Wallace-Dickey Cemetery, Ottawa, Illinois

From August 28, 2017, WCMY 1430 AM.  "Wallace-Dickey Cemetery plans include making it public eventually."

Money raise at the Civil War reenactments near Seneca over the weekend will help pay for restoration at the Wallace-Dickey Cemetery in Ottawa.  Not many people know where it is, because it is landlocked and there aren't any  public roads to it.

Ottawa Avenue Cemetery Association President  Chuck Sanders says he'd like the public to be able to visit the site someday.  It's where two prominent Ottawa residents of the 1800s, Judge T. Lyle Dickey and General W.H.L. Wallace, are buried.

--Old Secesh

Death and Funeral of Theophilus Lyle Dickey

From Find-A-Grave site.

JUDGE T. LYLE DICKEY LAID TO REST

Ottawa, Ill., July 28, 1885.

The funeral of the late Judge T. Lyle Dickey took the place at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. W.H. Wallace, at three o'clock yesterday afternoon.  Although the heat was excessive at that hour the attendance was very large, nearly all the business houses in town having closed from two until five o'clock.

A special train from Chicago, having on board the State officers and many Chicago friends, arrived at twelve o'clock, the procession, consisting of Company D,  G.A.R.,  the City Council and the Judges of the Supreme Court, formed at  the Supreme Court, formed at the Supreme Courthouse, where the remains had been lying in state, and moved through town to "Two Oaks," where services were held.

After the service the procession moved to the beautiful little private burial ground on the edge of the bluff and consigned  to the final resting place, the remains of T. Lyle Dickey.

--Old secesh

Funeral of William H.L. Wallace-- Part 1

From Facebook Page:  Gen W.H.L. Wallace.

The remains of General W.H.L. Wallace, who so bravely sacrificed his life his life at the late battle of Pittsburg Landing, arrived in this city Sunday evening about nine o'clock on a special train from Cairo furnished by direction from General Strong.

The body was in charge of Colonel T. Lyle Dickey of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry (father-in-law),  accompanied by  Major M.R.M. Wallace of the Fourth Cavalry, brother of the deceased.  Lieutenant Cyrus E. Dickey (brother-in-law and son of T. Lyle Dickey), Lieutenant I.P. Rumsey, Aides-de-Camp to General Wallace, Captain C.Y.  Hotchkiss, Acting Adjutant-General.

The wife of General Wallace, who arrived at Pittsburg Landing  the same day that her husband received his death wound, also accompanied his remains.

At the depot, they were met by a detachment of about fifty men composed of Companies D and H of the Irish brigade.  The detachment was in charge of Captain Simpson, Company D.

--Old Secesh

Funeral of William H.L. Wallace-- Part 2: Arrival in Ottawa

The body was placed  in the hearse  which had been provided by order of Mayor Rumsey and about half-past nine the procession started from the depot in the following order:  Two files of soldiers with reversed arms.  Hearse attended by six commissioned officers, four from the Irish brigade, and to from the Scotch  regiment, as pall bearers.  A rear guard of six men with fixed bayonets.

The procession proceeded up  Lake Street to Clark, Up Clark to  Van Buren and thence to the Rock Island depot, and not withstanding the lateness of the hour, was attended by a large concourse of citizens.

The tolling of the Court House bell as the procession passed through the streets startled the whole city, many not being aware of the death of the General.

From the Chicago Tribune.

--Old Secesh

Theophilus Lyle Dickey-- Part 1: Lawyer and Mexican War Captain

This man was quite involved with the lives of all four of the Wallace boys who I have been writing about this month.  He also commanded the 4th Illinois Cavalry for awhile and three of the Wallace's were in that outfit.

From Wikipedia.

THEOPHILUS LYLE DICKEY  (October 4, 1811-July 22, 1885)

Illinois jurist and military leader.

Born in Paris,, Kentucky,  moved to Macomb, Illinois, to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1835.  The next year he moved to Rushville, Illinois, and worked on his law practice and was editor of a newspaper and worked in real estate.  In 1839, he moved to Ottawa, Illinois, where he continued his legal career.

During the Mexican War, he raised a company of soldiers (which included William H.L. Wallace) and received a captain's commission.

After the war, he returned to Ottawa, continued his legal career and  was elected judge of Illinois'  Ninth Judicial District in 1848.  He resigned in 1851 and continued with his legal career.  He was a big supporter of Stephen A. Douglas and made many speeches for him in 1858 and 1860.

--Old Secesh

Matthew H.W. Wallace-- Part 2: Drowned Feb. 2, 1862

Marital Status:  Single
Occupation:  Farmer
Nativity:  Polo, Illinois

Joined When:  September 6, 1861
Joined Where:  Ottawa, Illinois

Period:  Three Years
Muster In:  September 26, 1861
Muster In Where:  Ottawa, Illinois

Remarks:  Drowned at Cairo, Illinois
When:  February 2, 1862

So, the Wallace family lost two sons in 1862.  The other one was Brig. Gen. William H.L. Wallace.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Shiloh-- Part 2: A "Great Profanity in the Army Post Office"

Lew Wallace met W.H.L. Wallace at the Battle of Fort Donelson.  Lew Wallace's first impression of W.H.L. Wallace was describing him as looking like a "farmer coming from a hard day's plowing."  As far as them having the same last names, Lew said  that it must have caused "great profanity in the army post office."

For his conspicuous service at Fort Donelson, W.H.L. Wallace was promoted to brigadier general.  During the Army of the Tennessee's movement to Savannah, Tennessee, Union Major General Charles Ferguson Smith injured his leg and turned his division command over to W.H.L.

This is how W.H.L. Wallace came to command troops fighting next to the famous Hornet's Nest at the Battle of Shiloh where they withstood six hours of repeated Confederate attacks, buying time for the Union Army to regroup.

It was here that Wallace was mortally wounded.  He was carried to Grant's headquarters at Cherry Mansion in Savannah and where he met his wife, who provided care and love to him in his final days.  He died in his wife's arms with his last words, "We meet in  heaven."

His body was taken home and buried in Ottawa, Illinois.

He was brother to future Brevet Brigadier General Martin M. Wallace.   Wallace County, Kansas, is named for him.

--Old Secesh

W.H.L. Wallace: Grant's Greatest General?-- Part 2

Continued from October 6th.

The two Union generals with Wallace as both their last names causes a lot of confusion. When I first came across W.H.L. Wallace, I thought he was the one who wrote "Ben Hur." But, it was fellow General Lew Wallace who wrote that story.  Lew Wallace had commanded the 11th Indiana, wrote that the two generals being in the same army probably caused "great profanity in the army post office."

Before the war, W.H.L. Wallace had planned to study law under one Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, but ended up studying law and becoming a lawyer in Ottawa, Illinois.

At the onset of the Civil War, Wallace volunteered as a private in the 11th Illinois and soon was elected colonel of the regiment. For his conspicuous service at Fort Donelson, Wallace was appointed brigadier general.

At the Battle of Shiloh, Wallace's men were next to the Hornet's Nest and the Sunken Road and withstood six hours of Confederate attacks. Wallace was in command of the division there and was mortally wounded. Union soldiers found him barely alive and carried him to his wife in a home nearby. He died three days later on April 10, 1862.

He is buried in Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois, at his family cemetery at 815 LaSalle Street along with his war horse Prince. There is a mural of him in Ottawa.

It would have been interesting to see how he would have done in the war had he not been killed so early.

A Great, But Little-Known General. -B-R'er

General W.H.L. Wallace, USA-- Grant's Greatest General?-- Part 1

Union General Prentiss usually gets credit for the valiant fight at Hornet's Nest at the battle of Shiloh where Union soldiers withstood six hours of frantic Confederate attacks which gave General Grant time to rally his forces and bring up reinforcements, but perhaps the "real" hero of the battle was Brigadier General William Hervey Lamme Wallace of Ottawa, Illinois.

He was born in Urbana, Ohio and came to Illinois, initially to learn law under Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, but ended up going to Ottawa, Illinois, and setting up a law practice.

He had a brief experience in the Mexican War and at the outset of the Civil War, volunteered as a private in the 11th Illinois before being elected its colonel. He became known as Grant's greatest general.

At Fort Donelson in 1862, he made the acquaintance of General Lew Wallace, with whom he is often confused (including me). Of course, Lew Wallace later wrote "Ben Hur."


More to Come. --B-R'er