Confederate Operators memorial dedication in Illinois

[BothSidesNow]

http://jg-tc.com/news/civil-war-his...cle_8d8bbefb-ecbe-55fe-882a-768c0d41ad6e.html

This article above is for your information, and a fascinating and until now untold story from Central Illinois!!!

 

[BothSidesNow]

Sorry... you can see how much I post here lol, my title was too long! Meant to title this: first community in the state to dedicate an Illinois State Historical Society marker about Confederate operatives... (but this title was too long!)

Hope someone will read and respond anyway!

 

[18thVirginia]

An interesting story.

 

[Sons of Liberty]

Mattoon is not very far from the town of Charleston where there was a riot between Copperheads and Union soldiers that were home on leave. Lots of enclaves of Confederate supporters in central and Southern Illinois during the great unpleasantness.

 

[M E Wolf]

Sorry... you can see how much I post here lol, my title was too long! Meant to title this: first community in the state to dedicate an Illinois State Historical Society marker about Confederate operatives... (but this title was too long!)

Hope someone will read and respond anyway!

Shortened Title of Thread for you.

M. E. Wolf
POSTED IN THE CAPACITY OF MODERATOR
Nov. 29, 2014 3:54 p.m.

 

[BothSidesNow]

Thank you, M. E. Wolf!!!

 

[OldGreyMare]

http://www.illinoiscivilwar150.org/pdfs/jih-7-2004-82-106charlestonriot&itsaftermath.pdf

This wasn't the only incident that occured in the area, but it was the one that is most remembered. That area was indeed a veritable hotbed of dissent and all manner of opinion during the war. There was also a bit of a kerfluffle in neighboring Edgar Co. as well, at their county seat, Paris.
http://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/125/0149

 

[TerryB]

I recall seeing microfilm of provost marshal reports that mention Union soldiers fighting guerrillas in Illinois.

 

[tackitt27]

Very cool....next time I'm in Mattoon I will have to check it out!! Thanks for posting.

 

[OldGreyMare]

I recall seeing microfilm of provost marshal reports that mention Union soldiers fighting guerrillas in Illinois.

It may be concerning the incidents in Paris -- if it was, it really was more of a scare than anything serious. Still, it did make for some exciting times, and unfortunately some people did lose their lives.
One of the Copperheads in question (Clapp) is from a family related to my own -- it was the source of some interfamily ****hurt for quite some time. As I've remarked, part of my mom's family was originally from NC, then TN/KY, and have always identified more with that region of the country -- but the majority were loyal to the Union.
The war caused a bit of angst.

 

[Lost Cause]

Interesting thread for further reading.

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/illinois-to-become-a-confederate-state.103828/

 

[TerryB]

It may be concerning the incidents in Paris -- if it was, it really was more of a scare than anything serious. Still, it did make for some exciting times, and unfortunately some people did lose their lives.
One of the Copperheads in question (Clapp) is from a family related to my own -- it was the source of some interfamily ****hurt for quite some time. As I've remarked, part of my mom's family was originally from NC, then TN/KY, and have always identified more with that region of the country -- but the majority were loyal to the Union.
The war caused a bit of angst.

I wish I could remember the details. It just struck me as odd that there were bushwhackers/guerrillas in Illinois.

 

[Sons of Liberty]

In Leander Stillwell's book about his days as a common soldier he mentions actions taken by "undesirable citizens" in his home state of Illinois. "......great hulking boys in our neighborhood who were of Copperhead sympathies and parentage."

Illinois soldiers who were with Sherman in early 1864 got news that a series of riots had broken out back home and that they had caused the deaths of some Union veterans. They hated Copperheads and thought of them as treasonous, treacherous , "cowardly sneaks".

Leander was from Jersey county, and the above mentioned riots occurred in Coles county. These two areas are not that close to each other, so there was trouble aplenty in many areas.