Captain Asiel Z. Blodgett, 96th Illinois Infantry, Company D

Photo of Captain A.Z. Blodgett from the History of the 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 1887.

Asiel Z. Blodgett was born at Fort Dearborn (Chicago) in 1832. As a young man, he became an employee of the Chicago & North Western Railroad Company, and in 1858, he was made the station agent at Waukegan. His older brother, Henry Blodgett, was the abolitionist and judge mentioned in several previous posts.

Asiel served as station agent until July 1862, when he received a recruiting commission from Governor Yates, and according to the regimental history: "with the cooperation of leading citizens and businessmen, undertook the work of enrolling a sufficient number of men to form a Company." He was promoted to Captain of Company D of the 96th Illinois on August 9. 

Postcard of McFarland's Gap, Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. Curt Teich Co. RC411.

During one of the initial skirmishes of the Battle of Chickamauga, on September 18, 1863, Blodgett received a severe gunshot wound in the right shoulder near McAfee Church while advancing the skirmish line. He did not leave command and fought with the regiment until Sunday, September 20, when he was disabled by a heavy tree limb that was torn off by artillery fire and fell on him, injuring his back. 

According to his biographical sketch of 1891, Blodgett participated in all engagements of the Atlanta campaign and was with General Sherman until the capture of Atlanta. He was also present at the Battle of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.

Blodgett from a glass negative, circa 1878. Dunn Museum 2011.0.86

On returning to Waukegan after the war, Blodgett resumed his position as station agent, where he worked until his retirement in 1900. He was recognized as the oldest employee of the railroad at Waukegan, having been with the company for 42 years, except during his service in the Civil War. He was considered "prompt, correct and reliable and by his uniform courtesy and fairness has won the respect and good will of all with whom he has had business relations." 

In addition to this full-time position, in 1875, he began dealing in fine horses and cattle, being a proprietor of a stock farm situated several miles outside of the city where he bred Clydesdale horses and Galloway cattle. He served two terms as the Mayor of Waukegan (1883 and 1884).

Asiel died in 1916.

Goodson-Bales Family Photo Album

I have worked in the museum's archives for 21 years and am still making discoveries. Of course, there is always something new to be learned, but there are also mysteries that need solving. The mysteries often lie in the fact that when some items were donated, insufficient information was collected from the donor.

One such mystery came to my attention several weeks ago in the shape of a small photo album donated in 1964 by Mrs. Arthur Bales (nee Lucy Jane Crosby) of Zion. Though most of the photos are identified, there is no information in the donor file to ascertain if these individuals lived in Lake County. Much research would need to be done to assess the connection to the county. (The Goodson-Bales photo album appears to have been heavily used by the family as evidenced by the wear on the cover and the effort to mend it with a hand-stitched seam along the spine. Dunn Museum 64.23.8).

Archives volunteer, Al Westerman, took on the task of researching the stories of the individuals in the photo album. Since the donor had long since passed away, census records and genealogy sites would be a great source.

After hours of research, Westerman determined that the Bales family lived in Davis County, Iowa, and only one family member lived in Lake County, the owner of the album, Arthur Bales. Arthur moved to Zion, Illinois, circa 1900, probably to join John Alexander Dowie's Christian Catholic Church.

Being so far away from his family would have made the photo album a precious possession to Arthur. Arthur Bales (1870-1959), photographed as a child, circa 1872. Dunn Museum 64.23.8

Of the twenty-seven photographs in the album, three are unidentified. One of the unidentified images is of a handsome young couple. It is very possible that they are Arthur's parents, Martin and Juliet Bales (nee Goodson).

There are several reasons to think this is a tintype of Martin Bales (1847-1927) and Juliet Goodson Bales (1841-1899), circa 1868: 1) The man holds a strong likeness to photos of Andrew and Albert Bales (Martin's brothers), 2) the woman holds a likeness to photos of Polina Goodson Miller, Juliet's sister, and 3) the opening in the album for Martin and Juliet's photo is empty, while this photo was placed in an opening without identification, possibly having been removed for viewing and put back in the wrong page. Sadly, we can never be 100% certain.

Album page for Martin & Juliet's photo. The page is empty though it is apparent that a photo of Arthur Bales' parents was once held within.

In addition to the striking tintype of the couple, the album holds other image treasures.

 Tintype (above) of Martin Bale's older brother, Andrew,
with his woodworking tools, circa 1880. Andrew moved his family
from Davis County, Iowa to Harper, Kansas about 1880.

Carte-de-visite photo of Juliet's sister,
Polina Goodson Miller (1837-1900). 

This lovely tintype of a young man was simply identified in the album as "Juliet's half brother killed in the Civil War." Without a name it was especially difficult to research him. He is probably Samuel R. Payne, Juliet Goodson Bales' step brother. In 1856, he was a member of the Iowa State Militia. No record of his Civil War service has yet been located.

The open album shows the page at left missing a photo, and at right a photo of
Reverend Jacob Peck Goodson (1822-1895), Juliet Bales' uncle.
Goodson was a minister with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Louisville, Kentucky. 

As part of the care of materials in the museum's collections, it is important to properly identify and research them. With more information and understanding, items can be more fully utilized in exhibitions and by researchers.

Lake County's Entry into the Civil War

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War.

The first military action of the war was the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter off the coast of South Carolina on April 12-13, 1861. The fort dominated the entrance to Charleston Harbor and was thought to be one of the strongest fortresses in the world.

Throughout March 1861 the Confederates sought to drive out the Union occupants peacefully. Once it became clear that the fort would not surrender, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, took action. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, and 34 hours later the fort surrendered.

The news of the fort's fall reached Lake County, Illinois on April 15, and the next day a war meeting was held at the courthouse in Waukegan. Hundreds gathered, and men signed up to fight amid pro-Union cheers, and the sounds of a fife and drum band.

On the day of the pro-Union rally, the steps of the courthouse (shown above at right) were crowded with men eager to enlist.

From 1861 to 1865, over 1,900 Lake County men (from a total population of approximately 18,000) joined the cause voluntarily, mustering into 75 different infantry and cavalry regiments throughout the State of Illinois. Many mustered into the Thirty-Seventh Illinois Infantry known as the “Fremont Rifles,” which organized at Chicago in September 1861.

Andrew Bensinger, (above) a Bavarian immigrant who settled in Avon Township, mustered into the 37th Illinois on August 19, 1861. He died of dysentery at Booneville, Missouri less than two months later. Disease killed twice as many men as bullet wounds during the war. The poor hygiene of camp life and lack of adequate sanitation facilities killed Bensinger. LCDM 2007.7

During the summer of 1861, Illinois' Governor Yates ordered all companies be disbanded and return home because there were more companies organized than could be accepted and supplied. The order caused men to find other regiments in which to enlist, although the 37th Illinois continued to train and was soon sent to Missouri.

When recruiting began in earnest again in Lake County, during the summer of 1862, enough men enlisted to organize four companies. With six additional companies from Jo Daviess County, the two counties united into a single regiment known as the Ninety-Sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

Soldiers of the 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry mustering at Waukegan, circa 1865.

Union forces tried for nearly four years to take Fort Sumter back. Finally, on April 14, 1865, the flag that the garrison commander, Major General Robert Anderson, had taken with him was raised over the fort once again.

That night, President Lincoln and his wife, Mary, went to see a play at Ford’s Theater.

Northwestern Military Academy, Highland Park

In 1888, when the Northwestern Military Academy opened in Highland Park, locals thought a boys' military academy would cause problems in town. Just the previous year, the U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan had opened on the town's doorstep with fears of drunken brawls (which never were a problem).

The animosity for the academy was reflected in the children's taunts as they called the new cadets "Dead Cats."

The academy was founded by Harlan Page Davidson (1838-1913), a graduate of Norwich University, a military college in Vermont. Harlan purchased Highland Hall in Highland Park and renovated it for his academy in which he strove to provide a good education, military discipline and structure, and moral training. The cost to attend was $400 in 1888, and by 1908 had risen to $600 with enrollment averaging about 50 cadets per year.

The first Northwestern Military Academy building (above) was built as the Highland Park House hotel in 1873 at St. Johns Avenue and Ravine Drive. In 1876, it began to be used as an educational institution for young women during the summer and was known as Highland Hall. Harlan P. Davidson purchased the building in May 1888 for his military academy.

When the academy was destroyed by fire only a few months after opening, on November 1, 1888, the people of Highland Park set aside any misgivings and made meals for the cadets and opened up their homes to the displaced boys. Rebuilding of the academy progressed rapidly and not one day of classes was missed.

The academy's second building (above) was designed by William W. Boyington and completed in 1889. It was made of brick and able to accommodate 75 cadets. This real photo postcard by C.R. Childs was produced in 1910. Dunn Museum 97.3.2.

By the 1890s, the academy's reputation had made it possible for many cadets to be offered direct admission to colleges and universities.

Perhaps the academy's most notable accomplishments were the brainstorms of Davidson's son, Royal Page Davidson (1870-1943). About 1895, Royal developed a military bicycle corps, thinking that the bicycle would speed up the movement of troops. In June of 1897, he staged a cross-country, 1,000-mile expedition to Washington, D.C., operating as a military foray into enemy territory, and as a "test of bicycles as an accoutrement of war." The bicycle corps had a membership of 28 students, averaging 19 years of age. The trip took 15 days and was widely covered by newspapers along their route.

When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Royal offered the U.S. government the services of the corps, but was politely declined.

Around this time, Royal was at work on another military invention, his Automobile Battery, the forerunner to armored vehicles. His original design was a light frame, three-wheeled machine, operated by gasoline and armed with a Colt automatic gun and a shield to protect the driver. This was the first of a series of military vehicles constructed by Royal for the use by the Northwestern Military Academy.

Royal then had the military gun carriage vehicle built by the Peoria Rubber and Manufacturing Company using patents of Charles Duryea, a well known automobile manufacturer. Duryea put the vehicle into an automobile style patent which he filed for on May 16, 1898, and was approved as Patent No. 653,224 on July 10, 1900. The vehicle was built on a Duryea Automobile Company standard production automobile chassis that was converted for military purposes, and cost $1,500.

Image of the Davidson Automobile Battery armored car. Northwestern Military Academy Archives.

In 1900, the vehicle was modified into a sturdier four-wheeler (above) which became known as the Davidson Automobile Battery armored car. This photo was taken at the academy in Highland Park. 

Royal's bicycle corps and the automobile corps were created at a time when the cavalry was still popular with military commanders. Although he was the inventor of the first armored military vehicle in the United States, Royal Davidson received little credit from the Army for his efforts.

By 1908, the academy offered naval encampments in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and in 1911 officially became a military and naval academy. After another fire in the academy's main building in 1915, the school moved permanently to Lake Geneva.

In 1996, the academy merged with St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, and together are known as St. John's Northwestern Military Academy.

Aptakisic - Half Day

The historic town of Half Day claims many firsts in the annals of Lake County history—the first post office (1836), the first school (1836) taught by Laura Sprague in her family's log cabin, and the county's first non-native settler, Daniel Wright.

Perhaps most intriguing about Half Day is its name, which provokes more interest and debate than any other place name in the county.

You may wonder why there's debate. Ask anyone and they'll tell you it got its name because, "It took half a day to get there from Chicago." That may have been true back in the day of horsedrawn transportation, but Half Day was named for Aptakisic, a Native American leader of great standing.

Aptakisic's name (also spelled Aptegizhek), was translated as "center of the sky," "sun at meridian" or "half day." He was known to the settlers as Half Day. Both Daniel Wright (1778-1873) and Henry Blodgett (1821-1905), who knew Aptakisic, documented that he was "known as Half Day." Wright went on to say that the village took its name from Aptakisic.

A depiction of Aptakisic (Half Day) waving goodbye to the settlers he had led to Fort Dearborn in 1832. Painting by Les Schrader, courtesy of Naper Settlement. For more on Les Schrader: https://www.napersettlement.org/138/Les-Schrader-Painting-Collection.

Blodgett had met Aptakisic in 1832, during the Black Hawk War, when Aptakisic protected the settlers in Downer's Grove from an impending attack.

Wright became acquainted with Aptakisic and his tribe of Potawatomi in 1833 when he settled along the Des Plaines River.

Wright remembered: "When I stuck my stake in the banks of the Aux Plain [Des Plaines] River I was surrounded by the native tribes of Pottawatamies [sic]. They helped me raise my first rude cabin, being the first house built in the county." These native people also assisted Wright in planting crops, and tending to his family when they became ill.

According to James A. Clifton in The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture 1665-1965, Aptakisic was present at the negotiations for the Treaty of Chicago, which took place in September 1833. "Apparently wearing Meteya's [Mettawa's] moccasins, Aptegizhek stood and informed Commissioners Porter and Owen that the Potawatomi had no wish to consider moving west of the Mississippi until they had been given the opportunity to inspect the country there... He insisted the Potawatomi had assembled merely to enjoy their Great Father's beneficence and liberality. Could the annuities due the Potawatomi be distributed quickly so that they might go back to their villages to tend their gardens?"

Ultimately, the treaty was signed by Aptakisic (twice!) and other leaders of the United Chippewa, Ottawa and Potawatomi Indians on September 26, 1833.

In 1918, the students of Half Day School wrote a history of their school and community. In it, they recounted that "Half Day was named so in honor of an Indian chief, Hefda, who some people say is buried in this locality." They went on to say that Half Day was a "half way station" between Chicago and the northern part of Lake County.

Excerpt from the Half Day School history, 1918. Dunn Museum Collections. 

When and how did the origin of the name change?

Postcard of "Hotel Halfday," circa 1910. Dunn Museum 97.18.3

It is my assertion that the confusion was started by visitors to Half Day, possibly as early as the 1840s. In 1843, the Half Day Inn (shown above) was established on the Chicago and Milwaukee Road (today's Route 21) as a stagecoach stop. The rutted and muddy road would have most certainly made for slow travel, leading travelers to surmise the town's name came from its distance from Chicago.

The Wisconsin Central Railroad arrived in Prairie View in 1886. It later became the Soo Line. Postcard view circa 1900. 

Dunn Museum 94.47.5

In 1886, train service was available on the Wisconsin Central Railroad to Prairie View, several miles west of Half Day. That trip would have taken at least two hours, and then a buggy ride over to Half Day, again leaving visitors to believe the name was a matter of travel time. Even with the advent of the automobile, travel was slow until roads were paved in the 1930s and beyond.

Travelers not knowing the true origin of the name, adopted a new meaning. As the people who knew Aptakisic died, and generations passed, the connection to Aptakisic faded, and the new tradition took root with no one around to contradict it.

In a letter written late in his life, Henry Blodgett once again recalled his friend, Aptakisic:

"In the fall of 1837, Aptakisic's band was removed to a reservation on the west side of the Missouri River near the mouth of the Platte and later were moved into what is now a portion of the state of Kansas, south of the Kansas River. I well remember the sad face of the old chief as he came to bid our family goodbye. ... We all shed tears of genuine sorrow ... his generous kindness to my parents has given me a higher idea of the red man's genuine worth." 

Photograph of Henry W. Blodgett from the Autobiography of Henry W. Blodgett, Waukegan, Illinois, 1906.

Dunn Museum Collections. 

Aptakisic's legacy continued in the names Aptakisic Road, Aptakisic Creek, and the former community of Aptakisic located in today's Buffalo Grove. Aptakisic was a railroad stop on the Wisconsin Central line at Aptakisic Road (west of Route 21), and had its own post office from 1889 to 1904.

The town of Half Day never incorporated, and in recent years was absorbed into the Villages of Lincolnshire and Vernon Hills.

You may also be interested in my post on the Treaty of Chicago 1833.

McCaskey - Conklin Wedding at Fort Sheridan

On August 26, 1903, Miss Eleanor McCaskey married Captain Arthur Stewart Conklin at the U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan.

The wedding was big news on the society pages of the Chicago papers, evoking a bygone age of knights in shining armor and fair maidens.

Chicago Tribune, August 26, 1903.

Miss Eleanor "Dottie" McCaskey was known as the "daughter of the regiment." Her parents were Colonel William S. McCaskey (1843-1914), commander of the 20th Infantry, and Eleanor "Nellie" Garrison McCaskey. The bride's father and the groom, Arthur S. Conklin, served together in the Philippines in the 20th Infantry.

A bugle sounded the beginning of the wedding procession, followed by the 20th Infantry Band playing the wedding march from "Lohengrin."

From left to right are the bridesmaids (background); father of the groom and Mrs. McCaskey; bridegroom Arthur Conklin with his mother; William Reed and John McLeary; C.I. McCaskey and William Morris; Garrison McCaskey and H.D. McCaskey. Dunn Museum 2009.2.6.1

Captain Arthur S. Conklin (1872-1960), dressed in the red trimmed suit of the artillery, with his mother, Mrs. Conklin, of Elmira, NY on his arm, and behind them the bridegroom's father and Mrs. McCaskey, walking from Colonel McCaskey's residence at Fort Sheridan to the lawn where the wedding would take place. Dunn Museum 2009.2.2

View of the bridesmaids and bride with her father coming out of the Colonel's home and walking along a fabric path lined with evergreen boughs. Dunn Museum 2009.2.8

The bride, Eleanor McCaskey (1881 - 1958) escorted by her father, Colonel McCaskey, as they leave the family's home at Fort Sheridan for the wedding ceremony on the lawn under the oak trees. Also in view are the flower girls, Frances and Helen Meacham. Dunn Museum 2009.2.4

The Chicago Inter Ocean, August 27, 1903.

The ceremony was interrupted by the Second Cavalry's mascot dog. Depending on the source, the dog was either Bruno, the St. Bernard, or Bolivar the Mastiff. In either case, all agreed that the dog caused a bit of a stir as it wandered about the scene. According to the Chicago Record Herald newspaper, there was "intense resentment in the ranks of the blue-clad privates when a 'cavalry dog' tried to interrupt the wedding."

The happy bride and groom following the wedding ceremony. Dunn Museum 2009.2.1

The Chicago Inter Ocean reported that, "The gloomy skies and the dark shadows of the surrounding trees were in strange contrast to the bright uniforms and white dresses of the bridal party and the ecclesiastical attire of Bishop Millspaugh," the officiant.

The newlyweds honeymooned at Yellowstone Park before making their home at the Presidio in  San Francisco, California where Captain Conklin was stationed with the Pacific Coast Artillery. Arthur Conklin was eventually promoted to Brigadier General and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Col. Elmer Ellsworth (1837-1861)

The first hero of the Civil War was Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of the Zouave Corps.

In the years before the war, Ellsworth was considered "the most talked about man in America." Even more so than his friend, Abraham Lincoln.

When Ellsworth was 17, he moved to Chicago from New York State, and became prominent in the state militia.

In 1857, he met Charles DeVilliers, a French physician and expert swordsman who had served in the Crimean with the French Chasseurs d'Afrique - Zouaves.

According to "American Civil War Zouaves" by By Robin Smith & Bill Younghusband, the original Zouaves were natives of the Zouaoua tribe mixed with French settlers, who had served with the French Army during France’s North African campaigns in the 1830s. Their Native North African dress – baggy trousers, short jacket, and fez – became the basis of the famous Zouave uniform. The French originally raised two battalions of native Zouaves; but by the time of the Crimean War, three Zouave regiments had been created entirely of Frenchmen.

Meeting DeVilliers, prompted Ellsworth to learn more about French light infantry drill. After a brief period of studying law in Springfield, where Ellsworth became friends with Lincoln, he returned to Chicago and formed the United States Zouaves.

By 1860, the Zouave Cadets were considered the finest militia in the Midwest, and role models for their high morals. In other words, they were Temperance men. Ellsworth promoted his Zouaves by challenging other state militias in drill competitions. The Zouaves handily beat their competitors (some conceded after watching them drill), and awed thousands of spectators, becoming known throughout the country for their "appearance of dashing ferocity."

Ellsworth's militia spawned a national Zouave craze. Overnight it seemed, Zouave units sprang into existence. Even paper dolls were sold of the uniquely and colorfully dressed young militia men. He visited towns throughout the region training young men, including students at Lake Forest College (then known as Lind University) where they learned marching and how to handle Springfield rifles.

Ellsworth campaigned on behalf of Lincoln's bid for president, and after Lincoln's win was put in charge of security for the party going to Washington, D.C..

In D.C., Ellsworth formed a new Zouave unit from Manhattan's volunteer firemen called the Fire Zouaves. Signs of the approaching war were everywhere, including that of a Confederate flag flying defiantly on the rooftop of the Marshall House in Alexandria, Virginia, all too visible from the White House.

On May 24, 1861, the day after Virginia seceded from the Union, U.S. troops were sent into Alexandria. Ellsworth's Zouaves went in to cut the city's telegraph lines, and in the process went past the Marshall House. Deciding to end that Rebel taunt, the Zouaves, led by their "gallant and idolized commander," stormed the hotel to retrieve the flag. On their way back down the stairs, the Zouaves were encountered by the innkeeper who fired a shotgun at Ellsworth, killing him instantly. Zouaves' Corporal Brownell then shot and stabbed the innkeeper with his bayonet.

The loss of Ellsworth was a national tragedy. Flags were lowered to half-mast in D.C., and President Lincoln ordered that Ellsworth's body lie in state in the White House.

Letter to Major Frank Peats of the 17th Illinois Infantry from George B. Swarthout, Peoria, Illinois, May 30, 1861. Swarthout writes: "We 'The Zouaves' had an invitation to attend the funeral reviews of Col. E.E. Ellsworth deceased which I accepted for the Co." (Frank Peats Collection Dunn Museum 94.5.139).

"Avenge Ellsworth!" became the North's battle cry.

A memorial was held at Bryan Hall, a public auditorium on Clark Street in Chicago. Many mourned Ellsworth by enlisting, writing poems and editorials, and carrying carte-de-visite photographs of the war's first martyr.

Ellsworth's Zouaves continued to make appearances, including one in Waukegan on July 4, 1862.

Zouave figurine, date unknown. (Dunn Museum 92.24.39)