- Henry A Castle, Union Sergeant Major, 73 rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Captain 137 th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Minnesota Adjutant General, Minnesota State Representative - The Army Mule, by Henry Castle, Bowen-Merrill, 1898. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Inscribed by Author(s). Slight discoloration to red cloth on rear board. Henry Anson Castle's career, which spanned more than fifty years, was characterized by many diverse activities and interests. He was noted for his roles as a Civil War veteran, lawyer, journalist, real estate and railroad developer, politician, and author, and for his involvement in St. Paul civic affairs. After graduating from McKendree College in 1862, Castle fought in the Civil War with the 73rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment as a private and a sergeant major. He was wounded in the hand during the battle of Stone River in 1863 and chose to accept a medical discharge from the Army when he learned that he would not be commissioned. In 1864 he raised the 137th Illinois Volunteer Regiment and served as its captain. During the 1870s and 1880s Castle established himself in political and business spheres in St. Paul. An avid Republican, he developed associations with many Republican politicians. Cushman K. Davis became a life-long friend and associate whom Castle actively promoted for political offices. Castle was elected to a one-year term in the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 24 (1873) and served as the state's adjutant general (1875-1876) and oil inspector (1883-1887). He was secretary and treasurer of the Republican State Central Committee at various times from 1875 to 1883 and was chairperson in 1884. Through his Decoration Day speeches and other political and patriotic addresses, he established a reputation as a popular and eloquent speaker and proponent of the Republican party. In 1874 Castle returned to practicing law, but his attention gradually was drawn back to the newspaper business. In 1876 he and several associates formed a stock company that bought the St. Paul Dispatch, with Castle as company president. He also served as the newspaper's publisher and editor-in-chief (1880 to 1885), and under his leadership it became a recognized voice of the Republican party. During his lifetime, in addition to his many other activities, Castle wrote profusely on a variety of topics. Civil War stories were a favorite subject. His 'The Army Mule and Other War Sketches' was published in 1897. His positions with the St. Paul Post Office and the Post Office Department generated an avid interest in postal issues." - Minnesota Historical Society - John G. Brown, Union Sergeant Major, 55 th Illinois Infantry - The story of the 55th Illinois Infantry in the Civil War 1861-1865 by a committee of the regiment, hardcover, 1st edition, 1887, inscribed “To General Joseph Stockton with compliments of the Sergeant Major” which is Sergeant Major John G. Brown of Marshalltown, Iowa, who wrote chapters 10-13 which outlines the service of the 55th on the march to Savannah and through the Carolinas until being mustered out in 1865. Inscribed to the commanding officer General Joseph Stockton of the 72nd Illinois Infantry Regiment. Further signed “W.E. Whipple, Duluth, W.F. Whipple 1945” inscribed by Lincoln Historian and author Wayne Whipple to his son. - Augustus Chetlain, Union Major General, 12 th Illinois Infantry - Recollections of Seventy Years, by Augustus Chetlain, 1899. Book is inscribed to Brigadier General Nicholas Senn (Spanish American War) who also served as President of the American Surgical Association. When the American Civil War began in 1861, Chetlain chose to follow the Union cause. He was said to have been the first man in Illinois to volunteer for the Civil War. On April 16, he was part of a meeting held in Galena to raise a volunteer company and, with Ulysses S. Grant, was prominent in its creation. When Grant declined the post, he suggested for Chetlain to be elected as the company's captain. In Springfield in late April the 12th Illinois Infantry was organized, and Chetlain's company was added to it. On May 2 he entered the Union Army as captain of the 12th Illinois, and the next day, he was elected the regiment's lieutenant colonel. Shortly afterward, the 12th Illinois was ordered to Cairo, Illinois, and that September, it was part of the force used by Grant in the expedition against and capture of Paducah. Chetlain was then given command of Smithland, Kentucky, where he constructed fortifications to defend part of the Cumberland River. In January 1862, he rejoined his regiment, led it during the expedition up the Tennessee River, was at the capture of Fort Henry on February 6, and led his command during the Battle of Fort Donelson from February 12 to 16. On April 6, 1862, Chetlain led his regiment with distinction during the Battle of Shiloh in which he lost about a quarter of his men, and he was wounded when his face and his chest were seriously bruised. On April 27, he was promoted to colonel for gallantry during the action at Fort Donelson. In May, his command participated in the Siege of Corinth and then the battle there on October 3 and 4 during which Chetlain was again highly praised for his performance. Chetlain was then given command of Corinth, Mississippi, where he began to organize and train black soldiers for Union Army service. This assignment lasted until May 1863, and on December 18, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. On the advice of Grant, Chetlain was given the task of raising black troops in Tennessee and in Kentucky, with his headquarters located in Memphis. By October 1864, he had trained a force of about 17,000 men, who were "well armed, drilled, and disciplined." On June 18, 1865, Chetlain was brevetted to the rank of major general. Between 1865 and 1866, he commanded at Memphis and then at Talladega, Alabama. On January 26, 1866, Chetlain was mustered out of the Union Army. His wartime performance has been described as follows: “Gen. Chetlain throughout his varied army career had military ardor, and a love for the profession of arms. He proved himself a brave commander in action, a successful organizer, an excellent disciplinarian and tactician, and possessed a high order of administrative ability.” - Samuel Howard Meek, Union Soldier, 28 th Illinois Infantry - The Illustrated Comprehensive History of the Great Battle of Shiloh (First Edition) by Howard, Samuel Meek Publication: Gettysburg, South Dakota: Privately Printed for Author, 1921 Description: Hardcover. Gettysburg, South Dakota: Privately Printed for Author, 1921. FIRST EDITION. INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ON THE FRONT ENDPAPER. Original cloth. 317 pages. Illustrated with photographs. Fair. Hinges cracked else tight binding; front endpaper; frontispiece loose; clean pages; a few small tears; label on spine; covers quite worn, bumped and soiled; no jacket. Author was in the 28th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Very scarce. Samuel Meek Howard was already a lawyer in Illinois when he enlisted for service with Co. H, 28th Ill. Inf. in 1861. He was involved in battles fought in the Mississippi Valley, most notably the Battle of Shiloh and the siege of Vicksburg. He also assisted in the overthrow of Maximillian in Mexico after the Civil War ended.In 1883 he came to Potter County, South Dakota, and was the first settler in Artichoke Township. "Uncle Sam" Howard served Potter County as States Attorney and as a Judge. His victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case "Delamater vs. the State of South Dakota in 1907 attracted national attention. He was known to have one of the best law libraries in South Dakota. In addition, he was an inventor with at least one patent.Howard also wrote the book THE BATTLE OF SHILOH and was the keynote speaker at the 50th Anniversary of that battle. He died at him home in Gettysburg, SD, from asphyxiation from his coal burning stove during the night of Oct. 31/Nov.1, 1924. He never married or had children. From his obituary: “Mr. Howard was among the first to respond to President Lincoln's call for volunteers after the thundering of rebel guns against the ramparts of old Fort Sumter had voiced the tocsin | of civil war. On the 14th of August, 1861, the subject enlisted as a private in Company H, Twenty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Amary K. Johnston, and after the expiration of his term he re-enlisted in the same company and regiment, serving in all four years and nine months, covering somewhat more than the entire period of the war, as will appear in following statements. His command was first assigned to the Army of the Tennessee and took part in all the operations under General Grant in the Mississippi valley, from Cairo to Mobile. Among the engagements in which Mr. Howard participated may be mentioned the following: Belmont, which was General Grant's first battle; capture of Forts Herman, Henry and Donelson; battles of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh; the engagement at Davis Crossing of the Hatchie river, being a part of the battle of Corinth; and the siege and capture of Vicksburg, Spanish Fort, Fort Blakely and the city of Mobile. After the surrender of General Lee, Mr. Howard accompanied his regiment to Texas, to assist in driving Maximilian out of Mexico, and the command encamped at Brownsville, that state, until March 16, 1866, when its members were mustered out and finally disbanded at Springfield, Illinois, May 14, 1866. Mr. Howard then returned to Illinois, and, at Springfield, received his honorable discharge on the 6th of April, 1866. The following day he made requisition for and secured his certificate of admission to the bar, and shortly afterward located in Knoxville, Illinois, where he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession for the ensuing twelve years, gaining success and prestige. He then removed to the city of Chicago. where he accepted a position on the editorial staff of the old Chicago Times, whose founder, the late Wilbur F. Story, was at the time in control, being one of the strongest, though most eccentric, figures in the newspaper history of the great western metropolis. Mr. Howard retired from his editorial position two years later and shortly afterward came to what is now the state of South Dakota, arriving in Redfield, Spink county, in March, 1882, and there remaining until May of the following year, when he came to Potter county and here took up one hundred and sixty acres of government land, to whose improvement he at once directed his attention, being there engaged in farming and stock raising until 1892, when he located in the county seat, Gettysburg, where he has since been established in the practice of his profession, being a man of broad and exact knowledge of the law and having long held a place of honor and priority, being practically the Nestor of the bar of the county. He is now serving his third term as state's attorney, and has proved a most discriminating and successful public prosecutor. He is held in high esteem in the community and his genial personality has gained to him a host of friends in the state of his adoption. In politics Mr. Howard is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party, while fraternally he manifests his abiding interest in his old comrades in arms by retaining membership in Meade Post, No. 32, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is a prominent and honored comrade. He has attended the national encampments of this noble organization in Chicago, Washington City and San Francisco, and on each occasion has met with most grateful reunions and fraternal experiences. Mr. Howard has never been married, and has never belonged to any other fraternal organization.” - Leander Stillwell, Union Lieutenant, Company D, 61 st Illinois Infantry - THE STORY OF A COMMON SOLDIER OF ARMY LIFE IN THE CIVIL WAR 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell, Late of Co. D, 61st Illinois Infantry [SIGNED] 278pp; b/w portraits. Blue cloth HC with gold lettering. Darkened spine. Contents textually unmarked; scattered light foxing. No library stamps. No ownership name; no highlighting. SIGNED BY AUTHOR inside front cover: With kind regards of/L. Stillwell/Erie, Kansas/March 24, 1920. From his obituary: “Judge Leander Stillwell was not yet eighteen years of age when the Civil war broke out. His life up to that time had been spent on his father's farm and his educational advantages away from home had been confined to the common schools. From January 6, 1862, the date of his enlistment, until September 8, 1865, when his regiment was mustered out, he was with the Union army in the field, and participated in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, and several minor engagements. A brief statement of his "military and medical record" has been furnished by the adjutant general's office of the war department under a recent date. That record is as follows: "Leander Stillwell was enrolled January 7, 1862, at Carrollton, Illinois, and was mustered into service February 5, 1862, at Carrollton, Illinois, as a private of Company D, Sixty-first Regiment, Illinois Infantry Volunteers, to serve three years. He was appointed Corporal about February, 1862; Sergeant, August 20, 1862, and First Sergeant, September or October, 1863, and was mustered out as such at Little Rock, Arkansas, to date January 31, 1864, by reason of his re- enlistment as a veteran volunteer. He re-enlisted February 1, 1864, at Little Rock, Arkansas, to serve an additional term of three years, and was mustered into service to date February 1, 1864. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant, same company and regiment, and was mustered in as such July 18, 1865, and was mustered out of service of the company as Second Lieutenant September 8, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee. "Under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 3, 1884, this officer has been recognized by the war department as First Lieutenant, Company D, Sixty-first Illinois Volunteers from August 21, 1865. During the entire period of his service this officer was accounted for on the bi-monthly muster rolls of his company as present for duty except that on October 31, 1863, it was stated that he was absent on furlough from October 16, 1863. The medical records show that he was treated from August 11, 1863, to a date not stated, for intermittent fever, and from September 2, 1863, to a date not stated, for remittent fever."