Published August 22, 2021
By Beth Young
The City of Quincy has several
connections to the Civil War. Quincy
was, at one time, home to Senator Stephen Douglas, General Benjamin Mayberry
Prentiss, Dr. Samuel Everett, General George Pickett, General James D. Morgan, and
Orville and Eliza Browning. Both Lincoln
and Grant visited the city; a number of Quincy women served as nurses
throughout the conflict; and at one time, because of Quincy’s proximity to the
Mississippi River, Quincy was home to five military hospitals.
One of the least-known Civil War
treasures in Quincy is historic Woodland Cemetery. Created in 1846 when city founder,
politician, and later Governor John Wood donated land to the town for a public cemetery,
Woodland was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It contains approximately fifty acres of
beautiful rolling hills, much foliage, and over 60,000 burial spots. Woodland also contains a Soldier’s Monument
provided by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, a local Civil War aid
society. Created by artist Cornelius G.
Volk, this thirty-foot towering marble pillar was dedicated to Union soldiers
in 1867.
Over the past few years, two local
groups, the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County and the Tri-States
Civil War Round Table, have undertaken a project to upgrade gravesites of
Quincyans who were involved in the War Between the States. Informational markers have been provided, and
some grave stones have been erected or refurbished. The cemetery sexton and a
local monument company have also been instrumental in this project, and thus
far, five grave sites have been improved.
The first burial spot chosen was that
of William Alexander Richardson, an important Democratic United States Senator,
and a veteran of the Mexican War. Born
in Kentucky, Richardson moved to Quincy shortly after the Mexican War and
served several terms in Congress. In 1856,
he was defeated in a race for Illinois governor but was soon after appointed Territorial
Governor of Nebraska. Richardson was twice offered a Brigadier
General’s commission by Lincoln during the Civil War but declined citing poor
health.
The unmarked plot for former slave William
Hall Dallas was the second site selected for improvement. Dallas was born in
1844, probably in South Carolina, and eventually made his way to Quincy and then to Canada before enlisting in
the 55th Massachusetts in 1863.
Dallas was seriously wounded at
the Battle of James River in July 1864 and spent a year recovering before being
discharged and returning to Quincy. In 1873, he became the city’s first Black
police officer. Dallas was killed in the
line of duty in 1876 while attempting to arrest suspected burglars. In addition to erecting the military
headstone for Dallas, the groups installed a similar marker for his wife,
Virginia, who was buried beside him.
Martin Hawkins, a Civil War veteran from the
33rd Ohio, was the third individual honored. Sergeant Hawkins was awarded the
Medal of Honor for his participation in the Great Locomotive Chase of
1862. Hawkins was a member of a
volunteer unit led by civilian James Andrews whose goal was to steal the Confederate
locomotive “The General” in Marietta, Georgia, and destroy railroad bridges and
tracks between Marietta and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hawkins and a fellow soldier became separated
from the group; therefore, Hawkins was not captured and hanged as were Andrews
and seven others involved. Hawkins
eventually made his way back to Union lines safely and arrived in Quincy soon
after Appomattox.
Next to be refurbished was the grave of General James Dada Morgan, a prominent
Quincy businessman and banker who moved to Adams County in 1834. Before distinguishing himself in the Civil
War, Morgan served in both the Illinois Mormon and the Mexican Wars. Morgan’s outstanding leadership at the 1865
Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, ended his military career, which also
included service at Corinth, Tullahoma, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, as well as
the March to the Sea. Historian Shelby
Foote described Morgan as a “workhorse who had risen by fighting hard.” Prior to moving to Quincy, Morgan, who had
been raised in a seafaring Boston family, had sailed on a merchant vessel and
had been involved in a mutiny on the way to the East Indies.
The most recent recognition service
honored prominent Quincy native Louise Maertz, who was a member of Dorothea
Dix’s Army Nurse Corps during the Civil War.
Maertz served in Quincy and on hospital ships plying the Mississippi, as
well as at Vicksburg, Helena, New Orleans, and St. Louis before returning to
Quincy at the end of the conflict. She
dedicated the rest of her life to helping others. She sent money to starving Europeans, as well
as to Jane Addams’ Chicago Hull House, and served on the Board of Lady Managers
of Blessing Hospital where she funded a men’s ward in honor of her father. She was also instrumental in saving the John
Wood Mansion from destruction in 1906.
Having been well-educated in Quincy and “on the continent,” Maertz put
her academic abilities to good use and wrote “New Method for the Study of
English Literature” which became a standard college text.
The Historical Society, the Tri-States
Civil War Round Table, the Woodland Cemetery Board and staff, and Harrison
Monuments are committed to continuing to improve burial sites for Quincy’s
Civil War citizens. As in the past,
each renovation will be accompanied by a dedication service which includes
appropriate remarks about the citizen being honored, unveiling of the stone or informational
marker, and military honors offered by local American Legion Post 37. Members of the Legion donate their time to
perform this sacred ritual and having the Legion fire three volleys and provide
“Taps” adds an appropriate level of gravitas to the ceremony, as it shows the
respect which the City of Quincy has for its dead.
Sources
Young, Beth. ” My Country Is the World.”
Illinois Heritage. May-June. 2020.
Coffey, Justin. “First Black Policeman Killed in
the Line of Duty.” Quincy Herald Whig. January 10, 2018.
Costigan, David. “Common Soldier’s General:
James Dada Morgan. Quincy Herald Whig. June 10, 2019.
Dittmer, Arlis. “Nurse Unselfishly Cared for Civil
War Soldiers.” Quincy Herald Whig. November 1, 2019.
Great River Genealogical Society. Woodland Cemetery
1846 to 1990. Quincy, Illinois. 1992.
Landrum, Carl. “Martin Hawkins: Civil War Raider
Who Missed the Train.” Quincy Herald Whig. December 31.
1989.
“The Politicians.” Mr. Lincoln
and Friends. Lehrman Institute.
http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org.
