*Unmarked grave
Served as a state senator representing Jackson County, Illinois in 1863.
Source: Article written by Mike Jones for the Murphysboro American, Dec 27, 2012.
It is hard to say much good about Murphysboro's Dr. Israel Blanchard. He arrived in Jackson County in the early 1850s and by the time of the Civil War had been charged with gaming, forgery, and betting on an election. He married Jane Brush, a well-to- do widow, in 1853, ruined her financially, and on her death left her children destitute. In 1856, Blanchard married John A. Logan's sister Annie, also a well-to-do widow.
Politically Blanchard, a Democrat, opposed the Civil War. On April 15, 1861, just three days after the war began, he helped author and signed a secessionist document in Carbondale. This alone might not have been a problem had Blanchard remained quiet, but he didn't. General Benjamin M. Prentiss, the Union commander at Cairo, finally tired of Blanchard's outspoken support of the South and on June 3 ordered him arrested and sent to Springfield. He was released on June 8, 1861, after taking an oath of allegiance to the Union.
It is possible that Blanchard became more politically subdued, or perhaps the authorities just ignored him, for the next year. This anonymity ended on August 18, 1862, as he walked near the Jackson County Court House. After confirming Blanchard's identity, a Union officer accompanied him across the street to the Logan Hotel. Five soldiers "having muskets with fixed bayonets" arrested Blanchard in the hotel's barroom. He was then taken by rail to Springfield where U.S. Marshal David L. Phillips ordered him sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington.
The events which led to Blanchard's arrest began in Washington D.C. on August 8, 1862, when Secretary of War Edwin Stanton suspended the right of habeas corpus to persons arrested for "disloyal practices." This meant that the government could arrest and hold individuals for an indefinite length of time without filing specific charges. Blanchard's arrest came when James Hamilton filed an affidavit stating that Blanchard had attended a meeting of the Knights of the Golden Circle on August 10, 1862, near Pinckneyville "where he and others were engaged in a conspiracy against the Government." Blanchard's arrest was one of many which took place across Illinois and the nation as a result of Stanton's order.
When John A. Logan joined the Union cause his sister Annie publicly stated she hoped he would be killed before he left Jackson County. Now she asked her brother to help free her husband. Logan requested and was granted a leave to return to Murphysboro. In a letter written from Murphysboro on August 30, 1862, Gen. John A. Logan wrote to President Lincoln asking the President to review Blanchard's arrest and sending him evidence of his brother-in-law's innocence. After reviewing Logan's request President Lincoln penned a note to the Secretary of War stating "I strongly incline to discharge Dr. Blanchard."
Blanchard was released and returned home to Murphysboro. In November 1862 the people of Jackson County elected him to the Illinois Senate. On his death in 1871 Dr. Israel Blanchard, a man who once claimed he had belonged to the Sons of Temperance, owed a $600.00 bar bill. Blanchard, the man who President Lincoln freed, is buried in a now unmarked grave in Murphysboro's City Cemetery.
Served as a state senator representing Jackson County, Illinois in 1863.
Source: Article written by Mike Jones for the Murphysboro American, Dec 27, 2012.
It is hard to say much good about Murphysboro's Dr. Israel Blanchard. He arrived in Jackson County in the early 1850s and by the time of the Civil War had been charged with gaming, forgery, and betting on an election. He married Jane Brush, a well-to- do widow, in 1853, ruined her financially, and on her death left her children destitute. In 1856, Blanchard married John A. Logan's sister Annie, also a well-to-do widow.
Politically Blanchard, a Democrat, opposed the Civil War. On April 15, 1861, just three days after the war began, he helped author and signed a secessionist document in Carbondale. This alone might not have been a problem had Blanchard remained quiet, but he didn't. General Benjamin M. Prentiss, the Union commander at Cairo, finally tired of Blanchard's outspoken support of the South and on June 3 ordered him arrested and sent to Springfield. He was released on June 8, 1861, after taking an oath of allegiance to the Union.
It is possible that Blanchard became more politically subdued, or perhaps the authorities just ignored him, for the next year. This anonymity ended on August 18, 1862, as he walked near the Jackson County Court House. After confirming Blanchard's identity, a Union officer accompanied him across the street to the Logan Hotel. Five soldiers "having muskets with fixed bayonets" arrested Blanchard in the hotel's barroom. He was then taken by rail to Springfield where U.S. Marshal David L. Phillips ordered him sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington.
The events which led to Blanchard's arrest began in Washington D.C. on August 8, 1862, when Secretary of War Edwin Stanton suspended the right of habeas corpus to persons arrested for "disloyal practices." This meant that the government could arrest and hold individuals for an indefinite length of time without filing specific charges. Blanchard's arrest came when James Hamilton filed an affidavit stating that Blanchard had attended a meeting of the Knights of the Golden Circle on August 10, 1862, near Pinckneyville "where he and others were engaged in a conspiracy against the Government." Blanchard's arrest was one of many which took place across Illinois and the nation as a result of Stanton's order.
When John A. Logan joined the Union cause his sister Annie publicly stated she hoped he would be killed before he left Jackson County. Now she asked her brother to help free her husband. Logan requested and was granted a leave to return to Murphysboro. In a letter written from Murphysboro on August 30, 1862, Gen. John A. Logan wrote to President Lincoln asking the President to review Blanchard's arrest and sending him evidence of his brother-in-law's innocence. After reviewing Logan's request President Lincoln penned a note to the Secretary of War stating "I strongly incline to discharge Dr. Blanchard."
Blanchard was released and returned home to Murphysboro. In November 1862 the people of Jackson County elected him to the Illinois Senate. On his death in 1871 Dr. Israel Blanchard, a man who once claimed he had belonged to the Sons of Temperance, owed a $600.00 bar bill. Blanchard, the man who President Lincoln freed, is buried in a now unmarked grave in Murphysboro's City Cemetery.
*Unmarked grave
Served as a state senator representing Jackson County, Illinois in 1863.
Source: Article written by Mike Jones for the Murphysboro American, Dec 27, 2012.
It is hard to say much good about Murphysboro's Dr. Israel Blanchard. He arrived in Jackson County in the early 1850s and by the time of the Civil War had been charged with gaming, forgery, and betting on an election. He married Jane Brush, a well-to- do widow, in 1853, ruined her financially, and on her death left her children destitute. In 1856, Blanchard married John A. Logan's sister Annie, also a well-to-do widow.
Politically Blanchard, a Democrat, opposed the Civil War. On April 15, 1861, just three days after the war began, he helped author and signed a secessionist document in Carbondale. This alone might not have been a problem had Blanchard remained quiet, but he didn't. General Benjamin M. Prentiss, the Union commander at Cairo, finally tired of Blanchard's outspoken support of the South and on June 3 ordered him arrested and sent to Springfield. He was released on June 8, 1861, after taking an oath of allegiance to the Union.
It is possible that Blanchard became more politically subdued, or perhaps the authorities just ignored him, for the next year. This anonymity ended on August 18, 1862, as he walked near the Jackson County Court House. After confirming Blanchard's identity, a Union officer accompanied him across the street to the Logan Hotel. Five soldiers "having muskets with fixed bayonets" arrested Blanchard in the hotel's barroom. He was then taken by rail to Springfield where U.S. Marshal David L. Phillips ordered him sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington.
The events which led to Blanchard's arrest began in Washington D.C. on August 8, 1862, when Secretary of War Edwin Stanton suspended the right of habeas corpus to persons arrested for "disloyal practices." This meant that the government could arrest and hold individuals for an indefinite length of time without filing specific charges. Blanchard's arrest came when James Hamilton filed an affidavit stating that Blanchard had attended a meeting of the Knights of the Golden Circle on August 10, 1862, near Pinckneyville "where he and others were engaged in a conspiracy against the Government." Blanchard's arrest was one of many which took place across Illinois and the nation as a result of Stanton's order.
When John A. Logan joined the Union cause his sister Annie publicly stated she hoped he would be killed before he left Jackson County. Now she asked her brother to help free her husband. Logan requested and was granted a leave to return to Murphysboro. In a letter written from Murphysboro on August 30, 1862, Gen. John A. Logan wrote to President Lincoln asking the President to review Blanchard's arrest and sending him evidence of his brother-in-law's innocence. After reviewing Logan's request President Lincoln penned a note to the Secretary of War stating "I strongly incline to discharge Dr. Blanchard."
Blanchard was released and returned home to Murphysboro. In November 1862 the people of Jackson County elected him to the Illinois Senate. On his death in 1871 Dr. Israel Blanchard, a man who once claimed he had belonged to the Sons of Temperance, owed a $600.00 bar bill. Blanchard, the man who President Lincoln freed, is buried in a now unmarked grave in Murphysboro's City Cemetery.
Served as a state senator representing Jackson County, Illinois in 1863.
Source: Article written by Mike Jones for the Murphysboro American, Dec 27, 2012.
It is hard to say much good about Murphysboro's Dr. Israel Blanchard. He arrived in Jackson County in the early 1850s and by the time of the Civil War had been charged with gaming, forgery, and betting on an election. He married Jane Brush, a well-to- do widow, in 1853, ruined her financially, and on her death left her children destitute. In 1856, Blanchard married John A. Logan's sister Annie, also a well-to-do widow.
Politically Blanchard, a Democrat, opposed the Civil War. On April 15, 1861, just three days after the war began, he helped author and signed a secessionist document in Carbondale. This alone might not have been a problem had Blanchard remained quiet, but he didn't. General Benjamin M. Prentiss, the Union commander at Cairo, finally tired of Blanchard's outspoken support of the South and on June 3 ordered him arrested and sent to Springfield. He was released on June 8, 1861, after taking an oath of allegiance to the Union.
It is possible that Blanchard became more politically subdued, or perhaps the authorities just ignored him, for the next year. This anonymity ended on August 18, 1862, as he walked near the Jackson County Court House. After confirming Blanchard's identity, a Union officer accompanied him across the street to the Logan Hotel. Five soldiers "having muskets with fixed bayonets" arrested Blanchard in the hotel's barroom. He was then taken by rail to Springfield where U.S. Marshal David L. Phillips ordered him sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington.
The events which led to Blanchard's arrest began in Washington D.C. on August 8, 1862, when Secretary of War Edwin Stanton suspended the right of habeas corpus to persons arrested for "disloyal practices." This meant that the government could arrest and hold individuals for an indefinite length of time without filing specific charges. Blanchard's arrest came when James Hamilton filed an affidavit stating that Blanchard had attended a meeting of the Knights of the Golden Circle on August 10, 1862, near Pinckneyville "where he and others were engaged in a conspiracy against the Government." Blanchard's arrest was one of many which took place across Illinois and the nation as a result of Stanton's order.
When John A. Logan joined the Union cause his sister Annie publicly stated she hoped he would be killed before he left Jackson County. Now she asked her brother to help free her husband. Logan requested and was granted a leave to return to Murphysboro. In a letter written from Murphysboro on August 30, 1862, Gen. John A. Logan wrote to President Lincoln asking the President to review Blanchard's arrest and sending him evidence of his brother-in-law's innocence. After reviewing Logan's request President Lincoln penned a note to the Secretary of War stating "I strongly incline to discharge Dr. Blanchard."
Blanchard was released and returned home to Murphysboro. In November 1862 the people of Jackson County elected him to the Illinois Senate. On his death in 1871 Dr. Israel Blanchard, a man who once claimed he had belonged to the Sons of Temperance, owed a $600.00 bar bill. Blanchard, the man who President Lincoln freed, is buried in a now unmarked grave in Murphysboro's City Cemetery.
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