CIVIL WAR MONUMENTS

NORMAN  V.  KELLY

 

I wrote about most of the monuments in Peoria and it amazed me how many we have in Peoria, County.  Way back in 1866 a lot of local people, especially children and women’s groups went door to door collecting pennies and dimes to build a monument to honor the men Peoria lost in the Civil War. Once folks caught on to what they were collecting the money for, real donations began to roll in.   The monument was built and dedicated there on the corner of Adams and Main Street within the court house square.  A massive parade was held and the bands played and the folks cheered.  General ‘Blackjack’ Logan was there with his huge eagle called “Old Abe.” The key speaker was the very famous Peorian, Robert G. Ingersoll.  The crowd was beyond huge and thousands of Civil War Veterans came to Peoria to join in the festivities.  Later, when the city wanted to put in concrete sidewalks they moved the monument over to the north side where it stood until the old courthouse was torn down to make room for a new building.  “The Shaft”…which is what Peorians called The Civil War Monument, was dismantled and numbered so that it could be reassembled.  That never happened and later it was discovered dumped in a couple of ditches out at the Detweiller Marina near Detweiller Park.

 

In 1892, another women’s group called the Ladies Memorial

Day Association decided that Peorians were beginning to forget about the Civil War and the patriotic feelings they used to have about those that had died in that war.  They began going door to door just like the women before them, collecting money and talking about their cause.  They formed large children’s groups who began collecting pennies.  The group’s president, Lucey B. Tyng * formed small groups that called on local businesses, politicians, wealthy citizens, city officials and the local county board.  Martin Kingman, the owner of a local plow manufacturing company heeded the call and within a few months, Mrs. Tyng announced that they had collected over $40,000.00 to build the monument.   By early 1893, Mrs. Tyng had made contact with famous Peorian; internationally known sculpture, Frederic ‘Fritz’ Triebel.  He was born and raised in Peoria but was working and living in Rome, Italy. Truth is he heard about the project from some of his family that were still living in Peoria and it was he that contacted Mrs. Tyng. He quickly agreed to take on the massive project and once that was known the donations continued to pour in. Initially ‘Fritz’ had stated that his estimated costs were between $35,000.00 and $40,000.00.

 

As Fritz was busy initiating his early drawings and preparing to begin his construction, the ladies in Peoria were discussing the site for the war memorial.  Finally, after weeks of discussion, a vote was taken, and the Peoria County Courthouse square was agreed upon.  Mrs. Tyng told the local newspaper reporters that the reason behind the ladies’ choice were two-fold.  First they wanted the monument near the very spot where Lincoln and Douglas had debated here on the court house grounds in 1854.  Secondly, she stated that the old Civil War Monument was located there and was most certainly beginning to show signs of serious deterioration.   I found an absolute statement from the Peoria County Board spokesman that stated they donated $10,000.00 with the stipulation that the monument be built within the court house square.

 

                                       A  SIX  YEAR  WAIT

 

With the money raised and the sculptor busy constructing the monument in Italy, the folks in Peoria, Illinois simply could do nothing but wait.  Mr. Triebel got in a bit of fisticuffs with a lady in Rome and the rumor was that he was going to jail. A family member called Fritz and asked him if he was indeed going to jail.  Fritz replied that he was not and that everything was fine. Also, Peorians were told that a ship carrying a die cast, whatever that was, sunk on the way to America and that brought another round of worry. The rumor was that the entire monument was at the bottom of the ocean.  Folks were thankful that the rumor was untrue. So one day, six years later three box cars were sitting on a side-railing in a railroad yard near the river containing all of the material needed to build the monument. Finally the wait was over…Peoria would soon have her second Civil War Monument.

 

One of the many boxes inside the boxcars weighed 5 tons and a lot of folks showed up to watch the cargo unloaded and taken to the courthouse square.  As the Triebel Stone cutting company began preparations for the monument’s assembly the ‘sidewalk engineers’ flocked to watch the action. There were meetings about the plans for the parade, dedication and who would be the key speaker.  The number one choice was Peoria’s own Robert G. Ingersoll, but a delay in the dedication made it impossible for him to attend and Peorians were saddened to learn that Ingersoll died on July 21, 1899. A fortunate set of circumstances made President William McKinley available to be in Peoria on October 6, 1899 and that set the date for the dedication.  There was excitement and anticipation in the air here in Peoria, Illinois.

 

                             FESTIVITIES  AND  DEDICATION

 

Friday, October 6, 1899, dawned bright and promising as folks began to make their way to Peoria, Illinois.  Many of them would stay the night and a lot of them brought camping equipment and headed for our parks.  Our hotels filled up and hour by hour downtown became more and more crowded.  A small contingent of Peorians went to Bureau, Illinois to meet and board President McKinley’s special train to escort him to Peoria, Illinois. At Three in the afternoon eleven fancy carriages lined up to take the thirty-six prominent people to the court house square for the ceremonies.  The president was greeted with cheers and roars as they rode up from the depot.   He was accompanied by his entire Cabinet, except one. They brought their wives along as well.  The honored guests watched the parade; cheered Spencer’s Band and waved at the 6,000 children marching along waving flags and carrying flowers.   President McKinley finally rose in response to the cheers and made his dedication speech.  After a thunderous applause he and Fritz Triebel walked around the Monument as the crowd went wild.

 

The carriage parade, followed by thousands went up Main Street where the distinguished guests would have dinner at the Greenhut Mansion, still standing to this day.  The President and Greenhut were ‘Old army buddies,’ and the evening slipped away quickly. By ten at night the President’s train pulled away from the Peoria Depot heading west.  Sadly President William McKinley died from wounds suffered from an assassin’s bullet on September 6, 1901.(**Luce,Lucie and Lucy.)   

Editor’s Note;  Norm is a True Crime Writer and Peoria historian who contributes monthly to ADVENTYURE  SPORTS  OUTDOORS. 

norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net