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| Transcriber Notes: There are some hand written notes in pencil: Inserted above beginning of biography is, “John Monroe m. 13 Dec. 1808 Lucy Rogers, Barren Co, Ky.” Inserted above grandfather is "John" |
 OL. JAMES MONROE was born in Greensburg, Ky., Jan. 4, 1832. His father, Dr. Byrd Monroe, also a native of Kentucky, was born at Glasgow, Oct. 8, 1807. His mother was Margaret Linder, also of Kentucky. On his mother’s side he was related to the Underwoods of that State. His grandfathersee notes above was a Virginian and his great-grandfather was Dr. Alexander Monroe, the celebrated Scotch Professor of anatomy, and medical writer, who was born in 1732. Dr. Byrd Monroe moved from Kentucky to Charleston in 1834, when his son James was but two years old, and here he was brought up among pioneer scenes and times, and his schooling was received here, his father, a scholarly man, teaching him Latin, the classics, etc., giving him that taste for letters and literature that made him through life a great reader and student. He also received from his father, who was rather more of a mercantile than a professional man, a business training, and early took to business pursuits, in which he soon won the respect and confidence of the people, and in which that charity and public spirit with which he was imbued, became manifest and conspicuous. As early as 1854 he had charge of a general store in Paradise, at that time the country-village center of quite a scope of country. It was while here, as a young business man of spirit and promise, that he formed the acquaintance of Miss Mary J. Cunningham, daughter of Hon. James T. Cunningham, which ripened into an ardent love. But the course of true love never did run absolutely smooth, and the young hero in embryo was rejected as a suitor for the hand’ of his (at that time) only daughter, by Mr. Cunningham, and, disappointed, in a spirit of recklessness natural to a fiery and adventurous soul like his, he started for Central America, at that time the scene of Gen. Walker’s dream of military glory and power. An entry from young Monroe’s diary will serve to spice this lover’s episode. Under date of Jan. 28, 1855, he wrote : “Tuesday, afloat on the dark and turbulent waters of the Ohio, broken in health, with nothing to make existence endurable; all the bright and glorious visions of youthful enjoyment and happiness crushed, withered and dead; all the ties which bound me to life severed and broken, I am leaving home, wishing, hoping never to return to it again. And, oh! if this be so—if beneath the burning sun of the tropics I shall find a nameless and forgotten grave, grant this request, oh, God, I ask nothing for myself, and care little, but grant to shield her from all harm, to guard and protect her through life; suffer no dark clouds of sorrow or misfortune to sully the pure horizon of her life, or separate or alienate her from Thyself. May she remember me in kindness, and suffer us after death, purified from all stains of earthly sin or corruption, to meet again in that world where sorrow, disappointment and sin can never enter.” But, returning to Illinois, restored in health and heart-mended, James Monroe again engaged in mercantile pursuits, this time as one of the first grain merchants in Mattoon, and as a dry-goods merchant and partner with his brother, Byrd Monroe, in the grocery trade, a live, active business man. And Dec. 1, 1857, James Monroe and Mary J. Cunningham were married. They had also attached themselves to the Christian Church; and the following reference thereto, written afterward, when as Major he was treading the red field of war, reveals something of the spiritual side of his brief, stormy life. Writing to his wife, he says : “You speak in your last of the Church, etc., and ask me some questions. It is very true that our connection with the Church was very pleasant, and I assure you I do not regret that part of our lives; but really one has but little time in the field to think of anything but our business. I do not think I am growing worse, but rather better. I strive to avoid all excess and to improve myself every way.” He was also one of the early Masons of Mattoon. James Monroe’s sincere and fervent patriotism and public spirit naturally called him to early participate more or less in politics and public affairs, although not a politician. In the quadrangular contest of 1860, in Illinois, James Monroe was the nominee of the Bell and Everett party for the office of Secretary of State, and the following spring was elected President of the City Council of Mattoon. But this was in the wild days of the spring of 1861, when politics was chaotic when, in the language of Stephen A. Douglas, there were “but two parties, patriots and traitors;” and in a few days, as the echo of the rebel Beauregard’s guns at Ft. Sumpter was heard rolling over the land and thrilling it, under Gov. Yates’ call of the 16th of April, the young Major’s career of military glory and blood began, which was to cover his name with lustre, and shed honor upon Mattoon and Coles County in the service of his proud State and the country. On the 17th of April, 1861, a meeting was held at Mattoon, and Co. B, 7th Ill. Vol. Inf. (Mattoon Guards), was almost immediately formed, and James Monroe elected Captain. The company reached Springfield on the 19th, the first one outside of that city to get into camp, Col. Cook, of Springfield, tendering Company A. Soon the 7th Infantry was hurried to Cairo, where its “three months’ service” was put in, and then in Gen. John Cook’s Brigade of Gen. Paducah Smith’s Division, under Grant, the three years’ service of the regiment began. Its career of honorable and hard service was commenced at Ft. Donelson, Capt. Monroe commanding Co. B in this great engagement. Col. John Cook, commanding the brigade, in his official report to Gen. Smith, made special mention of the bravery, devotion and efficiency of the 7th Illinois Infantry, and of Capt. Monroe and his Colonel. Capt. Monroe was “promoted for meritorious services rendered at the battle of Ft. Donelson,” and was commissioned Major to date from March 21, 1862. As Major he went through the battle of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh, and the siege of Corinth. Maj. Rowett, commanding the 7th Illinois, at Shiloh, in his official report to Col. Sweeney commanding the 3d Brigade, said: “I am permitted only to mention the name of Acting Major Monroe, who gallantly sustained his share of the command of the regiment during the whole engagement.” He had his horse shot, and was slightly wounded. After Shiloh, Maj. Monroe wrote to his wife: “If I believed in special providences, I should expect to be killed in the next battle. Dearly as I love my wife and babes, I would cheerfully, willingly give up my comparatively worthless life to restore to their friends and their country even one-tenth of the noble men who so gallantly offered up their lives on Sunday and Monday.” In August, 1862, the 123d Illinois Infantry went into camp at Mattoon, and September 5 the regiment was mustered into the service, James Monroe having been elected (virtually unanimously) Colonel. Companies A, C, D, H, 1 and K were recruited from Coles County. Many of the men had known Col. Monroe as a citizen, and all had marked and gloried in his soldierly record as Captain and Major. On the 19th of September, Col. Monroe left Illinois for the front, with his new regiment, and was assigned to Terrill’s Brigade of Jackson’s Division, under Buell, and without ever having had battalion drill, started on the march to Perryville, Ky., after Bragg, and history records that “the 123d behaved with great gallantry,” losing in less than one month from the time they entered the service, thirty-five killed, 119 wounded and thirty-five missing, and losing both brigade and division commanders. Then, under command of Col. Hall, of the 105th Ohio, in a winter campaign, Col. Monroe chased Gen. John Morgan through Kentucky and Tennessee, finally engaging and whipping him in a gallant fight at Milton, Tenn., March 20, 1863. This detached and independent service, frequently performed with his own regiment alone on expeditions and scouts, fitted commander and command for the noted service afterward performed by the First Mounted Infantry Brigade Jin the service, and the first command to secure the famed Spencer rifle In the early spring of 1863, while the army lay at Murfreesboro, organizing for the Chattanooga campaign, Col. John T. Wilder, the hero of Mumfordsville, Ky., determined to organize a picked command to march as cavalry and fight as infantry, and to arm them with the Spencer repeating rifle. Accordingly he chose the 17th and 72d Indiana and the 92d, 98th and 123d Illinois Regiments, and with the 18th Indiana Battery, led the advance of Gen. J. J. Reynolds’ division of the 14th Army Corps through Hoover’s Gap, and gaining the name of the “Lightning Brigade” through a general order from Gen. Rosecrans; then to Manchester and the railroads in the rear of Tallahoma, Col. Monroe being charged with the task of destroying the bridge over Duck River, over which he found a division of Confederates moving, as he approached with his regiment. In command of the 123d Illinois and 17th Indiana, Col. Monroe also made a raid west to Columbia and Centerville capturing some prisoners and hundreds of horses and mules. Then, with his regiment, Col. Monroe led Gen. Hazen’s gallant advance on Chattanooga; and when Crittenden led his corps to Chickamauga by way of Ringgold and Dalton, Col. Monroe was with him, and then opened the fight at Alexander’s Bridge, over Chickamauga Creek, and with Wilder’s Brigade harrassed the concentrating Confederate hosts, held Longstreet’s opening assaults in check, and finally, with their deadly Spencer rifles, aided Thomas to the last to save the army from rout and disaster on that bloodiest field of the war. Immediately after Chickamauga the rebel General, Wheeler, was sent to cut Thomas’ communications north of the Tennessee, and Col. Monroe went with the brigade on what is known as the “Wheeler Raid,” and fell in the cruel fight at Farmington, Tenn., under Gen. Crook, Oct. 7, 1863, at the head of his devoted regiment. The following letters, addressed to Col. Monroe’s wife, form only a fitting close to this brief sketch of a brilliant military hero, cut down early in what would otherwise have been a marked career of command and leadership: CINCINNATI, OHIO, Jan. 15, 1863.
My Dear Madam: Nothing could afford me greater pleasure than to testify my high appreciation of the modesty, gallantry and soldierly enterprise of the late Col. Monroe, who fell, gloriously leading his men in the battle of Farmington, when one brigade of our cavalry and Wilder’s Mounted Brigade under his command, whipped two divisions of rebel cavalry under Gen. Wheeler. Gen. Crook, who commanded our troops, speaks in the highest terms of the coolness and gallantry of Col. Monroe on that occasion. He had become known to me very soon after assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland, for his prudence, sagacity and enterprise, distinguishing himself during the stay of our forces at Murfreesboro, in an expedition in the direction of Lebanon, wherein, with a small body of picked men, he soundly whipped a regiment of rebel cavalry, who had thought to cut him off. Very truly yours,
W. S. ROSECKANS. NEW ORLEANS, LA., Feb. 26, 1864.
Madam: In your letter to Maj.-Gen. Reynolds dated 1st ult., you ask for a testimonial as to services of Col. James Monroe, late commanding the 123d Illinois Regiment. As it was our pleasure to serve with him for several months during the war, we are able to bear testimony of the valuable services rendered by him. Col. Monroe commanded the 123d Regiment Illinois Volunteers, serving in the 4th Division of the 14th Army Corps in the Department of the Cumberland, during the campaign of 1863, in Tennessee, Northern Alabama and Georgia. The regiment formed a part of Wilder’s Mounted Brigade of Infantry, which became famous by acts of military skill and daring. This brigade was the only one of its character in the Department of the Cumberland. Its organization was effected after much discussion as to the merits and capacities of officers and regiments. It was determined that the gallant Col. Monroe, with his no less gallant officers ’and men, should form a part of this corps of distinction and honor, from which much was to be expected. Nor was the selection ever regretted by the Division Commander, Maj.-Gen. Reynolds, whose judgment dictated the choice. In all the movements of the division this brigade took the van, and in every achievement of the Army of the Cumberland, it was among the foremost in the conflict. In the general movement from Murfreesboro southward, Reynolds’ Division with Wilder’s men in the advance, secured Hoover’s Gap by a bold dash and a hard struggle. Next, with a celerity which astonished the enemy, they appeared in their rear at Tallahoma, and contributed much in compelling their precipitate evacuation of that stronghold. After a short rest the advance upon Chattanooga was determined upon. Again this brigade of mounted heroes was in requisition. They pressed forward over the mountains and surprised the enemy before their presence was suspected, or even dreamed of. Here by strategic threatening they held the enemy in suspense and uncertainty, until the main force of the army had crossed the Tennessee River and almost secured position in rear of the rebel horde, which compelled another flight. In the great battle of Chickamauga this brigade was again in the advance, and gallantly fought the enemy for hours before the engagement became general, suffering heavy loss and inflicting no less severe punishment than they received. They fought with an endurance almost unequaled during that protracted conflict, and with the division commanded immediately by Gen. Reynolds, formed a part of the little band which held the field with a stubbornness that resisted every shock, even after the main portion of the army had yielded to the tempest of battle. The partial success of the enemy encouraged him to throw forward all his available mounted force to harrass the country and disturb our communications. Again this brigade was called upon, and nobly did they respond and sustain themselves. They met the enemy at every possible position, fought and defeated him, foiling him in his efforts and plans. In the battle of Farmington, Tenn., where our forces fought a superior strength of the enemy’s cavalry and artillery and defeated them, Col. Monroe fell, and but few such sacrifices have been made upon our Nation’s altar. In every movement of this famous brigade, Col. Monroe contributed much in earning the fame to which it is so justly entitled. Selected on several occasions to take command of special expeditions, his management and success always determined the wisdom of the choice. Solicitous for the comfort of his men and the general condition of his command, their wants were always supplied, and they were always ready for duty. As a soldier, Col. Monroe was faithful and fearless. He possessed a judgment which knew no flattery, a patriotism which knew no compromise with rebels. With great respect, yours truly,
JOHN LEVERING, Maj. and A. A. Gen.,
Chief of Staff to Maj.-Gen. Reynolds. “His steed is dust,
When thus cut down in the pride of his young manhood, Col. Monroe left two children, Margaret in her fifth year, and Ruth, only a little more than two years old. Growing to womanhood, Miss Margaret was married, Feb. 14. 1883, to Mr. Noble Gordon, a young merchant of Metamora, Ind., of standing and influence, and, on the 9th of January, 1884, Miss Ruth became the wife of Dr. Corbin J. Decker, of Vineland, N. J., at present surgeon in the United States Navy.
His sword is rust;” But live his name, And glow his fame. |
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