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CHAPTER XVII.

STATE GOVERNMENT-1865.

Governor-R. J. Oglesby.
Lieutenant-Governor-William Bross.

Secretary of State-Sharon Tyndale.
Auditor of Public Accounts-O. H. Miner.
Treasurer-Jas. H. Beveridge.

Superintendent of Public Instruction-Newton Bateman.

TWENTY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The Twenty-fourth General Assembly convened the 2d day of January, and consisted of the following members:

SENATE.

Wm. H. Green, Cairo.
John W. Wescott, Xenia.
Daniel Reily, Kaskaskia.
David K. Green, Salem.
A. W. Metcalf, Edwardsville.
L. E. Worcester, Whitehall. E. R. Allen, Aurora.
H. M. Vandeveer, Taylorville.
Andrew J. Hunter, Paris.
Joseph Peters, Danville.
Isaac Funk, Bloomington.
John B. Cohrs, Pekin.
M. McConnel, Jacksonville.
B. T. Schofield, Carthage.

James Strain, Monmouth.
A. C. Mason, Galesburg.
John T. Lindsay, Peoria.
W. Bushnell, Ottawa,
A. W. Mack, Kankakee.

Daniel Richard, Sterling.
A. Webster, Rock Island.
J. H. Addams, Cedarville.
C. Lansing, Marengo.
F. A. Eastman, Chicago.
J. D. Ward, Chicago.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Henry W. Webb, Cairo.
Wm. A. Looney, Vienna.
C. Burnett, Elizabethtown.
D. H. Morgan, Russellville.
John Ward, Benton.

W. H. Logan, Murphysboro.
Isaac Miller, Nashville.
W. K. Murphy, Pinckneyville
Austin James, Michie.
S. E. Stephenson, Salem.

Lewis J. Bond, Monticello.
C. A. Lake, Kankakee.
Charles H. Wood, Onarga.
A. J. McIntyre, Wilmington.
Wm. T. Hopkins, Morris.
Franklin Corwin, LaSalle.
John Miller, Freedom.

V. S. Benson, McLeansboro. John L. Tincher, Danville.
Thomas Cooper, Willow Hill. Solomon L. Spink, Paris.
Lewis W. Miller, Olney. Isaac C. Pugh, Decatur.
Geo. H. Deickman, Vandalia.
J. Shelby, Maple Grove.
Nathaniel Niles, Belleville.
John Thomas, Belleville.
Julius J. Barnsback, Troy.
H. Dresser, Cottonwood G've
H. B. Decius, Majority Point.
Wm. Middlesworth, Windsor Jason W. Strevell, Pontiac.
Elisha E. Barrett, Butler. Henry D. Cook, Kappa.
Ambrose M. Miller, Lincoln. G. D. Henderson, Granville.
James W. Patton, Berlin. Wm. C. Stacy, Princeton.
Sergeant Gobble, Scottsville. Milton M. Ford, Galva.
John McDonald, Hardin. Jos. W. Lloyd, Edgington.
Nathaniel M. Perry, Kane. Leander Smith, Fulton.
J. F. Curtis, Manchester. O. W. Bryant, Paw Paw Gr.
Scott Wike, Pittsfield. D. J. Pinckney, Mt. Morris.
King Kerley, Mt. Sterling. Allen C. Fuller, Belvidere.
John Hill, Petersburg. Ira V. Randall, DeKalb.
J. T. Springer, Jacksonville. O. C. Johnson, Kendall.
Thomas Redmond, Quincy. S. S. Mann, Elgin.
W. T. Yeargain, Columbus. E. B. Payne, Waukegan.
Wm. H. Neece, Macomb. M. L. Joslyn, Woodstock.
Joseph Sharon, Augusta. Wm. Brown, Rockford.
M. M. Morrill, Nauvoo. H. C. Burchard, Freeport.
J. Simpson, Oquawka. John D. Platt, Warren.
Jas. H. Martin, Monmouth. Daniel W. Dame, Lanark.
J. M. Holyoke, Wataga. Henry C. Childs, Wheaton.
L. W. James, Lewiston. N. W. Huntley, Chicago.
T. M. Morse, Fairview. Ansel B. Cook, Chicago.
Richard C. Dunn, Toulon. Wm. Jackson, Orland.
Alexander McCoy, Peoria. Ed. S. Isham, Chicago.
S. R. Saltonstall, Tremont. A. H. Dalton, Hope.
Harrison Noble, Heyworth. A. F. Stephenson, Chicago.
John Warner, Clinton. George Strong, Wheeling.
Malden Jones, Tuscola.

Lieutenant-Governor Bross was the presiding officer of the Senate, and John F. Nash, of LaSalle, was elected Secretary, over Maning Mayfield, of Massac, by a vote of 14 to 8.

Allen C. Fuller, of Boone, was elected Speaker of the House, over Ambrose M. Miller, of Logan, by a vote of

48 to 23, and Walter S. Frazier, of Cook, Clerk, over John Q. Harmon, of Alexander, by a vote of 50 to 21.

Those of the new members of this body who were able and active, were: D. K. Green, Metcalf, Cohrs, Lindsay, Bushnell, Ward, Webb, Burnett, Murphy, Corwin, Ford, Joslyn.

Richard Yates, the retiring Governor, presented his message to the two houses on the 3d. One of his special recommendations was the repeal of the "black laws". An elaborate statement was given relating to the affairs of the State in general, and notwithstanding the Nation had passed through a long and expensive war, it was shown that Illinois had continued to advance in prosperity, and that for the four years ending December, 1864, the State debt had been reduced $987,786.24.

Richard Yates was known as one of the war Governors, and all his energy and ability were directed in saving the Union. He was truly a great and sagacious man. When the tocsin of war was sounded he was prompt in responding to the call of the National Government for troops, to aid in putting down the rebellion; he had the moral courage to do that which would best serve the Nation in its efforts to preserve its own life; he laid aside his party predilections, and labored and thought only of saving the Union intact; he comprehended the magnitude of the rebellion at once, and was early in advising President Lincoln as to the policy of declaring the slaves free, and allowing them to fight in defense of the flag that was to protect them in their liberty. He retired from the office with the love and admiration of his countrymen.

The two houses met in joint session January 4, and elected Richard Yates United States Senator, over James C. Robinson, by a vote of 64 to 43.

The assembly met in joint session on the 16th, when the incoming Governor, R. J. Oglesby, was inaugurated,

and his message read. He referred in appropriate terms to the conflict through which the country was passing; invited special attention to the recommendations in the message of his predecessor; he urged strict economy in every department; he recommended that action be taken for the disposition and utilization of the grant of land, donated by Congress in 1862, to the State for college purposes; he recommended that a law be passed allowing the soldiers in the field to vote; he recommended to the care and attention of the General Assembly the vast multitude of helpless orphans who had been deprived of the protection of kind fathers, who had given their lives to the country; he urged the adoption of the 13th amendment to the National Constitution, abolishing slavery.

The duration of the session was just forty-five days. Among the public laws enacted was a law requiring the holders of the so-called Macallister and Stebbins bonds to surrender the same by July 1st, 1865, under certain penalties, or by January 1st, 1866, under other and heavier penalties; $3,000 was appropriated for the purpose of paying the proportion of the State in furnishing the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg; an act was passed to establish a home for the children of deceased soldiers, (this was the foundation of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, at Normal); $25,000 was appropriated to purchase the tract of land on which reposed the remains of Stephen A. Douglas; an experimental school for the instruction and training of idiots and feeble-minded children was authorized, and the sum of $5,000, annually, was appropriated for that purpose. From this humble beginning has grown the Feeble-Minded Institute now in successful operation at Lincoln. The "black laws" were repealed at this session, and the 13th amendment to the National Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ILLINOIS AND THE WAR.

Prompt Response to the Call for Soldiers to Put Down the RebellionNumber of Soldiers Furnished, by Counties-Allen C. Fuller.

We pass briefly over the part Illinois took in the great war to preserve the Union, for the simple reason that the deeds of her brave soldiers and their gallant leaders are already a part of the history of both the State and Nation. No history, whether National or Confederate, has been written since that unfortunate conflict which does not contain honorable mention of their gallant deeds upon many hotly contested battlefields; while the carefully prepared official reports of Adjutant-Generals Mather, Fuller and Haynie, give the name and rank of every soldier from Illinois, who took part in that war. But, better than all, the memory of their heroic patriotism is indelibly stamped upon the hearts of our people; and only when the cycles of time cease, will it be forgotten.

On the 15th of April, one day after the surrender of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to repossess and preserve the property of the Nation. Jefferson Davis, President of the so-called Confederate Government, also issued a proclamation calling his people to arms, and the issue of war between the two sections was distinctly made. Under the call of President Lincoln, the quota of Illinois was 6,000 men. Governor Yates was quick to issue his

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