Readers of this site will be familiar with Gen. John McArthur, general for the Union during the Civil War. Recently I visited the battlefield at Vicksburg and gained more insight into his story–and another twist in family history from the Confederate side too.
The Illinois State Rotunda at Vicksburg. Each state–Union and Confederate–with forces at Vicksburg had the chance to place a state monument, and Illinois’ is the largest.
A closer view of the Illinois Rotunda. It’s interesting to think what the Warrington brothers George, William and James thought of this expense (esp. since they were paying taxes to Springfield) but since their uncle was one of the featured people there, they may have even contributed to it.
John McArthur’s name memorialised in the Rotunda.
Looking to the ceiling. It evokes the Pantheon in Rome; the classical influence is very marked in American memorial architecture.
The state seal, in the floor.
John McArthur’s monument at Vicksburg.
A side view of the McArthur monument.
The back of it, showing the tails on the Scottish tam. McArthur was a Scottish immigrant; I don’t know of any other general, Union or Confederate, who showed his heritage in quite this way.
The Louisiana state monument at Vicksburg. On the Confederate side was Henry Daspit, who surrendered with the Confederate forces 4 July 1863. it’s probable that Daspit and McArthur met at Vicksburg, probably through a Masonic connection. There’s evidence that the two families became friends. In 1916 Henry’s daughter Myrtle married John’s great-nephew Chet Warrington, the main protagonist of this site.
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