Category Archives: Military

Springfield Zouave Grays go to war, 1861

Posted on September 29, 2025 by editor

“The city yesterday (wore) a camp like appearance,” the Illinois State Journal reported April 18, 1861, three days after President Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the Union from southern rebellion. From many a housetop the grand old flag of … Continue reading →

Posted in Markers, Military, Social life | 1 Comment

John W. Sturdy, Rochester’s Confederate veteran

Posted on May 31, 2025 by editor

This entry is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the May 2025 edition of The Prairie Land Buzz Magazine. Copyright Raymond Bruzan. Published with permission. Contributor: Raymond Bruzan A Virginia-born soldier who fought for the Confederacy … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Military, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

The governor takes a wife (1896)

Posted on November 2, 2024 by editor

Gov. John Riley Tanner “was addicted to pomp and circumstance,” Robert P. Howard wrote in Mostly Good and Competent Men, Howard’s 1988 guide to Illinois’ chief executives. If so, Tanner lived his best life in December 1896 and January 1897. … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Celebrations, Coal mines and mining, Illinois capital, Labor unions, Military, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles, State government | Leave a comment

Corky Meyer, test pilot

Posted on April 28, 2024 by editor

Corky Meyer got serious about building and flying model airplanes while a student at Springfield High School in 1936. He had no way to guide his models, though, so he had to chase them by car until they ran out … Continue reading →

Posted in Air travel, Airport, Military, Transportation | Leave a comment

Thorne Deuel, museum director

Posted on October 20, 2023 by editor

Thorne Deuel, director of the Illinois State Museum for nearly 25 years, literally made it the institution it is today. Deuel (1890-1984) was a research associate at the University of Chicago, specializing in anthropology and archaeology related to Native Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Illinois capital, Military, Museums, Prominent figures, Science, State government | Leave a comment

“The Gay ’90s” in Springfield

Posted on September 13, 2023 by editor

In 1943, V.Y. Dallman, longtime editor and columnist for the Illinois State Register, published a three-part reminiscence of the “Gay ‘90s” – at least, as they were experienced by Springfield’s upper crust. The series was written by a certified member … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Histories, Military, Prominent figures, Social life, Sports and recreation, Women | Leave a comment

Grand Army of the Republic parade, 1932 (video)

Posted on June 4, 2023 by editor

Aging but still vital, more than 700 veterans of the Union Army marched through downtown Springfield as part of the 1932 national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. Movie cameras captured part of parade, which was held on … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrations, Military, Videos | 2 Comments

Camp Tanner (Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1898)

Posted on April 17, 2023 by editor

Ten thousand Illinois militia flooded the Illinois State Fairgrounds less than a week after the start of the Spanish-American War. They left the fairgrounds – renamed “Camp Tanner” for the duration – almost as quickly as they arrived. The operation … Continue reading →

Posted in Illinois State Fair, Military, Prominent figures, State government | Leave a comment

Jesse L. McCoy, WWII “daggerman”

Posted on December 5, 2022 by editor

Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Jesse L. McCoy of Springfield converted a ceremonial sword once used by a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows into a couple of daggers. By the time he and World War II were finished, … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Media, Military, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Lithuanian-American war casualties (WW I&II)

Posted on November 9, 2022 by editor

A long-vanished plaque inside a demolished Catholic church once memorialized eight Lithuanian-American soldiers who died in uniform during World Wars I and II. The plaque hung in St. Vincent de Paul Church, the last “national church” – churches that predominantly … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Lithuanians, Military | Leave a comment