Civil War Veteran - William Bonner

William Bonner, 1841 - 1863
Courtesy of Bonner Family

William Bonner Jr. was one of thousands of Lake County men to enlist in the Civil War. By the summer of 1862, the war had become synonymous with death and privation, but Bonner heeded President Lincoln's call to preserve the Union.

Bonner was the eldest child of Scottish immigrants William and Margaret Bonner. In 1842, the family settled along Sand Lake Road south of Millburn (now part of Lindenhurst). Their farm is preserved by the Lake County Forest Preserves as the Bonner Heritage Farm. (See my post on the Bonner Heritage Farm)

William Bonner, Jr. grew up in this house.
John Bonner (William's brother) and family, circa 1900.
Courtesy of Bonner Family.

William was born in Canada on the family's trip over from Scotland. He grew up on the Bonner's Avon Township farm (shown above), working as a farmer. He most likely attended the one-room Dodge School (which his father William Sr. built) on the southeast corner of Sand Lake Road and Route 45.

The 21-year old William was recruited by John K. Pollock of Millburn into Company C of the 96th Illinois Regiment. On September 2nd, Bonner went to Waukegan to formally enlist in Pollock's Company. He most likely shared the wagon ride to Waukegan with other neighborhood enlistees, including George C. Dodge, and Henry Bater, a laborer on the Bonner's farm. After several days of training the regiment went by train to Camp Fuller in Rockford, Illinois for more intensive training before heading to the front.

During a portion of his first year of service, Private Bonner suffered from "camp illness." Soldiers were commonly sick due to poor sanitation, poor nutrition, and being exposed to a multitude of diseases. Several letters written by William's comrades in the Dunn Museum's collections note his ill health: 

George C. Dodge wrote: "Wm. Bonner don't seem over well now days his legs trouble him considerably." (Letter to David Minto in Millburn, April 17, 1863, from Camp near Franklin, TN - Dunn Museum 93.45.505.2)

"William Bonner has been unwell but is well now he does duty every day," (Letter of Chase Webb to David Minto, May 12, 1863 - Dunn Museum 93.45.519.2)

"William Bonner [is not very well] though he is on duty," (Letter of Captain John K. Pollock to David Minto, May 17, 1863, Franklin, TN - Dunn Museum 93.45.567.2) 

The 96th Illinois' first battle came at Chickamauga, Georgia on September 18 - 20, 1863. This battle claimed the second highest number of casualties of the war after Gettysburg. (See my post on Chickamauga)

The 96th Illinois lost half its men in one day's fighting on September 20. Bonner and his comrades of Company C were given a "terrible blow" while defending the Union's position on Horseshoe Ridge. Of the company's 35 men sent into battle, 25 were wounded and the remaining ten had bullet holes through their clothes and accoutrements.

According to the 96th's regimental history, William Bonner Jr. "was shot through the body" in the first charge on Horseshoe Ridge. He was "left upon the field, doubtless dying within a few hours." Bonner did not make it to the field hospital at the rear, but even if he had the wound was fatal.

For many months Bonner's friends and family clung to the hope that he was alive and would be heard from. The Bonners watched the road for any sign of their son's return home.

One of William's comrades, William Lewin of Newport Township, wrote on December 11, 1863, nearly three months after the battle: "I have not seen any one that has seen or heard any thing of Wm Bonner since the battle of Chickamauga." (below)

No news ever came. 

Excerpt from William Lewin's letter regarding William Bonner.
Dunn Museum 93.45.518.2

On the home front, families often never learned the fate of their loved ones. There was no system to identify the dead, notify families, or compensate them for their loss. William Bonner is one of hundreds of thousands of Civil War soldiers who have remained unidentified and their demise unknown. 

On Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 10 a.m., the Bonner Family will hold a memorial to honor William Bonner, Jr., whose body was never found. The grave marker (cenotaph) dedication is open to the public and will be at the Millburn Cemetery on Millburn Road east of Route 45.

For a list of Civil War veterans buried at Millburn Cemetery follow this link to the Historic Millburn Community Association website.  

Women Artists and the Civil War

Sculptors Edith Freeman Sherman and Lily Tolpo made significant contributions to the county's two  public Civil War monuments in Waukegan. 

Edith Freeman Sherman, circa 1960. News-Sun photo. 

Though no battles were fought here, Lake County gave significant support to the war effort, sending nearly 2,000 men to fight to preserve the Union and ultimately to abolish slavery. Communities rallied around the soldiers, and women coordinated donations of quilts and bandages, and advocated for better care of the sick and wounded.

After the war ended in 1865, a Soldiers Monument Association was formed to commemorate the war dead. It would take 34 years to raise enough money to build a monument. Edith Freeman Sherman (1876-1970) was selected to create four bronze panels for the base of the monument; panels depicted the county’s troops in the infantry, artillery, cavalry, and navy. 

Sherman was a talented sculptor and graduate of the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Her instructor in the Sculpture Department was American sculptor, writer and educator, Lorado Taft. Years later, her fellow alum considered her an "important sculptress" in Chicago. 

One of her most prominent commissions was to create four bronze panels for the sides of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which was erected on Waukegan's courthouse square in August 1899. In addition to her talent as a sculptor, her family's connection to the Civil War made her the perfect choice for the commission. 

Edith Sherman's grandfather 1st Lt. Addison B. Partridge (1807-1888), and uncle Sgt. Major Charles A. Partridge (1843-1910) both served in Company C of the 96th Illinois Regiment. Her father, Isaac A. Freeman (1840-1923), served with the 1st Vermont Cavalry. Additionally, uncle Charles was the 96th Illinois' historian and chairman of the monument association. (For more info, read my post on Addison Partridge).

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Waukegan courthouse square. 
Dedicated August 29, 1899. Dunn Museum 61.8.88.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument with one of Edith Freeman's bronze friezes. Photo D. Dretske, Dunn Museum. 

The panels Sherman created represented dynamic images of the four aspects of military service during the Civil War. She gave up a summer trip to Europe to do the work, but the commission meant more to her than the vacation. In 1907, she married Edwin T. Sherman and set aside her art career to raise her family. After her husband's death in 1945, Edith returned to a full-time career as an artist. 

Ninety-six years later, Lily Tolpo was commissioned for another Civil War monument.

Lily Tolpo, circa 1960. Online.

Lily Tolpo (1917 - 2015) was the eldest of five children in a Chinese-Polish American family. She learned to play violin and performed as a Vaudeville musician from 1935-39, before becoming a professional artist and sculptor.

Tolpo was commissioned to do a pair of bronze bas relief plaques to complete a project started by her late husband, Carl Tolpo (1901 - 1976).

Lincoln Monument west side of county courthouse, Waukegan. Photo D. Dretske, Dunn Museum.

Lincoln monument by Carl Tolpo (1968), bronze plaques by Lily Tolpo (1996).
Lake County courthouse, Waukegan. 

In 1968, Lake County commissioned Carl Tolpo to make one of his famous Lincoln monuments. There were to be two plaques on the sides of the pedestal, but funds were not available to complete the project. The monument remained unfinished for nearly three decades.

Lily Tolpo with one of her clay models for the plaques. The image illustrates Abraham Lincoln's visit to
Waukegan on April 2, 1860. Northwestern Illinois Farmer photo.

In 1995, the county revived the Lincoln monument project and reached out to Lily Tolpo to complete her late husband’s work. Lily Mark Tolpo was an accomplished Lincoln sculptor and artist in her own right, and had previously created a hanging sculpture for the county’s courthouse. Lily was a graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts where she was a student of American sculptor, Lorado Taft.

According to Tolpo, she used her husband's concepts but rendered them "in another style more in keeping with the head [of the monument]." Her relief style captured "life-like reality and action."

Detail from Lily Tolpo's clay model for plaque. Featured on the plaque are some of Waukegan's
most prominent men: (left to right) Mayor Elisha Ferry, Samuel Greenleaf and Henry Blodgett. 

The scene represented on the plaque above depicts the evening of April 2, 1860 when Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Waukegan. The speech was interrupted by a fire at the Case Warehouse at the North Pier. Tradition has it that Lincoln helped the citizens of Waukegan put out the fire. Lincoln spent the night at the home of Mayor Elisha Ferry. The Ferry home still stands at the northwest corner of Julian and County Streets.

In 2014, the Bess Bower Dunn Museum (formerly Lake County Discovery Museum) received a donation from ArtbyTolpoartist.com of the molds for Lily Tolpo's bronze plaques, and the model for Carl Tolpo's Lincoln monument. 

Nearly 100 years separated the work of Edith Freeman Sherman and Lily Tolpo on the monuments. Both women were talented sculptors and uniquely qualified to lend their artistry in commemorating Lake County’s role in the Civil War. 

On your next visit to Waukegan, take a stroll around the courthouse to view the impressive monuments and the work of these artists in person.

Susie Smith's Civil War Romance

During the Civil War, Susannah Smith (1839 - 1914) of Millburn wrote letters to her brother, George, who was with the 96th Illinois Regiment. One of George's comrades, Richard Thain, was rightfully envious of the long letters and asked George for permission to correspond with his sister.

Susannah "Susie" D. Smith, circa 1865. Minto Family Private Collection. 

In Richard's first letter to Susie, dated July 9, 1864, he wrote:

"Respected Friend,

I suppose you will think me rather bold in addressing you in this manner but I hope you will not be offended. My object in corresponding with you is to have something to occupy my time and to relieve the monotony of camp life. ... I hope you will do me the favor to answer this poorly written letter and if you wish to keep a correspondence I will be very happy to answer your letters. Believe me, Your Sincere Friend." (Dunn Museum 93.45.433)

Richard S. Thain, circa 1885 from the History of the 96th Illinois Regiment. 

Thain was the Second Brigade's postmaster and was nearly killed by a Confederate scout.

It's difficult to see a romance blossoming in Richard's matter-of-fact letters, but in Susie's diaries there is plenty of evidence of her affection for him and the attentions he gave her following the war. (Susie's letters to Richard had been saved by the family, but unfortunately were destroyed in a fire at a family member's cabin in California in 1992).

The "soldier boys" were discharged and sent home in June 1865. On June 15, while taking a break from teaching at the Grubb School near Millburn, Susie wrote of her anticipation in her diary:

"Heard Richard was in... how I do wish that I could see him. I stand at the window a moment and then take a turn in the yard hardly knowing what to do... I can write no more for the girls are crowning me with oak leaves and roses, so, as they say, that their teacher may look pretty, if she should have company this afternoon." (Dunn Museum 93.45.290)

She did have company that afternoon, and recounted the moment in her diary: "I have seen Richard, he came up to the schoolhouse... I thought that he was very kind to do so, but I could hardly speak to him, I was in such a tremble of excitement." (Dunn Museum 93.45.290)

The old Grubb School where Susie Smith taught and Richard Thain visited her on his first day back from the war. Photographed in 1966. Image courtesy of Historic Millburn Community Association.

This was probably not Richard and Susie's first meeting. They had both grown up in and around the small community of Millburn. However, their correspondence most certainly changed the dynamic of that relationship. Several days later, Susie wrote that she had spent "the happiest day of my life" in Richard's company, singing and talking.

Despite their age difference, Susie was Thain's senior by six years, they spent the next year and a half together. Richard was often in Susie's company at church meetings, and spent evenings at the Smith family home.

Smith family home, north of Millburn on Miller Road. Photo circa 1890. (Dunn Museum 93.45.79).

In early fall 1865, Richard moved to Chicago to start in business, but continued to make frequent visits to Millburn. On April 13, 1866, Susie wrote: "After tea, looked out and saw Richard coming up the path, quite a joyful surprise. R staid at our house all night."

Their relationship continued until December 1866, when things noticeably changed. Susie received fewer letters and still fewer visits from Richard. On Christmas Day, she wrote:

"Christmas... Had a good time and yet there is such a blank when R is gone that I cannot enjoy my self as well. How strange it seems that one person can add so much to anothers happiness and become as it were a part of anothers existence. It seems as though the greatest happiness I have next to the knowledge of the love of God is the thought of the love of my Richard thoughts of him are ever in my mind."

And then Susie's heartbreaking entry for January 1, 1867: "Happy New Year was exchanged on every side, and we passed a very pleasant day and evening... When we reached home my disappointed heart which I had managed to keep down all day gave way and I had a hard cry. I did hope to see Richard to day and I know he would have come if it had been possible but I was so grieved over it seemed impossible to keep from crying. And so I did cry. May God forgive me for being so weak. When will I ever learn to control myself. Ned dear brother came and put his arms around me and tried to comfort me." (Dunn Museum 93.45.290)

Susie's diary ends on January 17th, leaving us with many questions, but from her tears we know she was not ready to lose Richard.

There is a happy ending for Susie, but it does not involve Richard Thain. He spent a couple of years traveling cross-country and building his business before settling down with Hannah Abbott in 1869 in Oak Park, Illinois. After Hannah's death, he married Emma Jenness in 1881.

In 1868, one year after the end of her romance with Richard, Susie began co-editing the Millburn Literary Association's publication with her neighbor, David J. Minto. They had been attending the same prayer meetings and evenings of singing at Mr. Hughes's for two years, and were both teachers.

Susie's one surviving letter is to David, dated May 7, 1869 from Chicago. Susie wrote to "Dear Davie" that her friend Mrs. Emerson wanted to "commence" the letter for her, because she knows "how to write love letters."

David J. Minto, circa 1870. (Dunn Museum 93.45.52) David enlisted with the 96th Illinois, and was honorably discharged due to illness in April 1863. On his return to Millburn, he farmed his family's land, and taught in the local schools.

In the same letter, Susie wrote: "Don't you think Davie that the 20th would be a good day for... you know." That "you know" referred to a possible wedding day. Indeed, they were married on that very May 20th by Rev. Thomas Lightbody of the Millburn Congregational Church, and remained married for 44 years.

Photographed in 1898 at the Minto family homestead are Susie and David Minto (seated) with their only surviving children, David Harold and Una (with kittens). (Dunn Museum 93.45.91)

Susie and David's granddaughters, Katherine and Lura, donated the family's letters and diaries to the museum in 1993. The museum's Minto Collection is hosted online by the Illinois Digital Archives.