| East Dubuque Local Area History Project | |
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By S.W. |
The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865. The northern states were called the Union, nicknamed the Yankees. The southerners were the Confederates, known as the Rebels. The Union’s capital was Washington D. C. The Confederates’ first capital was Montgomery, Alabama, but it was changed to Richmond, Virginia. The Yankees’ president was Abraham Lincoln (from Illinois). The Rebels’ was Jefferson Davis. There were 11 states in the Confederacy and 23 in the Union. |
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| The Civil War was fought because eleven southern states seceded from the Union. The Union didn’t believe they had a right to do that. Plus, they thought slavery was necessary for the work to get done , but the Union didn’t think so. The Union didn’t want slavery to extend into the territories because it didn’t already exist there. | |
| Illinois was not prepared for the war. Most of southern Illinois was settled by Rebels. The rest of Illinois was basically settled by Yankees. Some of the Rebels in the southern part of Illinois served for the Confederacy. In some cases, a father would fight his son, or a brother would fight his brother. The war broke up many families. | |
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When President Lincoln’s request for volunteers was heard, Illinois responded. The Governor of Illinois at that time requested six regiments. In five days, Illinois recruited sixty-two companies. There were about one hundred men in a company, and ten companies in a regiment. So, there were 1,000 men in a regiment. Lincoln had asked Illinois for 6,000 men. At first, men enlisted for three months or 100 days. Later they enlisted for one to three years. Near the end of 1861, Illinois had more than 43,000 in service. Illinois probably had a total of 259,092 of its people serve in the war. One man out of every seven died during his term of service. Illinois sent many supplies, including lead for bullets. After the war, General Grant became a hero. Being a hero helped him get elected to president in1869. |
| There was only one general who could win the war, and it was General Grant. General Grant was from Jo Daviess County (Galena, Illinois). When the was declared, Grant enlisted. Then, he recruited volunteers, including eight other generals, from Galena and Jo Daviess County. | |
| Memorial Day started on May 30, 1866. There are seven national cemeteries in Illinois. There is one near Springfield, two in Rock Island, one at Mound City, two in Alton, and at Quincy. In Rock Island there is one for the Union and one for the Confederates. Illinois lost 34,834 of its men during the war. Some died on the field and others died in the prison camps of the Confederates. Near Chicago there was a prison camp called Camp Douglas. His family gave away 42 acres of land for the camp when Douglas died. Over 12,000 rebels were held there in December, 1864. Later on, it was used as a training camp for the Union. The prisoners were allowed to write one letter in one month. | |
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| Illinois helped the Union win. Illinois sent its share of men and supplies. Without Illinois, the Union wouldn’t of been preserved, but it was. | |
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Bibliography Gray, Lucille M. The Story of Illinois. Fenton, Michigan: McRoberts Publishing Inc., 1977. |
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