A City in Wartime: Quincy, Illinois and the Civil War

By David Costigan

The book examines the impact of the Civil War on Quincy, Illinois. Quincy, in 1860 the third largest city in Illinois, is situated on the Mississippi River across from slave state Missouri, thus exposing it to the uncertainties and potential strife of a border region. Quincy entered the war with a rich tradition of providing influential political leaders. In 1860 Quincyan John Wood was the governor of Illinois and the Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, during his first two congressional terms, recognized Quincy as his home district. Quincy had the distinction of providing two U.S. Senators during the war, Orville Hickman Browning and William Richardson. Quincy served as a muster and training site for both white and black troops. Some of the latter served for Massachusetts, and the 29th U.S. Colored regiment trained at Quincy and, after moving out, fought the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia in July 1864. In addition, Quincy served as a port of entry for blacks fleeing the South in the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation. The city experienced discord related to the influx, but also a measure of altruism appeared among some dedicated to helping blacks make the challenging transition from slavery. Women of Quincy banded together in three organizations designed to serve the needs of Soldiers and their dependents. Economically, the city experienced an early downturn, but rebounded strongly to achieve growth during the war. Quincy and its hinterland in northeast Missouri strove mightily to restrain friction so as to protect the economic vitality of the region.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663225078

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Copyright © 2021 David Costigan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-2506-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-2507-8 (e)

iUniverse rev. date:   07/09/2021

To Mary, the mother of our five sons, and my dear wife.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter I Hurry Up And Wait – Quincy Responds To War

Chapter II Confronting The Meaning Of The War

Chapter III Responding To Change: Emancipation, Race, Support And Dissent

Chapter IV Fighting Both Rebels And War Weariness

Chapter V Hanging On To The End – Exaltation And Shock

Chapter VI Community Civil War History: A Vehicle To Enrich The Classroom

Bibliography

FOREWORD

A CITY OF WARTIME: QUINCY, ILLINOIS

AND THE CIVIL WAR

This book examines the impact of the Civil War on Quincy, Illinois. Quincy, in 1860 the third largest city in Illinois, is situated on the Mississippi River across from slave state Missouri, thus exposing it to the uncertainties and potential strife of a border region.

Quincy entered the war with a rich tradition of providing political leaders. In 1860 Quincyan John Wood was governor of Illinois and the Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, during his two congressional terms, recognized Quincy as his home district. Building on the tradition Quincy had the distinction of providing two United States senators during the war, Orville H. Browning (1861-1863) and William A. Richardson (1863-1865).

Like other cities, Quincy provided substantial manpower to the Northern war effort. Quincy and its parent county, Adams, were credited with 5,173 recruits according to provost marshal figures. In addition, Quincy served as a muster and training site for both white and black troops. Some of the latter served for Massachusetts, and the 29th U.S. Colored regiment trained at Quincy and, after moving out, fought at the battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia in July 1864.

Quincy served as a port of entry for blacks fleeing the South in the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation. The city experienced discord related to this influx, but also a measure of altruism appeared among some dedicated to helping blacks make the challenging transition from slavery.

Women of Quincy banded together in three organizations designed to serve the needs of soldiers and their dependents. One society established a clothing factory to produce uniforms for the military and employed up to four hundred women, mainly soldiers’ dependents.

Economically, the city experienced an early downturn, but rebounded strongly to achieve growth during the war. Quincy and its hinterland in northeast Missouri strove mightily to restrain friction so as to protect the economic vitality of the region.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer wishes to thank Dr. Mark Plummer for his wise encouragement and counsel. Thanks also for their comments and suggestions go to Lawrence W. McBride, M. Paul Holsinger, David B. Chesebrough and William P. Walters. My colleague Wendell Mauter provided sound advice and patiently listened to my queries.

Special appreciation must be given the late Reverend Landry Genosky who introduced the writer to Quincy history. Gratitude must be expressed to my brother Tom, and his wife Peggy whose hospitality enabled me to conduct much of my research. Most of all my deep appreciation for the unfailing support and encouragement of my wife Mary must be expressed. Finally to our five sons, our pride and joy, go thanks for their encouragement to their father.

D. C.

INTRODUCTION

Abraham Lincoln called the Civil War a people’s contest. Historian Phillip Shaw Paludan used these words as the title to his insightful study into the war from the perspective of the Northern people. Paludan called his first chapter, Communities Go to War.¹ As a work of synthesis, he painted with a broad brush but suggested implicitly that locales provide a significant and needed focus for Civil War research. Paludan asserted,

Communities large and small formed the fundamental unit of human experience in the Civil War years as they have done throughout human history. They were the places where individuals, friends and loved ones grew up, worked, married and lived. . . . Most important, when the time came to decide for war, Northerners had learned the meaning of self-government in these small places.²

One of these Northern communities responding to war was Quincy, Illinois. In 1860, Quincy ranked as the third largest city in Illinois. With a population of 13,718 it trailed only Chicago and Peoria.³ Quincy’s parent county, Adams, totalled 41,144 in the census of that same year.⁴ Quincy was located at the western most extension of the state on the Mississippi River. It lay one hundred miles west of the state capital at Springfield. St. Louis was approximately 120 miles down river from the port of Quincy. With steamboat landings for river traffic and three railroads, the city’s importance to regional and even national transportation networks was assured. The three railroads were: the Quincy and Toledo; the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy; and the Quincy and Palmyra. The latter connected to the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, a pioneer road of the trans-Mississippi west. Also, Quincy’s location across from slave state Missouri made it a border city and this fact would significantly influence its history in the turbulent years of the nation’s Civil War. Contact with Missouri came by boat and by ferries and in the depths of winter the frozen river could be crossed on foot and on horseback.

Quincy mainly occupied high ground overlooking the Mississippi River. The city ascends rapidly from the river and occupies bluffs towering above the river. This meant that the core area of the city avoided periodic floods. Above and below the city lay bottom lands that experienced recurrent flooding. Inhabitants referred to these as the north and south bottoms, and regarded them as generally unhealthy.

In 1860, Quincy, Illinois had the air of a city on the move. Construction data for that year indicated that twelve new business establishments were built along with thirty-five new family dwellings. One of the latter was built for the city’s founder and most famous citizen, John Wood. Wood retired as governor of Illinois in 1860, succeeded by Richard Yates. The cost of the Wood home was listed as a princely $100,000. Quincyans bragged of the quantity and splendor of their religious edifices. The community possessed a Jewish synagogue and twenty-four churches including an African Methodist-Episcopal structure indicating a degree of diversity in the population.

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Quincy – North 5th St.

View of North 5th Street on the Square in Quincy, which was a center of commerce at the time. Quincy, in 1860 the third largest city in Illinois, is situated on the Mississippi River in Illinois across from slave state Missouri, thus exposing it to the uncertainties and potential strife of a border region.

Adams county contained approximately twenty-two percent foreign born, with the city’s percentage likely somewhat higher.⁵ Quincy possessed a large German component to the population, comprising 1626 adult males in the 1860 count.⁶ The Irish also constituted a major ethnic group in the city, exercising considerable clout in the political affairs of the community. The local churches of these ethnic groups supported six schools in 1860 while six schools were listed as secular or public supported in that year. One of the public schools was the Quincy Colored School.⁷ The community also boasted of two colleges, one called the Quincy English and German College and the other was the recently established St. Francis College, founded by Franciscan Roman Catholic priests from Germany.⁸ The Franciscans built an orphanage in conjunction with their school at a cost of $5,000.

As with any city Quincy had to deal with the issue of poverty in its midst. For care of the poor the city maintained at its edge a poor farm for the destitute and Adams County had only recently created a poor farm for the impoverished. Among local elected officials was a position designated as Overseer of the Poor.

Quincy possessed three banking institutions: the Bank of Quincy, the Quincy Savings and Insurance Company and the German Savings and Insurance Company.⁹ As a north-south connecting link on the Mississippi River and an east-west hub by rail, the city’s bankers and businessmen looked forward to growth and development and an influence on affairs of both their state and the nation as the United States moved into the epochal decade of the 1860s.

Quincy possessed two daily newspapers, the Quincy Whig and Republican, the Republican party organ, and the Quincy Herald, affiliated with the Democrats. The research design for this study was structured to investigate day by day these newspapers and their depiction of the events and mood of Quincy at war. Newspaper perusal was supplemented by exploration of other standard sources of Civil War history. Particular themes took precedence and represented the special concentration of inquiry. First, because of its border location across from a slave state, Missouri, the cross-river tensions and troubles represented an obvious subject for scrutiny.

Next, military matters involving the city warranted attention. Not only did Quincy provide personnel for the war, but it also maintained military camps and hospitals. As a transportation center it served as a debarkation center for troops throughout the war.

A third focus of research was the economic impact of the war. Quincy, in microcosm, paralleled the economic vicissitudes and opportunities of many Northern communities. A fourth theme for exploration concentrated on the political dimensions of the war in this city. Politics from the local arena to state and national affairs were affected by war, emancipation, conscription and other events and initiatives which involved all communities. Quincy possessed leaders of state and national influence and the role of these leaders will be explored and assessed.

A fifth area of research involved blacks. At war’s beginning, there was a small black community in Quincy. The war and emancipation brought significant change. Quincy, part of the underground railroad in the antebellum period, became a major port of entry for the contrabands. The city also developed into a muster and training place for black recruits and a dwelling place for the dependents of many of these soldiers. The black presence affected community attitudes and fears as well as the altruistic natures of some.

The final major theme for perusal was the response of Quincy women to the war. At the outset local women knew that they should get involved in the war effort but were not quite sure how. They resorted to typical American expedients and formed associations to render services in a wide range of pursuits. The war unleashed the energies of women in all walks of life. Women’s responses revealed fascinating insights into the role and sphere of women in this era of American history. Conditioning this research was a recognition that the war was a great catalyst for change. Also continuity and resistance to change must be acknowledged where they existed. The themes mentioned do not exhaust all the potential topics, but these other themes await the next researcher interested in a community at war.

Historical scholarship has always been interested in local history. This work provides a rationale for local history and its application in institutions of secondary and higher education. This research also recognizes that the Civil War tied with community history can provide rewarding possibilities for scholarship. Quincy, Illinois offered an opportunity to delve into the sinews of a community at war. Thousands of other communities, North and South, await their own investigation.

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QUINCY IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

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QUINCY IN THE CIVIL WAR

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Rescue of Colonel Smith’s command at Monroe, Missouri, by Governor Wood of Illinois. Originally appeared in Harper’s Weekly on August 17, 1861.

CHAPTER I

HURRY UP AND WAIT – QUINCY RESPONDS TO WAR

1861

From the first shot at Ft. Sumter to the end of 1861 the people of Quincy, Illinois responded in varying ways to the reality of their divided nation at war. Immediately volunteers rushed enthusiastically to the colors to preserve the Union. The politically active pondered the meaning of the war especially in terms of their understanding of the Constitution and of the relationship of states to the federal government. Because neighboring Missouri was a slave state an apprehensive attitude greeted the onset of hostilities for many feared the war might be fought right here. The premise that war stimulates the economy was soon belied by the hardships war entailed for many and the revelation that many economic structures were simply archaic. Local women, by the beginning of the summer, realized they had to become involved and were searching for an appropriate role. Most Quincyans considered blacks as outsiders and though many despised slavery, they had no great compassion for the slave and they wanted no infiltration of blacks into the local population. Concern for blacks began in the pulpits of a few churches, but these few voices produced more animosity than support. Quincyans were not ready in 1861 for a war against slavery.

The political profile of the city and county was revealed in the general election of 1860. On November 6, 1860, male citizens across America cast their votes for president of the United States. At the western edge of Illinois, in Quincy and Adams County, voters likewise were making their choices. The tally reflected the partisan breakdown of the community. The totals:

¹⁰

The region voted as it had traditionally, that is, Democratic, but Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party had made a strong showing. A solid element of Lincoln’s support came from the strong German element in the local population.¹¹ Republicans had worked diligently to secure the German vote. The state of Illinois voted for Lincoln over Douglas by 51 percent to 47 percent so Quincy was not representative of the state at large. It should be noted, however, that Lincoln’s great strength was in the northern half of the state and Douglas’ popularity rested in the south. Quincy thus appeared to have significant numbers from both elements within the state.¹²

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John Wood

Founder of Quincy, Wood served as mayor of the city several times before becoming the Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Illinois in 1860. He was appointed the Quartermaster General of the State of Illinois at the onset of the Civil War and later served as an Army Colonel during the Siege of Memphis defending the city against Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

In the dramatic period from Lincoln’s election to his inauguration and the subsequent outbreak of hostilities at Fort Sumter, a number of important events took place involving Quincy’s political leaders. One of particular significance was a Democratic state convention in Springfield, held on January 16, 1861. Chairman of the meeting was United State congressman William A. Richardson of Quincy, long acknowledged as Senator Stephen A. Douglas’ foremost lieutenant. Douglas, who had been vigorously involved in compromise measures in the nation’s capital, sent his recommendations to Springfield. The convention unanimously passed a series of resolutions. These resolutions warrant attention because Quincy would remain a Democrat-dominated city throughout the Civil War and because these positions were repeatedly articulated in subsequent years. The resolution’s main ideas were denial of the right of secession; that the crisis should be resolved by compromise and conciliation; and that a national convention of the states should be summoned to seek a solution to the nation’s problems.¹³ Democrats apparently felt surmounting of sectional difficulties achieved in 1820 at the time of the Missouri statehood crisis, in 1832 with the nullification controversy, and in 1850 over California statehood and other expansion related issues, could be accomplished again. Richardson and his fellow Democrats supported the resolutions repeatedly in local party meetings, though the goal at the time of the resolutions was heading off civil war. Republicans attacked the resolutions as a demonstration of support to secessionists. Partisanship seldom disappeared in Quincy during the war.

A Quincy Republican also was involved in one of the initiatives designed to avoid the tragedy of civil war. This effort was the peace convention sponsored by Virginia which is often called the Border States Peace Convention.¹⁴ Governor Richard Yates of Illinois appointed his predecessor, John Wood of Quincy, as one of five delegates from the state. Wood, the acknowledged founder of Quincy, accepted the commission and proceeded to Washington for the meeting which deliberated from 4 to 27 February, 1861. Wood’s role at the meeting is obscure but surely he was influenced by the instructions of Governor Yates and President-elect Lincoln. The latter had confided to his Quincy friend, Orville Hickman Browning, that he felt the convention would have a negative impact on the national mood because it was destined to break up without any accomplishments. Browning, in his diary entry, expressed some surprise at Lincoln’s firmness about the maintenance of the Union.¹⁵ Lincoln’s position for the delegates was, Whatever I may think of the merit of the various propositions suggested, I should regard any concession in the face of a menace, as the destruction of the government itself.¹⁶ Since no seceded state sent a delegate to the convention, all concessions apparently would be yielded by the Northern states. Lincoln and other Republicans saw this prospect exacting a serious toll in Republican unity so they decided upon no concessions. Weeks later, the Quincy Republican paper declared that honest John Wood stood firm and followed instructions not to compromise.¹⁷ When Wood returned home early in April he was elected to chair a Republican Party union meeting in Quincy that reaffirmed the principles of the 1860 party platform and those of the President’s inaugural address.

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Orville Hickman Browning

Orville Hickman Browning was a prominent Quincy lawyer and Illinois politician who was a close confidant of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate after the death of Stephen A. Douglas in 1861 and became a political adviser to President Lincoln as his main connection to the Senate. He was appointed Secretary of Interior in 1866 by President Andrew Johnson.

When President Lincoln made his inaugural address on March 4, 1861, it included a small, but substantive contribution from his Quincy friend, Orville H. Browning. Lincoln and Browning shared much in common. Both were native Kentuckians, lawyers, former Whigs and founders of the Illinois Republican party. In early February Browning travelled to Springfield and met with Lincoln for a number of days. Lincoln wanted Browning to accompany him to Washington, but because of other obligations, Browning travelled only as far as Indianapolis. Lincoln gave Browning a draft of the proposed inaugural speech. In the draft Lincoln had written:

All the power at my disposal will be used to reclaim the public property and places which have fallen; to hold, occupy and possess these, and all other property belonging to the government.

Browning suggested deleting, to reclaim the public property and places which have fallen. His rationale was that though the idea was correct, it would be better accomplished without announcing it. Certainly, he believed, the principle would be seen as provocative; how else could property be reclaimed except by force? So the address was more conciliatory because Lincoln followed Browning’s suggestion. Interestingly, on the back of Browning’s recommendation Lincoln wrote, Americans all, we are not enemies, but friends. We have sacred ties of affection which though strained by passion, let us hope can never be broken. This idea became the theme of the first inaugural’s final paragraph. One might surmise that Browning’s toning down of the single sentence might have had some influence in inspiring one of the most remembered features of the inaugural.¹⁸

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Stephen A. Douglas

Stephen A. Douglas, elected to Congress from Quincy in 1843, was a frequent political opponent of Abraham Lincoln and Illinois Whigs. But Douglas was the Democratic Party’s strongest support of Lincoln as the Civil War approached. When it was clear he would lose the presidency to Lincoln, Douglas continued to campaign in the South, not for himself but for the Union. His Save the Flag speech to the Illinois General Assembly in April 1861 is credited with influencing legislators to authorize men, materiel, and money for the war. Douglas also persuaded Southern Illinois General John A. Logan and his volunteers not to fight for the South but the Union. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Lincoln’s address was well received in Quincy. Republicans appreciated its combination of moderation and firmness. More important was the Democratic response because Democrats controlled all local offices and William A. Richardson represented the Sixth Congressional District in the U. S. House of Representatives.¹⁹ In addition, Democrat James W. Singleton served the district in the Illinois General Assembly and Austin Brooks, the editor of the Quincy Herald, held office as a Democrat in the Illinois Senate. The tone for the local response was set by Senator Stephen A. Douglas, always referred to locally as Judge Douglas, a reference to his days on the Circuit Court bench in the district.²⁰ Douglas made it clear where he stood on the ideas presented in Lincoln’s inaugural address. In a statement to the press, he called the speech a peace offering rather than a war message, and he asserted that the new president had sunk the partisan in the patriot.²¹ Reserving the right to differ on political matters, Douglas affirmed that on the issue of maintenance of the Union, he stood squarely with his long-time political foe. With war clouds gathering, local citizens could look to their leaders for direction. For Republicans, President Lincoln and Governor Richard Yates were the standard bearers. Democrats affirmed Douglas’ principles at the January convention in Springfield and the dominant figure of Senator Douglas was their guide.

A major question would be whether partisanship would continue in the face of the commencement of hostilities. Word of the April 12, 1861, attack on Ft. Sumter was received and published in the April 13 newspapers. Immediately the Quincy Whig looked for someone to blame and it focused on the Democrats. This is their doing, the Whig charged. The Republican paper attributed what it headlined as The Struggle Inaugurated on the curse of slavery. The paper printed a long and blatantly racist diatribe entitled, The Niggerism of the Secession Movement. The writer blamed the South for having succumbed to African influences to their detriment. Southern language and fashion had been corrupted by African influences, while the North was little sullied by association with blacks.²² Clearly, the racism exhibited by the Republican paper equaled that of the rival Democrats in vehemence.

On April 15 word that Sumter