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MILITARY

We are reminded every Memorial Day that there is an unknown soldier buried in Hampton Cemetery. The grave marker is near the main entrance and is the traditional GAR stone. It reads "US soldier, 1st US Cavalry".

How did he come to be buried here? If he were some kind of vagrant or tramp, how would they know if he was a Civil War veteran, much less what unit he belonged to. We have heard, but never verified, that there existed an organization after the War that would arrange for a community to have an unknown soldier buried in their cemetery. A macabre idea, but possible. One would think some record of some kind or media article would exist but none has come to light. Maybe it is so gruesome the media wouldn't touch it. That's hard to believe.

We can surmise a few things. Since the unit was "1st US Cavalry," this meant he was in the regular army. If you examine other Civil War tombstones in the cemetery, they will say something like "89th Illinois Infantry" or "6th Maine Cavalry". During the Civil War the states had the responsibility of recruiting soldiers. Right after South Carolina seceded, Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion. 100,000 joined up, but only for 3 months. This caused the frantic rush that ended at the battle of Bull Run with a defeat of the Union's half trained troops by the Confederate half trained troops. Fortunately for the Federal cause, the Confederates were as disorganized by victory as the Union was by defeat, or the war might have ended right there.

The second call for volunteers signed men up for 3 years. There was a regular army before the war. Something like 15,000 men mostly scattered around the west trying to protect settlers from the Indians and vice-versa. It was possible to join the regular army throughout the war but few men did, partly because you often received a bonus, called a bounty, for joining a State unit, but didn't receive it for joining the regulars. Consequently, those who joined the regular army were usually men who didn't know better, generally new immigrants. Often men would come from Europe and when they found the streets weren't paved with gold, didn't know what to do. Sometimes they joined the regular army which was ironic since escaping military service was one of the motives for coming to the United States. It could be that our unknown soldier was one of these, with little facility in English, and with no identification. ID badges were not issued in the Civil War, though many soldiers bought them privately. All of this is blind speculation of course.

Submitted by Diane Alm

Illinois Ancestors