Friday, May 07, 2010
 
sponsored by

Committee seeks private donations to complete Civil War monument

Send a link to a friend

[May 07, 2010]  The Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society is working in partnership with the Logan County Board in a joint venture to replace the statue on the Civil War Soldiers' Monument on the courthouse lawn.

In addition to the statue replacement, the project includes the installation of a name board in the courthouse to honor the more than 2,400 men who left Logan County to serve in the war, and installation of a display board near the monument, listing the names of the approximately 447 men from Logan County who died during the war, a photo of the original statue and excerpts from the 1869 dedication oration by then-Gov. Richard J. Oglesby, a former general.

The statue of a soldier that sat atop the monument dedicated to those men who died was destroyed by a combination of erosion of the marble over 140 years and a freak windstorm that toppled the statue on Dec. 27, 2008.

The engravings on the original monument of the names of 326 Civil War men who died have been erased by erosion of the stone. Names of an additional 125 men who died during the war were found during research for a history of the monument. The display board near the monument will be of the type being installed to identify other historical incidents or locations around the county.

The more than 2,000 men who served Logan County during this great American conflict and survived have no memorial to their service and sacrifice. The name board to be installed in the courthouse will be of the same type as other name boards in the courthouse honoring military service. The location of the name board will be on the second floor, opposite a mural of a young Abraham Lincoln.

All deserve to be recognized for their patriotism and the sacrifices they endured for preservation of the United States.

In just 12 short months the country will be observing the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. The committee's goal is to have the name boards completed long before that anniversary begins.

The county board has contributed an insurance payment plus tourism funds that will nearly cover the cost of replacing the statue with a bronze statue.

The committee is seeking contributions to cover the cost remaining for the statue, the name board in the courthouse and the display board near the monument. The remaining portion is about $14,000. Given that Logan County has a population of more than 30,000, if each county resident donated $1 or each family donates $5, the committee would have enough money to complete the entire project within the next year.

[to top of second column]

Contributions should be sent to the Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society, 114 N. Chicago St., Lincoln, IL 62656. Checks are to be made out to the Logan County Genealogical Society and clearly marked for the Civil War Memorial project.

Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donors to this project and the society can deduct contributions as provided in Section 170 of the code. (See Addendum F: 501(c)(3), verification letter)

Contributors will be assigned a rank according to the following list (rank, minimum donation):

  • Corporal, under $100

  • Sergeant, $100

  • Lieutenant, $250

  • Captain, $500

  • Colonel, $1,000

  • General, $2,500

  • Medal of Honor, $5,000

Families who know of soldiers who served from Logan County may check that those men have been included in the list for the name board by stopping at 114 N. Chicago St. or calling 217-732-3200. The lists for both memorial boards can also be found at your local library or historical society.

See list of Logan County's Civil War dead.

[Text from file received from Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor