Published January 17, 2021
By Beth Young
If you wander around Woodland
Cemetery, you might come across an interesting tombstone memorializing John M.
Cyrus, a prominent Quincy attorney and Civil War veteran who served in the 50th
Illinois Infantry during that conflict.
The rather tall obelisk contains the birth and death dates, of course,
and is draped from the top to midway down.
On the bottom half of the obelisk are a carved flag, a sheathed saber,
and stars. The fact that the marker
stands so close to the Maertz Family plot made this author curious about any
possible connection between Cyrus and the Maertzes.
The graves were adjacent because
Cyrus was the husband of Emma Maertz, a member of that prominent family which
was headed by German immigrants, Charles and Otillia Maertz. Emma’s sister Louise was well-known and
respected as she volunteered as a nurse for Union troops at Vicksburg, New
Orleans, and Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis.
The entire family was civic-minded and generous.
John M. Cyrus was born near Camp
Point, Illinois, on November 9 1838. His
father, Henry A. Cyrus, was a minister; there is little known about his mother,
Athaliah G. Ruddell. John attended the
local district one-room school and, at a very young age, became a teacher
himself. According to the 1860 census, he also farmed.
An ardent patriot, John enlisted in
Company E of the 50th Illinois on 22 August 1861 soon after the
Civil War started. This unit, known as the “Blind Half Hundred,” was originally
led by Quincyan Colonel Moses M. Bane, who was succeeded by another Camp Point
resident, Lt. Colonel William Hanna, in late 1862. The regiment served in such battles as Fort
Henry, Fort Donelson, Corinth, Shiloh, Allatoona, and Sherman’s March to the Sea. The unit’s nickname was presumably derived
from the fact that many of their number had vision problems. Charles F. Hubert’s
History of the Fiftieth Illinois Infantry in the War of the Union
cites: “…the name ‘Blind Half Hundred’
came about because several of the men in the Regiment were ‘minus’ and several
were ‘squint and cross-eyed.’ “Hubert also noted that another, perhaps less
likely, reason for the name stemmed from a fight. He stated in the same source: “Also in a
brawl with the 16th Illinois Infantry a brick was thrown striking a
man from the Fiftieth in the eye leaving him ‘half blind.’ “
When Cyrus entered the service, he
was described as 5’10” tall, with dark hair and complexion and gray eyes. He served initially as Orderly Sergeant in Captain
Hanna’s company. Like every other recruit, he received his uniform, ammo,
weapons, and field equipment on 2 October 1861. According to Quincy historian Carl Landrum,
“the uniform consisted of a gray hat, dark blue coat, and sky blue pants.” Landrum continued, “The regiment marched
through the streets, resplendent in their new uniforms…On October 10 they
marched from Camp Wood [east of 5th Street and south of Jefferson]
to the east side of the square, halted and were addressed by General Benjamin Mayberry
Prentiss. The regiment then marched to
the levee and boarded the steamer Black Hawk for Hannibal.”
Cyrus rose through the ranks
rapidly during his three years in the Illinois Fiftieth, being mustered in as 2nd
lieutenant in April 1862, and promoted to 1st lieutenant in October
1862. He was then promoted to captain in
March 1863 when Hanna was elevated in rank to major. All three of these promotions were made while
the 50th was serving in Corinth, Mississippi. Cyrus was mustered out of the service on 18
October 1864 and came back to Adams County.
Soon after his return, Cyrus moved
to Macomb, Illinois, and became involved in business pursuits there. After approximately two years, he received an
appointment to the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D. C. and moved to that city. While thus employed by the government, Cyrus
attended law classes at Columbia College (now George Washington University)
where he earned a degree.
In 1869, Cyrus returned to Adams
County and opened his legal practice at 619 Maine in Quincy. In June of 1872 he married Emma Maertz. The couple’s time in Quincy was limited,
however, as Cyrus’ health began to decline.
By December 1873, he and Emma had moved to Franklin, St. Mary’s Parish,
Louisiana, where Cyrus died on 4 February 1874.
Emma’s father Charles traveled south to accompany his son-in-law’s body
home.
The funeral was held at the Maertz
home at the corner of 4th and Elm at 10:30 on 12 February. Cyrus’ body was then taken to Woodland
Cemetery for burial. The crowd attending
included brothers from Masonic Lodge #296, friends, and military comrades, as
well as family.
General Moses Bane, Cyrus’
commanding officer during the war, eulogized his friend with these words; “He
was always perfect and there was no one of his rank in the service who had a
more technical knowledge of tactics. He
was always a thorough gentleman, and always enjoyed the confidence and respect
of his acquaintances.”
Additional praise was offered by
fellow members of Quincy’s Encore Club who issued this statement: “…we cannot
veil our sorrow – cannot repair our loss; that we bear cheerful testimony to
the intellectual, social, and moral worth of our associate, friend, and
brother…” NOTE: The Encore Club was an educational,
philosophical group that brought such luminaries as Mark Twain and Ralph Waldo
Emerson to Quincy to speak to the public.
Although he died at age thirty-six, Cyrus made significant
contributions to Adams County. The area
was home to a number of patriotic, industrious, and able young men who improved
their own lives as well as the lives of their fellow citizens. John M. Cyrus was one of those individuals.
Sources
Hubert,
Charles F.
History
of the Fiftieth Illinois Infantry in the War
of the Union
. Kansas City: Western
Veteran Publishing Company,
1984.
Landrum,
Carl.”County’s Own Civil War Regiment.”
Quincy
Herald-Whig
, September 30, 1973.
Camp Point Journal
, February 12,
1874.
“In
Memoriam.”
Quincy Daily Herald
,
February 11, 1874, 4.
