a strong re- publican leader and was ever a good citizen and a fine man.
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