Wednesday, November 30, 2011

John A. Logan Stops in West Frankfort!


Stephanie, Ray, and John A. Logan made a dangerous trek through heavy rain and light sleet late on Monday evening. Only having General Logan with her for a short time, Stephanie had to show him the West Frankfort Veterans Military Museum and could not wait for better weather!

Ray got them there safely, however, as he slowed numerous times to avoid hydroplaning. But regardless of how long it was going to take, Stephanie was going to show John A. Logan and Ray the memorial statues dedicated to soldiers from the West Frankfort area.

Upon arrival, the three of them braved the fierce winds and rain as Stephanie showed them around the location. To either side of the large main wall, there are two smaller walls containing the names of several United States soldiers underneath the wars in which they served. On the far left panel of the left wall lists several from the Civil War.

There is also one name listed on the far right panel of the right wall.

In front of these walls of names is a statue of a soldier with the inscription "Lest We Forget." John A. Logan, Ray, and I were all very moved by this piece.

After our photo shoot, the wind was starting to pick up, but I could not leave without taking John A. Logan to peek in the windows of the museum. I told him all about how inside the museum were several memorabilia items from various wars. They were all donated by citizens of the West Frankfort area and told history from an incredible perspective, that of a soldier's.
At this time the rain came down even harder, and we could hardly stand the weather. We decided it was best to head back to Carbondale and hope for another visit on hopefully a day that was warm and sunny.

General Logan was fast asleep by the time we arrived back in Carbondale. His journey for the day was only 55.6 miles round-trip, but over the course of the past few months he has been on the road a whopping 3,260.92 miles total.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Robert E. and Laura visit some old friends.


Laura and Robert E. left Wham Thursday after class and traveled two hours to Laura's hometown of Arnold, MO. While in Arnold, Laura and Robert E. got to spend time with Laura's family before heading to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, MO. Jefferson Barracks was established in 1826 and is the oldest active military installation west of the Mississippi River.


Over 220 Civil War generals served duty at Jefferson Barracks at some point during their career including Robert E. himself. Due to it's strategic location next to railroads and the Mississippi River, Jefferson Barracks at times cared for more soldiers during the Civil War than any hospital in both the North or South. The high mortality rate at Jefferson Barracks is what ultimately led to the establishment of the National Cemetery. The National Cemetery at Jefferson Barracks is the final resting place for more than 16,000 Union and Confederate soldiers, making it the largest burial site of Civil War soldiers in Missouri.

While Robert E. and Laura had a good time exploring Jefferson Barracks and all it had to offer, it was time to return to Carbondale. After our adventure was all said and done Robert E. and Laura traveled 212.3 miles. Robert E. has traveled a grand total of 3057.38 miles.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Rory, Stefanie, and John A. Logan Visit Antioch, IL



Rory, Stefanie, and John A. Logan left the Wham building late on a Thursday afternoon for a six hour car ride to Antioch Illinois. Once they got to Antioch, IL they were all very tired from the long car ride, so they decided to spend the night at Stefanie's parents house in Antioch. The following morning, they all drove to the Hiram Buttrick Sawmill. The sawmill that is currently standing is an exact replica of the original and was built in 1976. The original sawmill was built in 1839 by Hiram Buttrick. The original was one of the only structures to remain standing through the fires that occurred in in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The original sawmill was built along a creek in the center of Antioch to make it the center of commerce.
After a wonderful day in the small town of Antioch, they eventually made the long journey back to Carbondale. John A. Logan, Stefanie, and Rory traveled a total of 774 miles. All together, John A. Logan has traveled a total of 3,205.32 miles.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Sumer, Justin, Collin, and Robert E. Lee visit Cairo, IL

Sumer, Justin, Collin, and Robert E. Lee took a trip to Cairo, IL. They visited several places while they were there. Robert told them all about the time he was in a steamboat race and landed in Cairo. He told us it should have been a for sure win, but Natchez cheated. (We looked it up later and discovered Lee had been drinking a bit when he landed in Cairo and ran aground not long after leaving Cairo)
Once we were in Cairo, IL., we first visited the Magnolia Manor. The Manor was built in 1869. It is one of the few standing houses left in Cairo. The Manor was visited by Ulysses S. Grant when he was in command of the civil war fort, Fort Defiance. The Manor is open for tours.


Next, they visited the Riverlore. Riverlore was built in 1865. It is an 11 bedroom mansion that is also known as, Millionaire's Row. It was built for Captain William Parker Halliday. He was a bank owner.



The next stop was the Cairo public Library. Mrs. Alford B. Safford had the Safford Memorial Building turned into the library as a memorial to her husband. The library contains many artifacts from older building in Cairo, such as the chandelier from the Opera House.
.

Their next stop was the Custom House. The United States Custom House was started in 1867 and has housed the U.S. Post Office, Customs, the Weather Bureau, the Federal Court Room, and the Cairo Police Department. Today the building is just a Museum. It holds, Civil War and local historical items, desk used by Gen. U.S. Grant, an 1865 Cairo fire wagon, a scale model of the gunboat U.S.S. Cairo, the historic hamburger/popcorn wagon. The house is open for tours.



Our last stop was to the Post Office which was built in 1942. The same post office is still used today.
Whew, what a trip! By the end, as you can tell from the pictures, baby Collin and Robert E. Lee were getting cranky! We traveled 121.36 miles. So far, Robert has traveled 2845.08 miles!!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Karli and John A. Logan travel to Peoria, IL



Karli and John A. Logan took the long way to Peoria, having to pick up others joining their journey in Olney and Springfield. When they finally reached Peoria, they had a long, wet and cold journey down to the Riverfront to the Military Services Memorial Plaza. The plaza was built to honor and recognize the veterans who have served in the military. The center plaque on the marker in the picture states "In Honor of the men and women who have served their country in the armed forces of the United States." The surrounding plaques recognize those who helped in the construction of the plaza in 1998. In front of this marker, not shown in the picture, is a flag surrounded by five services markers, one for each branch of the armed forces. After visiting the memorial, Karli and John A. Logan eventually headed home, traveling at total of 695 miles. This brings John A. Logan's total mileage to 2,431.32 miles.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Allison and Robert E. Lee Tour the Jefferson County Historical Museum



Allison and Robert E. Lee left 625 Wham Drive and went to Allison's house for the weekend. Allison, Robert E. Lee, and Allison's mom went to Mt. Vernon to the Jefferson County Historical Museum. Robert E. Lee loved the museum and got to see a surgical kit from the Civil War. The museum had artifacts from many times in history. It had a dentist chair and many artifacts from even before Robert E. Lee's time. The museum contained ballots for governor elections from the 1930s and dental tools. The nice man at the museum took out the surgical kit and took a picture with us. One of the facts that the man mentioned was that the kit did not include anesthesia. Robert E. Lee found this interesting, because this is something that was implemented after the Civil War. The injured people had to endure a great amount of pain when having wounds treated. Allison and Robert E. Lee traveled 193.4 miles for a grand total traveled of 2,723.72 miles. Allison hopes to return to the museum to learn more about history and the types of products used.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Robert E. Lee and Chelsea took a trip to the Historical Jail Museum in Benton, IL



Robert E. Lee and Chelsea took a trip to the Historical Jail Museum in Benton, IL. They traveled 100.9 miles round trip. There is an entire room dedicated to John A. Logan, Robert was not too fond of this part of the tour. There are occasionally re-enactments held at this location which are open to the public. There is also a lot of memorabilia from the Civil War including many things from the Benton area. A monument is located here that is dedicated to Logan and the 209 soldiers from Franklin County who lost their lives during the Civil War. Although, most of the Civil War history found at the jail museum was in honor of General John A. Logan, Robert and I had a great time. General Robert E. Lee has now traveled 1837.22 miles total!!