MAJOR THOMAS MCCLURKEN, ILL. VOĻ.

MORTALLY WOUNDED AT BELMONT, MO., NOVEMBER 7, 1861.

MAJOR THOMAS MCCLURKEN was of Scottish ancestry, and a descendant of the McClurkens of South Carolina, who were prominent patriots in the Revolutionary War. His father, James McClurken, emigrated, in the year 1818, to the promised Canaan, Illinois, settled in the southern part of the State, became a prominent citizen, was a member of the Illinois Legislature, and filled other positions of high public trust. His son Thomas was born at Sparta, in Randolph county, on the 25th day of December, 1827. During his early life but few opportunities were offered to explore the caves of knowledge. The village school was the only spring at which to quench the thirst for intellectual culture. His education, therefore, was not the polished marble of collegiate study, but rather the rough hewn stone, quarried by his own individual effort. Parental love, anxiety, and care, had early sown the seed of good example, to which his early youth paid silent homage.

Accustomed, when quite young, to depend upon himself, he became ripe in the knowledge of men and events, and when but a youth, had spanned a history of experience that might have been credited to sterner years.

He associated himself with his brother, who was then a prominent merchant in St. Louis. It was here he formed the acquaintance with the daughter of the Hon. Sidney Breese, of Illinois, a lady of esti mable worth, and was married to her, in the year 1851. His mind having been cast in a mechanical mould, the habits of mercantile life were ill suited to his tastes, and surrendering his connections in St Louis, he returned to his native Sparta, to assume control of a large woollen manufactory. From this period (1851) to the time when he enlisted in the holiest of holy causes, the preservation of the American Union, he was actively engaged in developing the manufacturing facilities of Southern Illinois, and closely identified with every interest of public utility. In his deportment he was kind, genial, and urbane; and in the robe of his character were woven some of those rare qualities which attract, elevate, and adorn. His political persua sions, prior to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, were of the Democratic faith. But, from the period of 1854, he had been an active, earnest, and consistent advocate of the Republican party. When rebellion broke the bonds of thirty years' confinement; when Southern chivalry, drunk with its success at Sumter, rioted in armed legions on the banks of the Potomac, menacing the capital, Major McClurken, sacrificing the comforts and endearments of home, the profits of a growing, lucrative business, gave the weight of his influence to the cause, was soon at the head of a company of worthy men, marched to Camp Butler, Illinois, was attached to the then forming regiment of Colonel Philip B. Fouke, and was commissioned as its major, by the governor of the State. By his energy of character, and earnest solicitude for the comfort of his men, he won the esteem of his whole command. This esteem ripened into admiration by his cool, daring

courage, on the fatal field of Belmont, where he fell, while gallantly cheering his men on to the charge. A ball penetrated his right temple, carrying away a part of the skull. In this dying state he fell into the hands of the enemy, but was the next day recovered by means of a flag of truce, and brought to Cairo, where he expired in the arms of his family, on the 16th of November.

Belmont, like Springfield, and Ball's Bluff, has passed into history; and whatever bearing they may have on the present struggle, a gratified people will long remember their respective heroes. The impartial historic pen, that will record the deeds of the noble Lyon, the gallant Greble, and the daring Baker, will do equal justice to the memory of the subject of our sketch, Major Thomas McClurken.

Some operations took place far away in the South, near the old Spanish city of Pensacola, which French and Spaniards had taken and retaken in the preceding century. Some New York volunteers encamped on Santa Rosa Island, near Fort Pickens, were surprised at night by a Confederate force under General Anderson, on the 9th of October, resulting in an irregular fight; and in November, the United States squadron, with Fort Pickens, for a time bombarded and silenced Fort McRae, and did considerable damage to Warrington, where a number of houses were destroyed.

We will now return to the operations near Washington. After the disaster at Bull's Run, a reorganization of the departments was made, and General McClellan, whose success in Western Virginia had inspired confidence, was called to command the army covering Washington, as well as the whole Department of Washington, and that of Northeastern Virginia. He at once proceeded to organize the forces

under his command: a better discipline was introduced; inefficient officers removed, irregular habits suppressed, and careful drilling enforced. At the same time, the fortifications south of the Potomac were completed under the supervision of the best engineers.

The Army of the Potomac lay watching the Confederate movements. The first operation against the enemy was a disaster. The Confederates began to fall back from the Potomac. Brigadier-General Stone, commanding at Edward's Ferry, received orders to throw a part of his force across the river. Although with no means of crossing except some scows and yawls, he sent over nineteen hundred men, placing the whole under the command of Colonel E. D. Baker of California. The troops were soon confronted by a superior force of Confederates under Colonel Evans, covered by woods at Ball's Bluff. Support from beyond the river was out of the question, and the United States troops, men of New York, Massachusetts, and California, fought like heroes, but Baker was at last shot down, and nearly every officer killed or wounded. Colonel Cogswell saw that the day was lost, and that an almost impossible retreat must be attempted. They were already in disorder, and poured down the hill pursued by the enemy to the very edge of the descent, whence they fired on the troops in the river endeavoring to cross. One boat swamped, so that only one was left to convey over the fugitives. Colonels Cogswell and Lee, with a few companies, kept the enemy at bay, covering the passage till near midnight, when they surrendered.

This disaster was a severe blow-so much had the country been led to expect from the new organization.

LIEUT. WILLIAM LOWELL PUTNAM.

MORTALLY WOUNDED AT THE BATTLE OF BALL'S BLUFF, OCT. 21, 1861.

LIEUTENANT PUTNAM, Second Lieutenant in Company E of the Twen tieth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, received a mortal wound while in action with his regiment at Ball's Bluff, and died the next day. His body was conveyed to his native city, and interred with military honors. Before his remains were committed to the earth at Mount Auburn, the Reverend James Freeman Clarke read the following notice of his life and character at the funeral service, which was performed by the Rev. Dr. Bartol, in the West Church, where the grandfather of the noble young patriot had for many years presided as the revered pastor.

"The boy-soldier, whose remains are before us, came, by both parents, from the best New England races. His father is descended from the ancestor of old General Putnam, and his family on this side contains such statesmen and scholars as Timothy and John Pickering. On the other side, his mother's family has given to us statesmen, sages, patriots, poets, scholars, orators, economists, philanthropists, and now gives to us also a hero and martyr. His great-grandfather, Judge Lowell, in