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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On July 4th, 1866, General William Tecumseh
3Sherman attended the grand celebration of the Fourth of July at
4Salem in Marion County and gave a patriotic speech; and
 
5    WHEREAS, General Sherman (1820-1891) fought for the Union
6in the American Civil War under the leadership of President
7Abraham Lincoln; he is best remembered for his capture of
8Atlanta, Georgia in September of 1864 and his "March to the
9Sea", finally taking Savannah in December of 1864; and
 
10    WHEREAS, An estimated 25,000 people attended General
11Sherman's speech, which he presented on a wooden platform with
12a backdrop of tattered battle flags of various Illinois
13regiments and mottoes complimentary to General Sherman,
14Governor Richard J. Oglesby, and General John A. Logan; in
15addition, Col. E. N. Bates, of Centralia read the Declaration
16of Independence and General John Alexander Logan, Union General
17and U.S. Senator, also gave a speech; at the completion of Gen.
18Sherman's remarks, a glee club sang the tune "Sherman's March
19to the Sea"; and
 
20    WHEREAS, General Sherman's speech, recorded in the Weekly
21Missouri Democrat July 10, 1866, was deemed more of an address
22to the nation than just the residents of Salem; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, 2016 marks the 150th anniversary of the
2presentation of General Sherman's speech and a commemorative
3re-enactment of his speech and others will be presented in
4Bryan Memorial Park (known as Hulls Grove at the time of the
5speech) on July 4, 2016; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Salem residents Geff Purcell and Luke Purcell led
7the organizing of this reenactment performed by Kaskaskia
8College English professor, Clint Stevens, and by enlisting the
9cooperation and help of Danny Tolka, Jack McGuire, Lynn and
10Mark Larimer, Linda and Glenn Burleson, the Salem City Council,
11the Salem Historical Commission, the Salem Tourism Board, the
12Mount Olive Lodge No. 114 of the International Order of Odd
13Fellows, the Luther B. Easley American Legion Post 128, and the
14Marion County Genealogical and Historical Society; therefore,
15be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
18commemorate and congratulate the City of Salem and all of the
19volunteers and community groups for their efforts to keep alive
20the history of our State and nation; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
22presented to the City of Salem and all organizers who helped to

 

 

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1make this 150th Anniversary event a success.