CUMBERLAND COUNTY ILLINOIS
Transcribed by the Book
"Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and
Richland Illinois"
Originally published 1884
by F.A. Battey & Co., Chicago, Ill.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY'S WAR RECORD
The people of
Cumberland County were noted for their fighting qualities, from
a very
early day up to a date subsequent to the war of the rebellion, and had
that great contest been decided by a resort to fists, this region of
the country would have contributed some of the most noted champions in
the field. It was not until the era of the war that weapons began to be
freely used here, in personal encounters, and hence, while Cumberland
County contributed her quota to the armies of the North during the
years 1860-65, there was nothing to distinguish this section from the
great mass of the loyal North. The people here were largely " Douglas
Democrats," and intimately acquainted with Lincoln. He had practiced
law in the County Courts, a large number of his relatives were
residents here and in the adjoining County of Coles, and he numbered
among the leading men of Cumberland some of his most intimate friends.
The political events, therefore, that led to the fatal issue of the
war, were full of interest to the people of Cumberland, and, while
their sympathies were principally with the " Little Giant," their
belief in " State sovereignty " and the constitution as the supreme law
of the land, made them supporters of the result of the election of
I860. The menacing attitude taken by the South up to the commission of
overt acts of rebellion was not generally condemned, as there was a
strong opposition to anything like abolition or coercion; but when the
echoes of the attack on Sumpter reached here, the rallying to the
support of the Union was practically unanimous. Prejudices in regard to
negroes, in regard to candidates, or any of the agitating questions of
the hour, were forgotten, and every man and party was for the Union.
Political lines, however, were strictly maintained, and Seymour and
McClellan received the full party vote, notwithstanding the
significance of their election. As the war progressed, other elements
entered into the situation here, and embittered the feeling between the
political parties. Hot-headed men of both political elements came
together at public meetings, with furloughed or returned soldiers on
one side, and deserters on the other, and a number of fatal encounters
occurred. There is no evidence that desertions were encouraged by the
people here, but there was no effort made to give them up, when once
here, to the authorities. A natural suggestion of the reason would be,
that these persons were not likely to submit quietly to arrest, and the
people had not the courage of their convictions sufficiently to feel
prepared to shoot old acquaintances, or be shot by them. The county
gained a somewhat unenviable reputation on this account, and rumors of
a premeditated attack on the county seat by returned soldiers were
common. After the unfortunate riot at Charleston, in Coles County, the
citizens here were in a fever of expectation, and several times the
people came rushing in from the country around to defend the county
seat from an imagined assault.
On the call of the
Governor for the organization of six regiments, there was not the
spontaneous enthusiasm evinced here as in many sections. While
generally in favor of the maintenance of the Union, the prevailing
sentiment was opposed to the war as a specific means to that end, and
many who were moved otherwise went to other places to offer their
services to the General Government, and some 250 men enlisted in
various organizations and were credited elsewhere than Cumberland
County. In 1862, Hon. Thos. Brewer became (as his Democratic colleagues
express it) " rather shaky in his Democracy under this strain," and
took an active part in encouraging the enlistment's, making speeches in
all parts of the county. It was about this time that the larger number
of volunteers began to be enrolled, the One Hundred and Twenty Third
Infantry being raised at this time. The Twenty First Infantry, raised
in 1861, however, received a full company from Cumberland.
In June, 1861, the
Board of Supervisors appointed a committee of one from each township "
to see to the wants and procure such necessaries as, in their judgment,
shall conduce to the sustenance and support of the families of the
absent volunteers." This provision, generous in its terms and boundless
in its limits, suggests an appreciative regard for the soldier and his
sacrifices, but the records ot the county and State nowhere show that
this provision went further than the records of the county, and, as a
matter of fact, in the judgment of the larger part of this committee,
nothing was necessary " to conduce to the sustenance and support of the
families of absent volunteers." In February, 1865, the Board offered a
bounty of $400 for each person " that may volunteer in the United
States service to fill the quota of Cumberland County in the draft now
ordered by the President of the United States, and that for that
purpose the Board issue county orders sufficient for the purpose of
procuring volunteers to fill the quota of the several towns in said
county, and that this Board levy a tax of $1 upon each $100 of
valuation of taxable property in said county, and $1 capitation
tax on all males between the ages of twenty one and sixty." It was
further provided that bonds should be specially issued to meet the
orders issued for this purpose. But all this elaborate machinery was
destined to be brought to naught. The public sentiment rebelled, and it
is said that threats of hanging the members were made with sufficient
earnestness to secure the rescinding of the order at the next meeting.
No bounty was paid by the county, but under this call Union Township
sent sixteen substitutes to the field at a cost of $6,500, and Sumpter
Township sent two at a cost of $800. The Adjutant General's report
gives the total expenditure of the county for the procurement of
volunteers tit $8,151.25. The same report gives the summary of the
quotas and credits of the county as follows: Population in 18(30,
8,309. First and second class enrollment in 1863, 903; in 1864, 985; in
1865, 906. Quotas in 1861, 233; in 1862, 159; under call of February 1
and March 14, 1864, 203; under the call of July 18,1864,154; a total of
749. The total credits, prior to December 31, 1864, were 880 men, which
made an excess of credit of 131 men. In December, 1865, the quota of
the county was 169, but diminished by the excess of credit, the actual
assigned quota was only 38. The credit under this last report was 40,
leaving an excess of 2 of credit, in a total quota during the war, of
918, and credit of 920; so that it appears that Cumberland County
contributed something more than a full regiment to the Union armies
during the years 1861-65. These
men cannot all be traced through the records, but in numbers of from 5
to 20, they are found in Company E, Twenty Fifth Infantry; Company E,
Thirty Eighth Infantry; Company G, Fifty Fourth Infantry; Companies F
and H, Sixty First Infantry; Company C, Sixty Second Infantry; in the
Sixty Third Infantry, in several companies; Company E, Sixty Sixth
Infantry; Company C, Sixty Eighth Infantry; Company E, Seventy First
Infantry; Company B, Eighty Eighth Infantry; Companies I and E, Ninety
Eighth Infantry; Company K, One Hundred and Forty Third Infantry, and
Company G, One Hundred and Fifty Second Infantry; beside in larger
numbers in the Twenty First, Fifty Ninth, Ninety Seventh, One Hundred
and Twenty Third, One Hundred and Thirty Fifth Illinois Infantry
Regiments, and the Fifth and Tenth Illinois Cavalry Regiments.