Pontiac’s Civil War Stories

Albert D.J. Cashier

Born Jennie Hodgers, Albert D.J. Cashier was born a female and lived most of his adult life — including his Civil War service — as a man. Seeing women on both sides of the war to try to pass as men was not a rare; although some women adopted a male disguise to be near to and protect the man she loved, others, like Albert, shared the same reasons as the most of the men who had enlisted: patriotism, adventurism, or a combination of the two. Cashier’s story of military life has been the subject of several books, numerous articles, and a Chicago-based musical theater production.

Albert was born in 1843 in Ireland. Although not much is known of his early life, it is known that his mother died when he was yet a toddler and he was raised by his father and other relatives. Albert grew to be independent, adventurous, but shy as a youngster. Sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s, Albert stowed away on a ship headed to the United States. He eventually made his way west and by 1862 had settled in Belvidere. Albert had already begun identifying as a man by that time, probably because a young, unaccompanied woman on her own in that time and place would have to face many disadvantages and much public suspicion. Albert enlisted for three years’ service, adopting the name Albert D.J. Cashier for the first time. As part of the 95^th Illinois Infantry, Albert was mustered into Union service on Sept. 4, 1862.

During the time of his military service, Pvt. Albert Cashier fought in approximately 40 battles, including Vicksburg. Albert’s fellow soldiers considered him a brave and capable soldier, though prone to seek his privacy while in camp. At Vicksburg, Albert’s biological sex was nearly discovered when he was captured by a Confederate soldier. Fearing both prison camp and detection, the diminutive Albert — just 5 feet, 3 inches tall — grabbed the barrel of his guard’s rifle and pushed the butt end of the weapon hard into the rebel’s stomach, knocking the guard to the ground, then took off at a run through some nearby woods, escaping back to the relative safety of the Union lines.

Another close call for Albert came shortly after Vicksburg when a severe case of diarrhea, a common complaint among the soldiers on both sides of the conflict, required a stay in a military hospital. Amazingly, Albert recovered from the illness without the military hospital’s doctors or nurses ever learning his biological sex.

In total, Albert served in the Union army for two years, 11 months, and 13 days. He was honorably discharged from service on Aug. 17, 1865. Albert returned to Belvidere, then moved to the Pontiac area in search of work. Eventually, Albert settled in the tiny village of Saunemin, about 12 miles east of Pontiac. There, Albert quietly lived on his military pension and worked as the janitor for a local church. He did odd jobs for neighbors and served as Saunemin’s street lamplighter. In 1910, Albert was accidentally struck by a car, breaking his leg. While receiving medical care for the injury, his biological sex was discovered. The local doctor and nurse assured Albert they would keep his secret, and they did. Eventually, however, Albert’s physical and mental health began to deteriorate. In May 1911, he was admitted into the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, where his biological sex was officially discovered. According to some reports, when the staff attempted to force Albert to wear women’s clothing, he fought them tooth and nail. Finally, after suffering a complete mental breakdown, Albert was declared insane; he died Oct. 10, 1915.

Albert Cashier was buried in his Civil War uniform, which he had kept over all those years. He was honored with full military ceremonies at his burial in Saunemin. His tombstone lists both identities held during his life.

Joseph F. Culver

Joseph F. Culver was born March 17, 1842, in Pennsylvania. He moved to Pontiac in 1858 or 1859. His military service was like that of many from the area, taking part in many battles, including Sherman’s March to the Sea. He was first lieutenant in the 129^th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted on Aug. 2, 1862, and was subsequently promoted to captain. What makes Capt. Culver’s story interesting is the fact that he was a prodigious letter writer. His wife, Mary, kept most of those letters. The Culver letters are in the collection of the University of Iowa Library. In 1978, a book containing 233 of the letters — Your Affectionate Husband, J.F. Culver: Letters Written During the Civil War — was published by the Friends of the Library. Those letters were received by Mary between Aug. 8, 1862, and June 5, 1865.

Culver’s letters detail the day-to-day activities of his unit, providing a view of the war from the perspective of the active-duty troops, whether on the battle line or behind it in more secure support positions. His letters also respond to Mary’s correspondence containing both good and tragic news from Pontiac and of his family and friends. For example, on Sept. 21, 1862, while he was away In Kentucky with the Union Army, Culver’s first child, a son named Franklin Allen Culver, was born. Sadly, on Oct. 31, 1863, while serving in Tennessee, Culver was informed by telegraph of 13-month-old “little Frankie’s” death. A few of his most poignant letters mourn the child he never met, while at the same time expressing his faith in God’s will and consoling his grieving wife. Other letters discuss military matters, relate the exploits of Pontiac citizens serving in the same unit, and such war rumors as were deemed noteworthy by Culver. One of the most interesting series of letters details the range of reactions experienced by the men in the field when they learned of Lincoln’s death. Because Lincoln was known to many in Pontiac and thus to many of the soldiers serving in the 129^th, his assassination came as a particularly strong shock for the men of the unit. Culver’s letters tell of the confusion, concern, and desire for revenge that the news of Lincoln’s assassination provoked among the boys from the Pontiac- and Livingston County-based 129^th Infantry Regiment.

After the war, Culver returned to Pontiac, ran a successful law office, served as mayor of Pontiac for a time, and was elected a Livingston County judge. In 1879, Culver and his family moved to Kansas, where he once again took up law. He died in 1899. His body was returned to Pontiac and he was laid to rest in the South Side Cemetery.

Henry B. Reed

Henry B. Reed was born in 1833 in Pennsylvania. He grew up there and as a young man apprenticed to a shoemaker. As he matured, he started his own small shoemaking factory in 1852. He sold his factory and moved to the Bloomington area with his family in 1855. As leader of the political group called the Wide-Awakes, he visited Pontiac promoting Lincoln during the 1858 Senate campaign. He liked what he found in Pontiac, and the next year moved his family to the small community.

As soon as President Lincoln put out his call for three-year volunteers, Reed was the first man from Pontiac to volunteer. He immediately went to Joliet and joined Company D of the 20^th Illinois Infantry as a sergeant. He fought at the Battle of Fort Donelson from Feb. 12-16, 1862, where he was promoted to lieutenant. He then resigned from the 20^th and returned to Pontiac to play an important role as one of the experienced military men driving the formation of the 129^th Illinois Infantry, the new regiment that was created and trained in Pontiac. As a captain in the 129^th, Reed took part in several battles, spent time guarding railroads and bridges, and was part of Sherman’s army that marched to the sea. Captain Reed was much appreciated by the men in the 129^th. The men in Reed’s unit were grateful to see Reed, unlike some Union officers, was sincerely concerned about the average soldier’s clothing, provisions, weaponry, and general health. In his quiet but effectual way, Reed made sure the men who served under him were treated as well as conditions of war would allow. The respect and admiration Reed earned in camp and on the battlefield carried over into his civilian life; he was called “Captain Reed” by his friends here in Pontiac long after the end of the war.

Reed returned to Pontiac after the war and once again entered the shoe business. However, his health declined, and he was forced to retire. He was later appointed by consecutive Illinois governors to care for the Memorial Hall in Springfield, a political appointment that recognized his service to his nation and the Republican Party. He and his wife had nine children, of which six survived into adulthood. Captain Reed died Tuesday, Feb. 5, 1901, in Pontiac.

Dennis McDonald

Dennis McDonald came to Pontiac from Kentucky as a child with his family a few years before the war. Although Kentucky was nominally a Union state, it was a border state and had many Confederate supporters. When the war broke out, Dennis’s father, who still had family and many friends in his home state, supported the Confederacy. Mr. McDonald returned to the South with his family — except for the 16-year-old Dennis.

Dennis, who supported the preservation of the Union, joined the 53^rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry early in 1862 in Ottawa. He took part in the Battle of Shiloh, where he fought against his father. The young soldier was captured at Shiloh and was eventually sent to the notorious Andersonville prisoner of war camp in Georgia. He survived the war and upon release from Andersonville, returned to Pontiac. McDonald worked for a time in the Pontiac coal mine, but the mismanagement of the enterprise led him to seek new opportunities. In 1872, McDonald moved to a newly created mining town in Southern Illinois called Carrier Mills. He worked in the mines there until his health and advancing years forced his retirement.

Dennis McDonald, who had survived Andersonville and years of hard, unhealthy labor in a coal mine, lived to be the last surviving Civil War veteran from Pontiac. He died in 1945 at the age of 100.