|
|
|
 |
by A. B. |
In the Civil War there were nine generals from the Galena. The one most commonly known was Ulysses S. Grant. He later became president of the United States. |
|
| Augustus L. Chetlain was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1824. His family moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1826. Augustus’s father began in mining then he went into farming. Augustus went to Elyria, Ohio in 1847 to marry Miss Emily Teeney. Emily died 18 months later. They had one son. Augustus and his son made many visits to Galena in 1864. When the war started in 1861, he volunteered and helped organize the first company of volunteers from the Galena area. They fought at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh. Chetlain was promoted from Captain to Colonel to Brigadier General by 1863. He helped raise the 55th regiment of volunteers. In 1865 he was promoted to Brevet Major General of US Volunteers. That same year. He married Annie M. Smith. After the war they moved to Chicago, Illinois, and became involved in the banking business. Augustus L. Chetlain died in 1914. | |
| William R. Rowley was born in St. Lawrence County, New York in 1824. He moved to Brown County, Ohio, in the early 1840’s. He also taught school in the 1840’s. During the mid-1840’s, he settled at Scales Mound and continued teaching. In 1847 William married Elizabeth Miller and they had four children. At the outbreak of the Civil War, their home was at 515 Hill Street in Galena. Rowley enlisted in 1861 as a first lieutenant Company D of the 45th Illinois Volunteers! In 1862 following the battle of Fort Donelson, he was promoted to captain and became an assistant to General Grant. He fought at Shiloh and Vicksburg. In 1864 he was promoted to Lt. Colonel and Military Secretary on Grant’s staff. When he became ill, he had to resign in October of 1864, and came back to Galena. General Grant recommended him Brigadier General of Volunteers by Brevet. In Galena, he went back to being circuit court clerk of Jo Daviess County. He was elected county judge and he held that position till his death in September of 1886. | |
| John E. Smith was born in Switzerland in 1816. In 1834 John was in St. Louis and went into business as a jeweler. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he helped organize the 45th Illinois Volunteers. He became colonel of the regiment. He fought at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. By 1862, he was promoted to Brigadier General. He served in the Atlantic campaign and Sherman’s March to the Sea. He was promoted to Major General of Volunteers in January of 1865. After the war, he became US Assessor for the District of Utah, and was stationed at many military posts in the west. John retired from the army in 1881, and he settled in Chicago. John E. Smith died in January of 1897. | |
| Jasper A. Maltby was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio in 1826. He served during the Mexican War and was wounded at Chapultepec. Following the Mexican War, Jasper settled in Chicago. In the mid-1850’s he moved to Galena and began a gunsmith shop. He lived above his shop with his wife and son. When the Civil War started, he left his store in Galena and volunteered . He was elected colonel of the regiment. He was wounded at Fort Donelson and came back to Galena. After he recovered, he fought at Vicksburg and was wounded again. He never fully recovered from these wounds. Maltby was promoted to Brigadier General in 1866. After the war he became the Military Mayor of Vicksburg in 1867. Jasper A. Maltby died in December of 1867. | |
| John A. Rawlins was born in East Galena in 1831. His family moved to Guilford, Illinois. John burned charcoal for lead smelters. Lyon, Randolph W. The Dubuque Encyclopedia. Dubuque: Iowa, Union-Hoermann Press, 1991John’s son assisted him. John started a partnership with someone else from Galena, Isaac Stevens. John married Emily Smith in June of 1856. After their marriage, they began to live at 517 Hill Street. They had three children. When the war started in 1861, John’s wife, Emily, was dying of tuberculosis, and John was unable to offer his services to the government. Emily died in August of 1861. In mid-August, he accepted an offer by General Grant to serve on his staff, and he stayed with Grant until the end of the war. In March of 1865, he was appointed Brigadier General in the regular army, and chief of staff to Grant. He was promoted to Major General for meritorious services. John made the acquaintance of Mary Hurlbut of Danbury when he was at Vicksburg. He married Mary at her parents house in December of 1863, and they had three children together. In 1864 John’s health began to fail. Despite his health problems he continued to serve for Grant. He made short visits to Galena in 1867 and 1868 but his health continued to get worse. John A. Rawlins died in September of 1869. | |
| John C. Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1832. His family moved to Galena in the mid-1850’s, and he formed a partnership with B.W. Marble in the carpentry and contracting trade. In March of 1856 John married Charlotte Gallagher at her parents’ house in Galena. They had five kids. Before the war, he worked in the construction business. He helped in building the Galena Methodist Episcopal Church and the Galena Custom House. When the war started he enlisted as a private, and was elected captain of his unit. He fought at Fort Donelson, at Chattanooga, Tennessee, at Chickamauga Georgia, and at Kenesaw Mountain, where he was wounded. In 1965 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel and later to Brigadier General of Volunteers. In the early 1870’s, they moved to Chicago. John C, Smith died in Chicago in December of 1910. | |
| Ely S. Parker was born in Genesee County, New York in 1828. He was a Seneca Indian from Tonawanda Reservation of Western New York State. In the late 1840’s, he began to study law, but he was not accepted to the bar because only naturalized citizens of the United States could be accepted. At that time, Indians were not considered Americans. Ely began a career as a engineer. His experience being a engineer helped when he was a surveyor for the Galena River when they considered building a lock. He also worked on the Dubuque Custom House. Parker returned to New York When the war started, he tried to enlist, but did not get a commission. In 1863, General John E. Smith, who he had met in Galena, appointed Parker was sent to the staff of General US Grant. When Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Parker made the official copy of the terms of surrender. He later became a Brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers in April of 1865. After the war, he stayed on to work in Washington. In December of 1867 he married Minnie Orton Sackett in Washington, D.C. They had one child. Ely S. Parker died in August of 1895. | |
| John O. Duer was born in Maryland in 1838. When the war began, he enlisted and got a commission as second lieutenant of Company D, 45th Illinois Volunteers. He was in many battles and also on Sherman’s March to the Sea. He became a LT. Colonel and later to Brigadier General of Volunteers in 1865. After the Civil War John returned to Galena and formed a partnership with J.R. Patton in the leather and hardware business. In 1867 John married Jennie Wonderly. They got married at her parents’ house in January of 1868. They moved to Monticello, Iowa and had five children. John O. Duer died in December of 1880. | |
|
Bibliography Repp, Steve. The Nine Generals of Galena, Illinois. 1996. |
|
