Journal features Civil War letters, Eureka elm, 1961 Indian gathering

[September 12, 2009]  SPRINGFIELD -- A series of letters written between an Illinois soldier and his family during the Civil War, an elm tree under which Eureka College students were recruited for service in the Civil War, and the 1961 American Indian Conference in Chicago are featured in the latest issue of the Journal of Illinois History, a scholarly publication about the state's history.

The Civil War correspondence of Joseph and Currency Van Nattan of rural Sangamon County provides an opportunity to explore the ties between home front and battlefront. What the Van Nattans had to say to each other during the tumult and anxiety of wartime serves as a reminder that the bonds of family, faith and community provided much of the Civil War soldier's motivation to fight and die far from home.

In a letter to his son, Joseph encouraged him to stay out of the army: "Stay at home be a good boy take care of your Mother tend to your own business and let recruiting officers pass and dont believe a word they tell you."

But when their son, Norman, enlisted anyway, Constance wrote to him, worried that he might go hungry: "You are Uncle Sams boy Just kill as many of his pigs and chickens and his new potatoes and honey where ever you can git it uncle sam has a good many boys and he has a wright to feed them help your self to something to eat and charge it to uncle sam."

The article was written by Thomas Bahde, who is currently editing a Civil War memoir from an Illinois cavalryman.

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The famous elm at Eureka College, under which a company of soldiers was recruited for Civil War service, is the subject of an article written by Brian M. Ingrassia, a 2001 Eureka College graduate and visiting lecturer at Georgia State University.

Eureka's "Recruiting Elm" was the focal point for a campus drive in April 1861 to supply soldiers for the Union cause. In the decades that followed, the elm became a campus gathering place and symbol, fondly remembered by alumni, which included future President Ronald Reagan.

Like many stately elm trees in the Midwest, the Recruiting Elm succumbed to Dutch elm disease and was cut down in 1960.

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Eight hundred American Indians from more than 90 bands and tribes convened in Chicago the week of June 13-20, 1961, for the largest, most diverse intertribal gathering recorded in modern times. For many participants, it was the first time they had been able to interact with people from other tribes or be exposed to traditional singing, dancing and attire.

Many claim the conference was organized to hammer out a list of policy proposals for new U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and the 50-page "Declaration of Indian Purpose" that outlined Indian recommendations to solve Indian problems seems to confirm this assertion. Many today do not realize that the cornerstone principles of sovereignty, cultural preservation or self-determination were far from certain before the American Indian Chicago Conference, but the 1961 gathering changed that and charted a new course for federal Indian policy.

The article was written by Bradley G. Shreve, chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division at Dine College in the Navajo Nation.

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The Journal of Illinois History is the foremost publication for readers who value documented research on the state's history. The journal, published by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, features articles, book reviews, essays and bibliographies that have been reviewed by some of the country's leading historians.

Subscriptions are $18 per year for four issues.

To obtain a sample copy, contact Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Publications Section, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield, IL 62701; or call 217-524-6045.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]