Chronology of Events in Life of Monument

(Source: Freeport Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois; Saturday, July 4, 1998; page 24; H. G.,  author)

February 1868:  Monument envisioned, initiated at GAR organizational meeting

1868:  County residents contribute $3,500; county board donates $6,000

1868:  National appeal for voluntary submission of architectural design concepts;  General Smith D. Atkins, local 92^nd hero, submits winning design

October 1869:  Cornerstone laid in grand ceremony

Italian sculptor Giovanni Meli creates four seven-foot terra cotta soldiers found on the corners of the base. These four soldiers represent four military branches - infantry, cavalry, artillery, navy.

Meli also creates 13-foot high terra cotta “Victory” statue which is placed atop the 83-foot high monument, making entire structure a towering 96 feet high.

June 1871:  Construction completed

July 4, 1871:  Dedication ceremony attended by 20,000 citizens, including veterans from War of 1812 and Mexican War. Atkins, last-minute replacement for Illinois’ governor, delivers rousing dedication speech. Local German citizen also addresses crowd in German. Bands from Freeport, Monroe and Warren entertain.

Soon after monument’s completion, a cast-iron fence was built around it.

1910:  Monument cleaned with steel brushes. Statues painted.

1912:  Sidewalk placed around monument.

1924:  Engraved bronze plaques replace original engraved white marble plaques. Only Civil War casualties had been listed on original white marble plaques. When these new bronze plaques were set in place, engravings included names of all Stephenson County’s Civil War veterans, whether they were casualties or not. In addition to being members of the 92^nd, these county veterans were members of other regiments, also.

1930s:  Monument again cleaned and painted. “Victory” polished and painted with aluminum sheen, allowing her to glitter brightly.

October 1, 1960:  Lightning bolt decapitates “Victory”, showering debris below. Sadly, her final resting place is landfill. The monument itself, all 83 feet of it, remains intact.

1970s:  County board considers destroying monument.  

1998:  Placement on National Register of Historic Places.

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Two brief anecdotes, one observation and a plea:

Anecdote #1: A few years ago, I stood in the shadow of this wonderful monument. While creating a pencil rubbing of the engraved plaques, a curious gentleman approached and inquired, “Why are you so fascinated with this structure?” I briefly explained my great-great-grandfather’s name was engraved on it and the monument, itself, held special meaning. He then related the struggle to preserve the monument and confirmed that in the 1970s, the county did, indeed, consider removing it. Public outcry, including protest from local Vietnam War veterans, successfully prevented this outrageous attempt to destroy one of Freeport’s most magnificent attractions.

Anecdote #2: Later that same day, I spent some idle moments in a local Stephenson County park discussing local history with anyone who might pass by. Striking up a conversation with a middle-age gentleman who claimed to be a longtime Freeport resident, I complimented him on his city’s Civil War monument.

To my astonishment, he exclaimed,“There is no Civil War monument in Freeport!” I smiled and gave him the exact address of this structure, explaining that I had just been there that morning enjoying its beauty.

Again he protested,“I drive past that intersection twice every day to and from work, and I’ve never noticed it! It can’t be there!” He walked away in disbelief.

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My Humble Observation and Plea (Prompted by second anecdote above): Sadly, this gentleman’s refusal to believe demonstrates just how jaded we all have become. Are we so selfishly consumed with our own daily twenty-first-century trials, that we are incapable of recognizing even the existence of a majestic 83-foot war memorial on the public square? Please forgive me, but it’s shameful how indifferent and oblivious we all have become to the impassioned sacrifices of our ancestors.

Americans everywhere need to stop and smell the roses. I don’t care if you live in Freeport or Frankfort, Denver or Des Moines. Please take some time soon to seek out one of America’s historic landmarks. By doing so, you just might experience a soothing sense of patriotic pride in what that landmark represents.

I applaud the citizens of Stephenson County, Illinois, for maintaining this glorious Soldiers’ Monument. May it remain a part of Freeport’s landscape forever.

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There are over three thousand Stephenson County veterans’ names engraved upon this monument’s plaques. Appropriately, one of the plaques displays the following inscription:

TO THE

HEROIC DEAD

OF

STEPHENSON

COUNTY

1861 - 1865

Listed below are names of 92^nd Illinois soldiers engraved on the monument.

(As any of you who have made pencil rubbings know, these pencil etchings can be illegible at times. In a few instances, I have been unable to decipher a complete name from my rubbing. In such cases, I cross-referenced with the Adjutant General’s Roster to obtain the proper spelling. But as we all know, those AG rosters often had misspellings themselves! If you see any error in the spelling of any of these names, please alert me, so I can make corrections. Thank you.)

        CO. G (cont.)

CORNING, NATE

COX, HARRISON

COX, JAMES K.

CROUCH, JONATHAN

CURTIS, WILLIAM C.

DELONG, ABNER

DELRYMPLE, SAMUEL

DICKHORNER, WILLIAM

DOLL, CHARLES A.

DOXSEE, JACOB L.

DREW, JOSEPH

EMPFIELD, WILLIAM

FAIR, HENRY L.

FAIR, LYMAN  W.

FEELEY, DUNCAN

FISK, AMOS

FLEMING, THOMAS

FOLEY, PATRICK

FORD, LYMAN A.

FOREMAN, JAMES

GALBRAITH, JOSEPH

GALBRAITH, WILLIAM

GATES, HENRY H .

GIDDINGS, WALLACE R.

GILTNER, JAMES W.

GLANZ, CHRISTIAN

GRINNELL, PETER L.

GROSSMAN, DAVID

HAGGART, DANIUS C.

HAGGART, WILLIAM

HAMPUGH, GUSTAVIUS

HARRINGTON, JOHN

HAWKINS, GEORGE S.

HAWKINS, WILLIAM

HAYS, SANFORD E.

HENDERSON, JOSEPH

HILLIARD, WILLIAM J.

HOUSER, ABRAM

HOUSER, CHRISTOPHER

HOUSER, SAMUEL

HUSTON, WILLIAM

ISAACSON, ISAAC

KEELER, NATHAN F.

KEISER, CHARLES N.

KENA, CHARLES

KIPLINGER, JAMES E.

KLAAS, AUGUSTUS

KOLLER, EARNEST

LADD, JOHN

LAWVER, GEORGE

MCCAUSLAND, ANDREW

MCEATHRON, MALCOLM

MCSTAY, EDWARD

MAHANY, DAVID L.

MAHANY, WILLIAM G.

MANNY, GABRIEL C.

MATTHEWS, JOHN G.

MATTHEWS, SAMUEL R.

MOOR, EMANUEL

NUNN, THOMAS

OAKES, ALLAN

PHILLIPS, JAMES M.

PHILLIPS, PARLEY A.

PLAYFORD, HENRYR.

RATHBUN, PARRIS

REA, GEORGE W.

REA, JOHN W.

REBER, JACOB A.

REES, GEORGE W.

RICHARDSON, LAFAYETTE

ROYER, ISAAC

SEABURY, JEROME

SELZKORN, HERMAN

SMEARER, EDWARD

SHLIGEL, JULIUS

SIMPSON, JOHN M.

SINDLINGER, GEORGE W.

SISSON, WILLIAM

SHEELS, ARTHUR S.

SMITH, JOHN Y,

SMITH, ROBERT D.

SMITH, THOMAS A.

STEWART, WILLIAM E.

STOUT, THOMAS U.

TOMLINSON, GEORGE H.

TRAIN, JOWEPH B.

TRAIN, SAMUEL

VANALSTINE, DELOS

VANEPS, ALBERT

VERBEE, BENJAMIN

WILLS, THOMAS

WALTER, ANTHONY

WERKHEISER, EPHRAIM

WERKHEISER, WILLIAM

WESCOTT, JOHN

WEST, EZRA

WEST, PHILIP

WYCKOFF, EPHRAIM

         CO. K

WINGERT, DAVID

     UNASSIGNED

BACON,  MARBLE

BENTLY, JOHN

BROWN, EDWARD

BROWN, WELCOM H.

CHAMBERS, JOHN 

CROTZER, WILLIAM

DELATE, GEORGE

FRILEY, DUNCAN M.

MEASE, ALEXANDER

RAND, COMMODORE

ROWLAND, WILLIAM F.

TULLER, OLIVER S.

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How was each company’s letter designation assigned?

Here is a quote taken from the regimental history, page 28, 29. [The bold highlights are my addition]:

“The line officers met, and drew lots for the letter of the company in the Regiment, by which the company was to be afterwards known. Little, square slips of paper, with the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, were written and put into a hat; and each Captain drew out a slip, and the letter on the slip became the letter of his company.

“Captain W. J. Bollinger, of Lena, drew letter A. His company was enlisted in Stephenson County, and principally in the townships of Winslow, West Point, and Kent. On the day of muster, the company numbered ninety all told.

“Captain Albert Woodcock, of Oregon, Ogle County, drew letter K. His company was enlisted from all parts of Ogle County. There were ninety-four rank and file.

“Captain C. T. Dunham, of Freeport, drew letter F. His company was organized at Freeport, but was made up of men from all parts of Stephenson County. The company numbered ninety-five.

“Captain Matthew Van Buskirk, of Polo, drew letter E. His company was enlisted in Ogle County in the vicinity of Polo, Forreston, and Brookville. The company was ninety-four strong.

“Captain Wilber W. Dennis, of Byron, drew letter B. His company enlisted in Ogle County, in the vicinity of Byron and Rock Vale.  The company mustered eighty-five.

“Captain John  M. Schermerhorn, of Lena, drew letter G. His company was raised in Stephenson County, principally in the townships of West Point, Kent, and Waddams.  The company had ninety-five rank and file.

“Captain Lyman Preston, of Polo, Ogle County, drew letter D. His company was enlisted in Ogle County, in the vicinity of Polo and Pine Creek. The company had ninety-four officers and men.

“Captain Egbert T. E. Becker, of Mt. Carroll, drew letter I. His company was enlisted in Carroll County. Mt. Carroll, Lanark, Cherry Grove, and Wysox being well represented.  The company was ninety-six strong aside from the Captain, who was the strongest man in the company.

“Captain William Stouffer, of Mt. Carroll, drew letter C. His company was raised in Carroll County, Mt. Carroll, Savanna, and York being well represented. The company mustered ninety-three.

“Captain James Brice, of Rochelle, Ogle County, drew letter H. His company was enlisted in Ogle County, principally in Rochelle and White Rock. Captain Brice had one hundred and six officers and men in his company, aside from himself.”

(Note: The letter “J” was generally not used by Civil War companies. It was feared “J” would be confused with the letter “I”.)

As we see above, members making up the 92^nd Illinois came from three counties, Stephenson, Ogle and Carroll. Please keep in mind that the Stephenson County monument is dedicated only to those veterans from that county. Hence, if you don’t see a name engraved on the Stephenson County Soldiers’ Monument that you were hoping to find, it is probably because that soldier’s origin was Ogle or Carroll counties.

I hope to visit those two counties in the future and obtain any names engraved on any monument that might exist. Can anyone suggest to me, first, if in fact there are monuments in Ogle or Carroll counties, and secondly, where they may be found? Do they have names engraved on them? If so, I wish to post those names on this website also.

Stephenson County Soldiers' Monument

Freeport, Illinois

(photo courtesy Rob's collection)

Erected in 1869 in honor of the

Ninety-Second Illinois Volunteer Regiment

and all other soldiers from Stephenson County

who fought for the Union in the Civil War

Welcome to the website dedicated to the memory of the 92nd Illinois Volunteer Mounted Infantry in America's Civil War.
 

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