Black Jack Logan - An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War

Black Jack Logan - An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War - Book Review

Richard Story | October 14, 2005 | 0 comments | Print | E-mail

Black Jack Logan: An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War
Gary Ecelbarger
The Lyons Press, 2005

Some people are born to greatness. Others have greatness shoved upon them. Still others reinvent their self into greatness. John A. “Black Jack” Logan reinvented himself not once, but twice into greatness, and nearly within a cat’s whiskers distance from the White House when he died prematurely from what was described as cerebral rheumatism. To the modern person, John A. Logan’s life and premature death is un-remarked upon as the national tragedy that it was seen as during his days. Who was John A. Logan and why did his death stun a reunited nation?

John A. Logan was born February 9th, 1826 to Dr. John Logan in southern Illinois. That part of Illinois was southern in leanings and practices which did include slavery and indentured servitude. Growing up, John had inherited his father’s abilities as a judge of horses, but also as a jockey who would ride horses in large-stake races. He also exhibited a fiery temper that would last his entire life. Another trait that he inherited was the ability to make bad investments that would forever keep him searching for ways to reduce and pay off his debts. John’s first foray into the public eye was as a Second Lieutenant in Company H, First Illinois Infantry during the Mexican-American War under Colonel Edward W.B. Newby with his Captain being John M. Cunningham. Captain Cunningham teased his young subordinate that if John became a war hero, he would allow John to marry his precocious and pretty 8 year old daughter Mary. John never did see battle with the 1st Illinois as they were stationed at Santa Fe for the duration, but he did survive the outbreak of the flu that claimed nine members of the regiment.

Returning home, John entered the law profession where he quickly gained local fame as well as political power. John worked both sides of the court not only as a defense attorney, but also as a prosecuting attorney. His abilities as an attorney were so good that he had a man freed by his appeal that he had convicted as a district attorney! But politics soon entered his life and he won seats both in the Illinois Senate and later on the United States Senate as a Democrat. As John garnered prominence, he went back to his old Captain and wooed and won the hand and heart of Mary Cunningham. She would be the bedrock of his life till the end of her days. His pro-southern viewpoint was reflected by his constituency and he advocated reconciliation with the south and despised and even hated abolitionists. One of John’s greatest abilities was his ability to make rousing speeches that fired the imagination and enthusiasm of the audience. It can be said that John had a Churchillian or even Hitler-like ability to mesmerize and convince an audience. But the firing on Fort Sumter by Confederate forces under P.G.T. Beauregard would change John and the United States forever.

Like Pearl Harbor and the later 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Centers, Fort Sumter galvanized all Americans. Those in the north rose to protect the Union while the south celebrated the first real steps of independency. But those in the southern parts of Illinois were looked on with distrust and suspicion by the rest of the north because of its pro-southern attitudes. John might have been pro-southern, but he was a patriot first and would defend the Union if not actively seeking to end slavery. He started out by raising a regiment of volunteers that became the 31st Illinois Infantry Regiment. This caused a family crisis in which his own mother refused to speak to him or acknowledge him till near the end of her life; his sister hated him till her dying days and his own brother-in-law joined the Confederate Army. But if the war ruined his family life, it redeemed his own reputation as he went on to be a great leader who took risks and drove his troops steadily forward toward victory.

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