Old Abe
Old Abe (May 27, 1861 – March 26, 1881) was a
Capture and sale
Old Abe was captured by Ahgamahwegezhig or "Chief Sky". He was the son of Ah-mous (translated either as "The Little Bee" or "Thunder of Bees"), who was an influential leader of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe.
In spring of 1861, Chief Sky set up a hunting and fishing camp near the
In August 1861, John C. Perkins,[6] assisted by Seth Pierce, Frank McGuire,[7] Thomas G. Butler and Victor Wolf,[8] recruited a company of volunteers from Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties. This company was called the "Eau Claire Badgers". Soon after its formation, McCann offered to sell the eagle to the Badgers, for $2.50. In his "History of Old Abe", published in 1865, Joseph O. Barrett, who helped McCann bring the eagle to Eau Claire, gave a description of the transaction, which can be paraphrased as:
"Will you buy my eagle," said McCann, "only two dollars and a half?"
"Here, boys, let's put in twenty five cents apiece," answered Frank McGuire, who began to collect quarters.
He also solicited a contribution from a civilian, S. M. Jeffers, but was rebuffed. When the soldiers heard of this, they accosted Jeffers, and gave him three lusty groans. When he understood that they were protesting against his reluctance to help buy the eagle, Jeffers laughed, paid for the bird with a
Quarter Eagle and presented him to the Company. After that, he had cheers instead of groans. The quarters were returned to the donors.[3]
Captain Perkins named the eagle after President Abraham Lincoln,[9] his quartermaster, Francis L. Billings, made a special perch on which to carry the bird into battle,[3] and a young soldier, James McGinnis, volunteered to take care of him.[10]
Civil War
Island Number Ten
On October, 12, the regiment left for
Corinth
In May 1862, the 8th participated in General
On August 22, after being bivouacked in summer quarters, the regiment arrived in
Shortly thereafter, forces under Rosecrans and General
On October 3 and 4, the combined Confederate armies launched a full-scale assault on Corinth, which was repulsed by troops under Rosecrans. During heavy fighting in this Second Battle of Corinth, 21 soldiers of the 8th Wisconsin died, and 60 were wounded. Colonel Mower was wounded in the neck and briefly captured.
Newspaper accounts of this battle claimed that Old Abe soared over the front lines. According to David McLain, these stories are exaggerated:
… a bullet cut the cord that held the eagle to his perch. About the same time that the cord was cut, Old Abe was shot through one wing, cutting out three quill feathers, but not drawing blood, and the bearer (McLain) was shot through the left shoulder of his blouse and right leg of his pants.
… (The eagle) flew about 50 feet down the line, must have been what caused the newspapers to come out the next week with great headlines telling about the eagle of the 8th Wisconsin getting away after a rebel bullet cut his cord and soaring, over the lines of both armies, and back to his perch, which is not so.
He was quite excited always in battle and he'd spread his wings and scream but never flew over the lines of either army.[10]
Vicksburg
On November 2, 1862, the regiment moved to
During this push, the 8th Wisconsin, with Old Abe, was in the thick of the fighting.[12] In Oxford, the regiment was accosted by a southern girl who scornfully exclaimed: "Oh! See that Yankee Buzzard.", enraging the men, drawing a verbal response from the 8th's ranks that caused her to retreat hastily to her house.[15] This was a name by which southern civilians and soldiers referred to Old Abe. Under orders from their officers, Confederate troops made numerous attempts to kill or capture the eagle, but they never succeeded.[16]
On December 20, while Grant was stalled,
At the time of Van Dorn's raid, the Wisconsin regiment was stationed in Holly Springs on guard duty. Its troops were surprised, overwhelmed, captured, and immediately
In March 1863, the regiment went to
From Helena, the regiment went to
On May 2, Sherman's corps crossed the river at Grand Gulf and proceeded toward Raymond, Mississippi, which the XVII Corps under General James B. McPherson occupied on May 12. Sherman bypassed Raymond and advanced on Jackson, which he and McPherson took on May 14, and from which Johnston had withdrawn. After Sherman appointed Mower as military governor of Jackson, Union troops burned part of the town, destroyed numerous factories, and cut the railroad connections with Vicksburg. Grant's objectives were further consolidated when his army prevailed at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16 and at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge on May 17. On May 22, the regiment participated in Grant's all-out assault on Vicksburg. When this operation failed, Grant reluctantly settled into a siege.[18]
During the siege, the 8th Wisconsin left Vicksburg to participate in an expedition to Mechanicsburg, Mississippi, where Benjamin Hilliker was severely wounded on June 4, 1863. They then returned to Young's Point where they blocked Confederates from escaping westward from Vicksburg. From this encampment, Sherman despatched them as part of a force assigned to drive General John G. Walker's Confederates from Richmond, Louisiana. This objective was accomplished by the Battle of Richmond, on June 15, after which the 8th returned to Young's Point.[12]
On July 12, 1863, the regiment returned to Vicksburg, shortly after its surrender on July 4. Subsequently, the regiment camped in various places near Vicksburg, from which they joined several mop-up operations. During this period, in September, Ed Homeston resigned his position as eagle bearer, John Burkhardt took charge of Old Abe, and Colonel Robbins was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson. Under his command, the regiment joined McPherson's expedition to
In the following letter to Governor Edward Salomon, General William T. Sherman summarized the activities of the Eighth Wisconsin during the Vicksburg campaign:[15]
Headquarters 15th Army Corps,
Sept. 21st, 1863
To His Excellency, the Governor of Wisconsin:
Sir Lt. Col. Jefferson, of the Eighth Wisconsin, is about to start for his home on a short leave of absence, during the period of rest allowed us by the lull of military events in this quarter. I avail myself of the opportunity to express to you my personal and official approbation of the entire regiment since I have had the honor to count it as one of my command. The Eighth Wisconsin has ever done its whole duty, in the camp, on the march and in battle. It has shared with us all the honors and success of our conquest of Mississippi and has displayed peculiar courage and gallantry at Jackson, May 14th, and throughout the siege of Vicksburg.
It also, under the leadership of Gen. Mower, cleared the west bank of the river, driving the enemy out of Richmond, La., and bore patiently and manfully the deadly sickness of Young's Point, till the fall of Vicksburg admitted of its recall to join us on this higher and more healthy ground. I am glad to report that the men are fast recovering from the sickness caused by that exposure, and I hope it will share with us our future labors and honors. If within your power, I hope you will fill its thinned ranks, and then I will promise all I can to ensure its return to your State, bearing a full share of honor and fame in the establishment of our General Government on a basis so firm, that no internal or external power can shake it during this generation.
With great respect, etc.,
W. T. SHERMAN,
Maj. Gen.
Sherman was not the only general who had a high regard for the 8th Wisconsin and Old Abe. In the words of David McLain:
I have frequently seen Generals Grant, Sherman, McPherson, Rosecrans,
Red River Campaign
In early 1864, many soldiers in the 8th Wisconsin became eligible for veteran furlough. However, General Sherman made a special request that they join General
After arriving there on March 16, the troops from Vicksburg settled down to wait for Banks to arrive and to assess opposing forces under General Richard Taylor, who was the son of President Zachary Taylor. While waiting, General Mower assembled a task force, with which he proceeded twenty five miles to Henderson's hill on Bayou Rapides. Here, he encountered Confederate defenses. After leaving a blocking force to engage the defenders at the front, he made a detour of 15 miles to get to their rear, where he arrived around midnight on the cold and rainy night of March 21. On the way, a courier from General Taylor was captured and provided the countersign. This enabled Mower's forces, including the 8th Wisconsin, to overcome the defenses without a shot being fired. In addition to 262 prisoners, 4 guns and 400 horses were taken.[20]
This success made it possible for Smith's army to move quickly upriver to Grand Ecore, where it prepared to support forces of General Banks, which were advancing on Shreveport. On April 8, Banks was routed by Taylor at the Battle of Mansfield. This was a decisive victory, for it stopped the Union advance and turned the campaign into a general retreat.
That evening, retreating units under Banks reached Pleasant Hill nearly simultaneously with Smith's XVII and XVI Corps, which included the 8th Wisconsin. These reinforcements enabled the Union to win the next day's Battle of Pleasant Hill, but Banks immediately ordered a retreat to Grand Ecore, and from there, to Alexandria. During this retreat, the regiment fought rear guard actions at Natchitoches, Monett's Ferry, and Cloutierville.
After Smith's forces arrived in Alexandria on April 26, they were temporarily deployed to prevent attacks during Joseph Bailey's attempts to get Porter's squadron over the rapids there, with the aid of Bailey's Dam and two small wing dams upstream. After this task was completed, Banks resumed his retreat on May 13, leaving Alexandria in flames.
On May 16, Union forces reached Mansura where Taylor's army attempted to prevent them from reaching river transportation. After heavy fighting, the Confederates fell back, and the Union troops marched toward Simmesport, where Bailey was building a bridge over the Atchafalaya River that would allow them to reach transport ships. On the 18th, Banks learned that Taylor's force was deployed near Yellow Bayou and arranged for Mower to stop the Confederates. After several hours of see-saw action, the ground cover caught fire and forced both sides to retire. The next day, Smith's army embarked and reached Vicksburg on the 24th.
In early June 1864, General Smith ordered Mower to launch a forceful demonstration to deter interference with Mississippi river traffic near Lake Village, Arkansas. This town is named for its location on Lake Chicot, an oxbow lake formed from the Mississippi. On the evening of June 5, Mower disembarked and camped near Sunnyside Landing. The next morning, as he marched along the south side of the lake, Confederates, led by General Colton Greene, fought a delaying action at Ditch Bayou and then withdrew. The Union troops advanced to Lake Village, camped there overnight, and the next day, boarded transports that took them to Memphis. At Ditch Bayou, the regiment lost 3 killed and 16 wounded.
Return to Wisconsin
On June 19, 1864, 240 reenlisted veterans left Memphis on furlough, with their eagle. They arrived at Chicago on the 21st. The next day, flags were displayed along the streets of Madison, the bells of the city were rung, and a national salute was fired. At the
A few days later, on June 26, 56 veterans of Company C arrived at Eau Claire, with the eagle, and were greeted with booming cannons, martial music, patriotic songs, and an abundant feast. Citizens of Chippewa Falls constructed a huge wigwam. Here, according to Reverend Joseph O. Barrett, who spoke at the celebration, a great feast was served to Old Abe and the soldiers on July 4, 1864. Afterwards, a procession circled through the streets, headed by a band, the eagle and the veterans.[3]
In August 1864, the veterans and Old Abe returned from furlough to Memphis. During their absence, the regiment had been active in northern Mississippi. Following
September 16, 1864, marked the end of the three years for which original members of the 8th Wisconsin had enlisted. Consequently, the veterans headed north with the eagle, whom the regiment had agreed to give to the state of Wisconsin. On September 21, they reached Chicago, where John Burkhardt resigned as eagle bearer and turned Old Abe over to John H. Hill, who had been disabled by a wound at Corinth. He was the brother of Thomas J. Hill who had also served as eagle bearer. The next day, Hill bore the eagle into Madison at the head of 70 veterans, of which 26 were from Company C.
Postbellum
After Wisconsin took possession of Old Abe, state officials classified him as a "War Relic" and created an "Eagle Department" in the Capitol building, which included a two-room "apartment," a custom bathtub for the eagle, and a caretaker. Later, John Hill served as a caretaker.
Old Abe became a nationally known celebrity, whose presence at events was requested by individuals and organizations from the state and the country. Old Abe appeared at the 1876
In February 1881, a small fire broke out in the basement of the Capitol. After Old Abe raised an alarm, the fire was quickly put out. However, the eagle inhaled a large amount of thick black smoke, and about a month later, lost strength and began to decline. On March 26, 1881, in spite of the efforts of numerous doctors, Old Abe died in the arms of caretaker George Gilles.[23]
On September 17, 1881, Old Abe's stuffed remains were placed in a glass display case located in the rotunda of the Capitol. Four years later, Old Abe was moved, within the Capitol, from the rotunda to the G.A.R. Memorial Hall. In 1900, his remains were transferred to the new building of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. However, pressure from veterans convinced Governor Robert M. La Follette to return Old Abe to the Capitol building in 1903. That year, President Theodore Roosevelt viewed the remains and expressed his pleasure at being able to see the eagle he had studied in school as a child. However, in 1904, Old Abe's remains and the glass case were destroyed in a fire that razed the Capitol building.[23]
Since 1915, a replica of Old Abe has presided over the Wisconsin State Assembly Chamber in the Capitol, and another is on display at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison.[24] A stone sculpture of the eagle is at the top of the Camp Randall Arch.[11]
In memoriam
In 1865, Jerome Case incorporated Old Abe into the trademark of the J. I. Case agricultural equipment manufacturing company of Racine, Wisconsin. This trademark was retired in 1969.[25]
The insignia of the
Old Abe is the mascot of Eau Claire Memorial High School, whose athletic teams are known as "Old Abes", and of Racine Case High School, whose teams are "Eagles".
See also
References
- ^ a b c Old Abe. Wisconsin Electronic Reader Image Gallery
- ^ "Old Abe the War Eagle: Controversy". Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
The Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center's Molecular Archaeology Group tested four Old Abe feathers from the museum's collection and found conclusively that Old Abe was a male eagle.
- ^ a b c d e f g Barrett, Joseph O. (1865). History of "Old Abe," the Live War Eagle of the Eighth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. Chicago: Dunlop, Sewell & Spalding.
- ^ Dutch, Steven. "Jim Falls". Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ "Chief Sky, Now Blind and Helpless, Tells Story of "Old Abe," War Eagle". Eau Claire Leader. March 27, 1914. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ Bartlett, William W. (1929). History, Tradition and Adventure in The Chippewa Valley (PDF). Chippewa Falls, Wis.: The Chippewa Printery. pp. 225–231. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- ^ History of Northern Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company. 1881. pp. 213–214.
- ^ a b William F. Bailey, ed. (1914). History of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin: Past and Present. Chicago: C. F. Cooper. pp. 904–906.
- ^ "Old Abe, the War Eagle". Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g McLain, David (1976). "That 'war eagle' had quite a record". Eau Claire Leader Telegram. American Local History Network - Wisconsin Local History Network - Eau Claire County. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ a b "Replica of Old Abe". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2011. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g Quiner, Edwin Bryant (1866). "Chapter XVI". Military History of Wisconsin. Chicago, Illinois: Clarke & Co. pp. 526–539. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
- ^ "Captain Green Describes Battle Of Farmington". Eau Claire County WIGenWeb. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
- ^ Vicksburg National Military Park. "Old Abe; The Wisconsin War Eagle" (PDF). National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
- ^ a b Driggs, George W. (1864). Opening of the Mississippi: or Two years' campaigning in the South-west. Madison, Wisconsin: Wm. J. Park & Co. p. 48. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
- ^ Richard H. Zeitlin. Old Abe The War Eagle, 1986.
- ^ Smith, Dinitia; Nicholas Wade (November 1, 1998). "DNA Test Finds Evidence Of Jefferson Child by Slave". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60145-042-5.
- ^ Boatner III, Mark M. "Overview of the Red River Campaign of 1864". Source: Civil War Dictionary. Home of the American Civil War. Retrieved 2012-09-27.
- ^ "Henderson's Hill; March 21, 1864". Civil War Reference. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
- ^ "Hurricane Creek, Mississippi". Civil War Reference. August 13, 1864. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
- ^ Lund, N. T. (September 30, 1864). Annual Report of the Quartermaster General. Adjutant General of the State of Wisconsin. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
- ^ a b c "Old Abe the War Eagle: Post-War". Wisconsin Veterans Museum. 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
- ^ Myers, Bryon; Scott Stewart. "Old Abe the War Eagle: Post-War". School District of Durand. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
- ISBN 978-0-87349-930-9.
- ^ 101st Airborne, U.S. Army Center of Military History
External links
- 'Old Abe' the Eagle Accompanies the 8th Wisconsin Infantry into War
- Rosholt, Malcolm and Margaret Rosholt. The Story of Old Abe: Wisconsin's Civil War Hero Rosholt House, 1987.
- Feather from Old Abe the War Eagle
- Old Abe Online Exhibit, by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum