Everything about John A Logan totally explained
» For other persons with similar names, see John Logan.
John Alexander Logan (
February 8,
1826 –
December 26,
1886) was an
American soldier and political
leader. He served in the
Mexican-American War and was a
general in the
Union Army in the
American Civil War. He served the state of
Illinois as a
Senator and was an unsuccessful candidate for
Vice President of the United States.
Early life and political career
Logan was born in what is now
Murphysboro,
Jackson County, Illinois. He had no schooling until age 14; he then studied for three years at
Shiloh College, served in the
Mexican-American War as a
second lieutenant in the 1st Illinois Infantry, studied
law in the office of an uncle, graduated from the Law Department of the
University of Louisville in 1851, and practiced law with success.
Logan entered
politics as a
Douglas Democrat, was elected county clerk in 1849, served in the State
House of Representatives from 1853 to 1854 and in 1857; and for a time, during the interval, was prosecuting
attorney of the Third Judicial District of Illinois. In 1858 and 1860, he was elected as a Democrat to the
U.S. House of Representatives.
Civil War
Logan fought at
Bull Run as an unattached volunteer to a
Michigan regiment, and then returned to
Washington, resigned his congressional seat, and entered the Union army as
Colonel of the 31st Illinois Volunteers, which he organized. He was known by his soldiers with the nickname "Black Jack" because of his black eyes and hair and swarthy complexion, and was regarded as one of the most able officers to enter the army from civilian life. He served in the army of
Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater and was present at the
Battle of Belmont, where his horse was killed, and at
Fort Donelson, where he was wounded. Soon after the victory at Donelson, he was promoted to
brigadier general, as of
March 21,
1862. Major
John Hotaling served as his chief of staff. During the
Siege of Corinth, Logan commanded first a
brigade and then the 1st
Division of the
Army of the Tennessee. In the spring of 1863, he was promoted to
major general to rank from
November 29,
1862.
In Grant's
Vicksburg Campaign, Logan commanded the 3rd Division of
James B. McPherson's
XVII Corps, which was the first to enter the city of
Vicksburg in 1863, and after its capture, Logan served as its military governor. He received the
Medal of Honor for the Vicksburg campaign. In November 1863 he succeeded
William Tecumseh Sherman in command of the
XV Corps; and after the death of McPherson he commanded the
Army of the Tennessee at the
Battle of Atlanta (
July 22,
1864) until relieved by
Oliver O. Howard. He returned to Illinois for the 1864 elections but rejoined the army afterwards and commanded his XV corps in the
Carolinas Campaign.
In December 1864, Grant became impatient with
George H. Thomas's performance at
Nashville and sent Logan to relieve him. Logan was stopped in
Louisville when news came that Thomas had completely smashed
John Bell Hood's
Confederate army in the
Battle of Nashville.
Post-war political career
Republican, and was a member of the
United States House of Representatives from 1867 to 1871, and of the
United States Senate from 1871 until 1877 and again from 1879 until his death in 1886. He
lay in state in the
United States Capitol and lies buried at
United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery.
Logan was always a violent partisan, and was identified with the radical wing of the
Republican Party. His forceful, passionate speaking, popular on the platform, was less effective in the halls of legislation. In 1868, he was one of the managers in the
impeachment of
President Andrew Johnson. His war record and his great personal following, especially in the
Grand Army of the Republic, contributed to his nomination for
Vice President in 1884 on the ticket with
James G. Blaine, but they were not elected. For this campaign, he commissioned the painting of the
Atlanta Cyclorama, which emphasized his heroism in the
Battle of Atlanta. He was active in veterans' affairs and helped lead the call for creation of
Memorial Day as a national public holiday.
One of Logan's leading issues in the Senate was his efforts to stop any action taken to overturn the
conviction in the court-martial of Maj. Gen.
Fitz John Porter
Logan was the author of
The Great Conspiracy: Its Origin and History (1886), a partisan account of the Civil War, and of
The Volunteer Soldier of America (1887). The state of Illinois commissioned an
equestrian statue of the general that now stands in
Chicago's Grant Park. Another equestrian statue stands in
Logan Circle in
Washington, D.C. and the circle gives its name to the surrounding neighborhood.
Logan Square and Logan Boulevard in Chicago are named after him, as well as Logan Avenue and the neighborhood of
Logan Heights (AKA Barrio Logan), in
San Diego, and the community of
Logan Township, New Jersey. His hometown,
Murphysboro, Illinois, is home to the
Logan Museum as well as the General John A. Logan elementary school, and in nearby
Carterville, Illinois there's the
John A. Logan College, a
community college.
Camp Logan, Illlinois an
Illinois National Guard base and
rifle range from 1892 to the early 70's was also named for him.
It should be noted that Logan County, Illinois, was named after Logan's father, Dr. John Logan, an early pioneer physician. However, Logan County, Kansas was named after General Logan.
Logan was at one time honored with the naming of a street in
Lansing, Michigan. Community activists persuaded the city council to co-rename the street as Martin Luther King Blvd in 1991. Logan's name was dropped completely a few years later.
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