Richard J. Oglesby

Oglesby was born in Floydsburg, Oldham County, Kentucky.[4] He was orphaned and moved to live with his uncle in Decatur, Illinois in 1836, where he worked as a farmhand and carpenter.[5]

With the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, he enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant in Company C, 4th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment [6] taking part in the battles of Veracruz and Cerro Gordo "where his regiment almost captured Mexican President General Santa Anna, but they had to settle for his cork leg, carriage and $20,000 in gold".[7]

He might have participated in what may have been the first baseball game ever played outside the U.S., at the end of April 1847, a few days after the Battle of Cerro Gordo, "with the wooden leg captured (by the Fourth Illinois regiment) from General Santa Anna".[8]

He was mustered out of the volunteer service in May 1847.

He studied at Louisville Law School in 1848, but traveled to California for the gold rush in 1849, where he tried his hand at gold mining. After two years of traveling in Europe, he returned to Illinois in 1851[9] and joined the Republican Party at its formation. Oglesby ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress in 1858 but was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1860. In 1859, Oglesby married Decatur native Anna White. They had four children: Richard, Elizabeth, Robert, and Olive. Oglesby was one of the earliest advocates for Abraham Lincoln's nomination as the 1860 Presidential candidate of the Republican Party; it may have been he who applied the moniker "Railsplitter" to Lincoln.

Oglesby as a major general in the Union Army, circa 1862–1863

At the start of the Civil War, Oglesby was appointed colonel of the 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was a well-liked commander, receiving the moniker "Uncle Dick" from his troops. He commanded his brigade at the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and soon after was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He commanded troops during the Siege of Corinth. Oglesby sustained severe injuries in the Battle of Corinth in 1862 and was elevated to the status of major general that same year.[10]

After a brief period of recovery, Oglesby resumed military service in 1863. However, at the request of Abraham Lincoln, he abandoned his commission in 1864, successfully running for Illinois governor on the Republican ticket.[10]

He was present in the room at the Petersen House when President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.[11]

Oglesby Mansion on William Street in Decatur, Illinois where Oglesby and his wife Emma lived from 1874 to 1882

Oglesby first served as governor of Illinois from 1865 to 1869. During his tenure as governor, he advocated improving the quality of care of the mentally ill and for other groups of disabled citizens. He also signed legislation expanding the State Hospital system from one campus to three.[12] After his term ended, he practiced law until 1872, when he agreed to a scheme in which Oglesby ran again for governor, but turned the office over to the lieutenant governor immediately after inauguration in return for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He served as a Senator from 1873 until 1879. In 1884, he was reelected governor for a third time, becoming the first man in Illinois history to serve three times as governor. At the end of his third term as governor, he tried unsuccessfully to be reelected to his Senate seat. He spent his remaining years in retirement and died at his "Oglehurst" estate in Elkhart, Illinois. He is buried there in Elkhart Cemetery. There is a statue of Richard J. Oglesby in Lincoln Park, Chicago.

His son, John G. Oglesby, was a two time Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.

• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard J. Oglesby.

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.

• Plummer, Mark A. Lincoln's Rail Splitter: Governor Richard J. Oglesby. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001. ISBN 0-252-02649-7.
• Townsend, George Alfred. The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1865. OCLC 8110858.

• Richard J. Oglesby at Find a Grave
• Richard Oglesby Home in Decatur, Illinois