Mrs. John A. Logan...

I was born in Petersburgh, Boone County, Missouri, on the 15th day of August, 1838, of Irish-French ancestry. My father was a native of Lincoln County, Tennessee, but when quite a young man migrated to Petersburgh, as an employee of George P. Dorris, a merchant king of that day. Mr. Dorris had a Dry-goods establishment in the town of Petersburgh, where my father met my mother, Elizabeth Hicks La Fontaine. Grandfather La Fontaine was One of the French Huguenots who settled in Western Illinois and

The Mexican War of 1847-8 afforded many an opportunity to prove their patriotism and give vent to their adventurous inclinations. Communication with Washington was very limited, but when it was found that volunteers were called for, as war had been declared with Mexico, astonishing numbers rushed into the towns to try to get on the rolls. I can just remember seeing my father borne aloft above the heads of the men who elected him captain of the company. He had enlisted to serve Three years, or un

It was while spending “Court week” at Murphysboro that I discovered I could write the blanks for indictments from those the prosecuting attorney had prepared for criminal offences: viz., for selling liquor without license, gambling, assault and battery, petty larceny, and other violations of the law. There were no such things as printed blanks like those used to-day. Everything had to be written out with pen and ink— a quill pen being generally used. I had worked in the General land office for m

As soon as the election returns were in and Mr. Logan was declared elected to represent the Ninth Congressional District in the Thirty-seventh Congress, he began to arrange his affairs to go on to Washington to be sworn in March 4, 1859. We went to Marion, Williamson County, to spend the Christmas holidays with my father and mother, and to visit Mother Logan who lived Twenty-four miles West of Marion, at Murphysboro, Jackson County. On account of the discomfort of travelling in winter, we were a

The vast territory lying to the South, SouthWest, and Southeast of Cairo, Illinois, prior to the Rebellion, depended upon the Mississippi River as almost the only channel through which could be conveyed to the markets the cotton, molasses, and sugar. Through the same source they passed the larger supplies of grain, flour, and other commodities. The Mississippi River and its principal tributaries bounded the shores of several States that had cast in their lot with secession. The lands of these St

After the Battle of Belmont, many more troops were ordered to rendezvous at Cairo, Illinois. General Grant was designated to organize an expedition up the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. During the months of December and January, in the worst weather ever experienced in that climate, the troops in great numbers were mobilized in and around inhospitable Cairo. Munitions of war and commissary stores were accumulated in great quantity. The troops, while ignorant of their destination, knew instinct

Appreciating as I did the prodigious undertakings that were planned for Sherman's army, I spent many midnight hours in sleepless anxiety. During the day we had plenty to do to help care for the families of the refugees and soldiers, who were subject to all the ills to which human flesh is heir. Playing nurse, comforter, providing ways and means, and soliciting and dispensing relief kept my friends and myself very busy. Meanwhile we watched and waited impatiently for the meagre tidings that came

After the November election, with its glorious victories, and the triumph all along the line dividing the Union and Confederate armies from the Potomac to the Gulf of Mexico, every One was much encouraged and began to hope for an early cessation of hostilities. The Thanksgiving of that year was observed with fervent thankfulness to Him who holds the destinies of nations in the hollow of His hand. People greeted each other with “Well, what is the good news of to-day?”“Grant will be in Richmond so

A wonderful movement was started early in 1866 to carry out the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic, the history of which is as follows: To an Illinoisan belongs the credit of conceiving the grandest organization ever thought out by man for the perpetuation of “Fraternity, charity, and loyalty.”Reverend William J. Rutledge, while chaplain of the 14th Illinois Infantry, was the tent-mate of Major B. F. Stephenson, the surgeon of the regiment, to whom he was devotedly attached. In the w

As the flight of time brought the 4th of March nearer and nearer, committees were formed and the most extensive preparations ever conceived were made for the inauguration of Grant and Colfax. Experts and artists from New York and other large cities were brought to suggest schemes and designs for decorations and the arrangement of the programme. General Grant being the greatest military hero who had ever been elected President, and there being so many ex-soldiers in Washington at that time from a

While affairs socially were moving so smoothly there were many important matters arising in Congress. There was a proposition to remove the capital to Saint Louis, as a more central location for the capital of the United States than that of the District of Columbia. General Logan championed the movement for the removal of the capital, on the ground that the present location was made at a very early time in the history of the Government, and the vast area west of The Alleghanies had not been cons

Politically excitement was running high. Rivals of President Grant were busy in the manufacture of all kinds of charges against and abuse of his administration. Unfortunately, some of his appointees had not conducted themselves as they should, and he was held responsible, though totally ignorant of their misdeeds. James G. Blaine was ambitious to be nominated for the Presidency, and it was said that he had used the speakership in every possible way to secure delegates to the National convention

It was quite late in the summer before General Logan reached home, as the extra session of the Senate which convened after the inauguration, March 4, 1873, had been protracted much longer than had been expected. The children were out of school, and we were all settled in our lovely home, 2119 Calumet Avenue. The rear of our house overlooked the lake, and, the broad lawns of the block being undivided by fences, those who lived in this square had the benefit of a beautiful park in the front and ba

General Sherman's daughter Minnie was married October 1, 1874. Thus Three important weddings had taken place in the families of General Grant and General Sherman-those of Nellie and Fred in Grant's family, and Minnie in Sherman's family. When we arrived in Washington early in December we found that Colonel Fred and Mrs. Grant were ensconced in the White House, and were to spend the winter with the President and Mrs. Grant, Colonel Fred being on duty in Washington. The presence of the fascinating

When we arrived home we found that General Logan's friends had been very busy in the matter of securing the members of the legislature who were favorable to his return to the United States Senate. We found also that the many letters which we had written from Washington in reply to inquiries from General Logan's friends as to what he would do had been most effective. At the November election, although it was an off year (meaning that it was not a Presidential-election year), the Republican party

General Logan was much exhausted by the labors of the campaign of 1880, and had not fully recovered when we came to Washington for the convening of Congress in December of that year. When we arrived we found many of our old friends at Mrs. Rhine's. The month of December until the time of the adjournment of Congress for the holidays was a busy One socially and politically. The usual forebodings and anxiety of persons occupying appointive official positions and employees of the Government as to th