•May 9, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

We have the formidable Southern Illinois couple John A. and Mary Logan to thank for our national Memorial Day, a remembrance of those who died serving in our nation’s armed forces.

Born in 1826, “John A.” (there was another senior Union officer named John Logan) grew up in Murphysboro in deep southern Illinois. Born 12 years later, young Mary Cunningham moved with her family from Tennessee to nearby Marion, Illinois, after her father had freed his slaves.

After service in the Mexican-American War, John A. returned to Southern Illinois to begin a political career as a Stephen A. Douglas Democrat. He stepped from county clerk all the way up the ladder to the U.S. Senate and as a vice-presidential candidate.

In between elective offices, Logan became arguably the most effective “political general” of the Civil War. Often elected officials, political generals lacked military training, but were important to President Lincoln.

They were appointed for several reasons: There was a shortage of West Point-trained officers; they had shown natural leadership abilities, and because of the political influence they wielded in their home states.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.